Roger and Roys Halloween Grab Bag

A few hopefully helpful items for Hollerween:

Maximize Your Candy Haul

It's a great time to be alive because technology is improving almost everything that we do -- including trick-or-treating.
The real estate website Zillow.com now features their first "Trick or Treat Housing Index," which processed all their data to determine the best neighborhoods to maximize candy intake this Saturday.
They awarded points for the price of homes, the population density, how easy it is to walk around these neighborhoods and local crime data. Based on this information, neighborhoods were chosen that provide the most candy, with the least walking -- and minimal safety risks.

How To Keep Kids From Overloading On Candy

While it's virtually impossible for parents to stop their kids from eating candy, there are some ways that parents can get a handle on Halloween so children don't feel deprived -- and they also don't eat so much they get sick:

1. Early decisions with children -- Before the big night out, decide with your kids what is a reasonable amount of candy to eat that night and beyond. You can package the candy in small bags to make the holiday last longer, ration a piece or two a day or even decide to donate or throw some away.
2. Dinner -- Feed your kids dinner before trick or treating so they will not be starving and want to fill up on candy while going from house to house.
3. Allow it -- Do not ban candy or throw it away when the kids aren't looking. This may just make them want it more.
4. Role models -- Parents should be good role models by not eating all the candy themselves.
5. Emphasize fun -- Take some emphasis off candy by focusing on the fun of the holiday, like checking out the costumes and decorated houses.
6. Walk -- When trick-or-treating, walk, don't drive, to get some physical activity in while candy collecting.
7. Patience -- Suggest kids wait to eat candy until they get home, where parents can inspect the wrappers to ensure they're tightly sealed.

Cut Your Candy Consumption

You should keep empty wrappers in plain sight while eating your Halloween candy.
Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, said that study participants ate almost half as many mini-size Halloween candies when they kept the wrappers in sight.
"Having a visual reminder of how much you ate, keeps you honest and eating less," Wansink said. "Your stomach can't count but your eyes can when they seen the empty wrappers."
Wansink also advised that instead of putting out a bowl of Halloween candy on an office desk at work or at home next to the sofa, it should be placed across the room because people will eat less if they have to get up and walk.

Tips for a Healthier Halloween

Mountains of Halloween candy have been on store shelves for weeks -- and there's no end in sight. There will be candy at every turn for us and our kids until Thanksgiving.
Focus on a few simple tips to get through it all without going into sugar shock.

1. Halloween is One Day -- Make the holiday just one day. Treat yourself without guilt. Enjoy the candy and festivities. Then, put it all behind you.
2. Move -- Have fun on Halloween by including physical activity. Walk, bike or play active games at parties.
3. Replace the Rewards -- Even though there will be plenty of candy everywhere, don't use it as a reward for doing chores and getting good grades. Instead, offer a game or toy they want.
4. One or Two Pieces -- Instead of following the suggested (large) serving size for bags of candy, take one or two pieces and savor them.

HERE ARE FIVE TIPS TO KEEP YOUR KIDS FROM GETTING SWINE FLU ON HALLOWEEN:

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that as many as ONE in FIVE American children had experienced flu-like symptoms.
--That means there's a good chance that tomorrow, you and your kids are going to come into contact with dozens of grubby little trick-or-treaters.
--Here are some tips on Halloween Swine flu prevention.

#1.) Only buy costumes that come wrapped in plastic, and fully sanitize all masks.
#2.) Bring hand sanitizer trick-or-treating, and use it between houses.
#3.) Make sure your kids wash their hands before eating any candy.
#4.) If you're at home passing out candy, make sure you distribute it on your own instead of letting kids reach into the bowl.
#5.) And if you're not feeling well Saturday, DON'T go trick-or-treating and DON'T pass out candy.

YOU CAN INSTALL A SURVEILLANCE CAMERA IN YOUR JACK-O-LANTERN TO CATCH VANDALS:

Every Halloween, the juvenile delinquent punks go around smashing pumpkins, egging houses, and throwing toilet paper on trees.
--If you're sick of it, you can put a mini surveillance camera inside one of your jack-o-lanterns. It's called the Avaak Vue, and it lets you monitor your property over a wireless connection.
--So if anyone try to deface your yard or your house, you'll know they're coming . . . and you'll be ready.

There's Candy ... And Then There's Bad Candy

If dentists were ruling the world, the only candy that would be given out this year for trick-or-treating would be sugarless gum.
Lucky for kids, dentists don't rule the world, but they still have an opinion on what candy is more and less harmful to your teeth. They recommend choosing things that melt away and disappear in a short period.
With this thinking, chocolate is actually a good choice -- as long as you brush your teeth right after eating it.

On the other hand, hard candies and lollipops are the worse because they take the longest to dissolve, leaving sugar in your mouth for the longest time.

Worst Halloween Candy

Every Halloween, kids fill up their trick-or-treat bags with loads of candy. We take the bags home and chow down until we're left with the undesirables.
The Huffington Post compiled a list of the "Grossest Kinds of Candy No Adult Should Give Out on Halloween."
Each one is up for debate, but their list is as follows:

Wax bottle candy
Pumpkin-shaped candy corn
Necco Wafers
Fruit-flavored Tootsie Rolls
Circus Peanuts
Bit-O-Honey
Dad's Root Beer Barrels
Gum Drops
Individually wrapped Sesame Crunch

WOULD YOU HAND OUT BACON-FLAVORED GUMBALLS FOR HALLOWEEN?

Halloween, you can hand out "regular" candy just like everyone else. Or you can break the mold and pass out some "less traditional" Halloween treats.
--Bacon-flavored gumballs . . .
--Garlic mints . . .
--Zit Poppers, which are oversized acne bumps filled with candy pus . . .
--Human Dog Food, which is candy kibble in a mini bowl . . .
--And Scorpion Pops, which are just like regular lollipops, only they have a dead scorpion in the center.

INTRODUCING MEAT HANDS . . .
THE BEST HALLOWEEN-THEMED MEAL EVER:

Before you take the kids out trick-or-treating, you might want to feed them a delicious, Halloween-themed meal. Like a big plateful of Meat Hands. And as gruesome as the name makes it sound, it's really just meatloaf that's been shaped to look like a severed hand . . . complete with onion slices for the wrist bone and fingernails.

Tips For Leftovers

Once Halloween's over, are you going to have Halloween candy and decorations lying around till Christmas? Follow these tips from Real Simple magazine for re-using your Halloween stuff:

1. Make fun desserts. Melt some of those candy bars down for chocolate-covered strawberries or use peppermint patties or Snickers bars for brownies (stick the candy in between two layers of the mix before baking).
2. Stock up on baking supplies. Chop leftover chocolate or candy corn and use them instead of chocolate chips in cookie recipes.
3. Make a seasonal centerpiece. Cut off the top of a pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Arrange fresh or dried flowers in a vase and place it inside.
4. Make soup. While your Jack-o'-Lantern is still fresh, peel and cut it into cubes to make a yummy base for a savory pumpkin soup or other fall favorite.