Easter came early this year! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter yesterday. Often this holiday is filled with candy and sweet treats, just like Valentine's Day. It is so easy to pick up a bag of candy for those Easter eggs and find yourself eating all of those bite size goodies. Two weeks before Easter, I picked up a bag of bite size candies and totally found myself snacking on them at night. Terrible, I know! It was just so easy to pop one in my mouth. Honestly, I didn't need to buy a bag of candy 2 weeks before Easter, because really, did it make it to Easter? Nope! Sure didn't!
I am sure that you all had some delicious goodies leading up to Easter and now that the day has come and gone, you probably have some of those candies sitting on your counter or in your cabinet. How do you find balance with those goodies and making healthy choices?
I am a dietitian who does believe that all foods can fit in a healthy diet. Now I don't recommend you purchase candy, when you don't need it, like I did two weeks ago. I would tell you to enjoy a piece or two of candy for the holiday, but don't bring it into your house if it is going to be a stumbling block for you. If you have little ones in your house, then you might think you have to purchase candy to fill up those Easter eggs with, but I am here to tell you that you don't have to put candy in those eggs. We put Goldfish crackers, grapes and some other little food items in our eggs for William. Instead of having him find candy (which he doesn't need) we decided to try some healthier alternatives. You might think goldfish aren't exciting or fruit is lame, but this kid loves both so I think he will be excited.
The two take aways from this post are 1) Those extra treats from Easter, come up with a game plan. Definitely enjoy them, in moderation and then if you have to, throw the rest away. Don't feel guilty about that. If it is going to be a stumbling block for you. Get get of rid it and get rid of that temptation. 2) Your kids goodies don't have to be candy. There are lots of things that you can give your child for Easter that isn't just candy. Don't feel like you are depriving your child anything. I think teaching kids to celebrate with items that aren't food is an important lesson as they grow up.
Hopefully you all had a wonderful Easter and enjoyed the day! I have included some pictures below from our time with family over the weekend!
