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October 27, 2005
Why You Should Not Accept Candy From Strangers
Halloween is coming up, and MR and live in a neighborhood with lots of children. MoMR was asking us what we plan to do about giving out treats, since we obviously aren't going to give children gak.
Well, we thought about it. I had suggested spider rings or stickers, but none of those seemed really exciting. Parents are obsessed with safety these days, so we can't exactly give out apples or unwrapped anything.
Then it dawned on us. There is an individually wrapped candy-like substance that we think might actually be good for children.
The calcium chewy.
Yup, we're planning to give unsuspecting small children individually wrapped milk chocolate and caramel flavored calcium supplements. There's a little Vitamin D in there too.
This all came about back when MR was first designing my supplement program and dealing with the fact that I have a hard time swallowing pills. I can swallow capsules okay, but his calcium supplement is a tablet, and I tend to gag on those. So I found the Viactiv Calcium Chew and he said I could take them. "The important thing about a calcium supplement is that you take it," said MR. So for months I've been eating a little calcium chewy for dessert at night. Yum!
Recently we've discovered that they have some kind of hydrogenated something or other or something in them, so I've switched to something else that he gives me that I can swallow. (It's really nice to have someone else -- someone incredibly well-informed -- figure out one's supplement program. I have enough to worry about.) But considering how horrible these kids' diets no doubt are and what gak they'll be eating on Halloween, we'll definitely be doing them good to get 500 mg of calcium into their little growing bodies. They'll never know...
I also just came up with a Halloween recipe that I plan to serve to my Orange One (who seems to be turning even more orange as we work our way through that giant bag of carrots) on either Sunday or Monday night. I am trying to decide whether to publish it in advance so you too can make it, or if I should just wait to make sure it's a surprise. He likes surprises. How about, if you want the recipe, write me and I'll send it to you in personal email. How's that for compromise?
I've recently been messing with my quotidian diet again, since we discovered that I'm eating less calcium than I had been before MR moved here. I used to regularly have either a yogurt in the afternoon or a latte with skim, and I've stopped doing that cause I save my calories for dinner. But these days I'm so often eating my quotidian dinner -- brewers yeast veggie soup -- that it makes sense to add back in the calories with calcium somewhere else. I've started adding a fourth of a cup of fat free ricotta, topped with the Carolina Treet bbq sauce that used to go on my eggwhites, to my breakfast. That's 30% of the RDA of calcium for only 60 calories. What a steal!
I'm also thinking of going back to my yogurt, garlic, salt and cumin salad accompaniment, instead of cottage cheese. That both saves 50 calories and gives me 40% of the RDA in a cup vs. 16%. Big difference. I had been eating the calcium fortified cottage cheese, but I went back to regular cause a) I like it better b) fortified cottage cheese is no better than supplementing, so what's the point? Gotta keep up my calcium... women in general but CR'd women in particular need to think about bone health.
I haven't had time yet to write my response to Vegan, but I'm gathering my data with help from MR. In the meanwhile, here's another vegan recipe:
Easy black bean soup:
Black beans, soaked overnight and boiled till tender
Rapunzel vegan vegetable broth, 2 cubes for entire bag of beans
Pickled jalepenos, diced, to taste.
Half salt, peppers
A pint of mushrooms if you want
Heat, mix, serve. That was easy.
Posted by april at October 27, 2005 9:19 AM
Comments
Wow! Not only creative, thoughtful & brilliant but also radical & subversive! Better warn them to eat only one/day, though. Wouldn't want them to O.D. on calcium..... JD ;-)
Posted by: Judith at October 27, 2005 10:36 AM
Can I be the wet dishrag on this? I hate to, but here goes...if I were taking my children to the doorstep of a stranger and receiving a calcium supplement, there is no question in my mind, I would not give it to my child. Funny, isn't it. Most of society will find this different, odd and close to medicine. Therefore, it will be discarded. We will give them the candy instead! A complete irony, for sure, but this is what our society will support. After all, we know Hershey's, Snickers, Jolly Ranchers, etc. HA! If only the parents "knew" those products and the havoc they will bring, both now and later in life.
April, I wish I could support you on this, but I'm afraid the money invested will be wasted. If you feel you need to support your favorite orange and black holiday, how about looking for some snack sized organic trail mix with dried fruit and nuts? Just a thought....
Danielle
Posted by: Danielle at October 27, 2005 2:25 PM
Ah, but Danielle... they won't know it's a calcium supplement! It looks, feels, and tastes like a little piece of chocolate candy! So we're actually *tricking* the children into consuming a healthy treat! Their parents will have no idea that we're pumping innocent children full of 500 mg of calcium.
a
Posted by: April at October 28, 2005 7:13 AM
April, Could you please send me the recipe? Also, do you have any more information about the green curry paste or sauce you ordered awhile back? And one last question, where to you find the quoran roasts? Your blog is awesome. Thanks so much.
Posted by: Kathryn at October 28, 2005 7:46 AM
you're dangerously close to being the freaky woman who gives kids a handful of pennies. why bother participating at all if youre going 180 degrees against the spirit of the day?
Posted by: Josh H. Pille at October 28, 2005 12:13 PM
Now Josh, what is against the spirit of the day to give out little candies, caramel and milk chocolate, that in addition to being delicious, happen to have some nutritional content?
Is Halloween only Halloween if children consume tons of empty calories? Surely that's not the point of the holiday. Is dressing up in costume, having fun going around to different houses, and eating yummy treats somehow invalidated the second one of those yummy treats has calcium added to it?
That reminds me of people who dismiss vegans and vegetarians by saying that a meal is not a meal unless it has a giant piece of meat in the middle of the plate. We would both agree that this is nonsense. Why must we give out crap on Halloween?
Posted by: april at October 28, 2005 12:32 PM
April,
I think your heart's in the right place, but I have to agree with the dissenters here.
Yes, kids like chocolate and caramel, but they're not going to eat something they don't recognize. Kids like reveling in getting their favorite kinds of candy ("ooh, M&Ms!") or using the candy as currency ("I'll trade you my Tootsie Pop for your Kit Kat").
No one is going to say, "I'll trade you my Viactive Calcium Chew for your Flinstones Vitamin."
If we're going to make inroads into how Americans eat, I really don't think Halloween is the time or place. If people begin to associate healthy eating with "ruining their favorite holiday," it will just set us back further.
Posted by: Dan at October 28, 2005 5:37 PM
Obviously, everyone who has responded in the negative is a lot younger than me! (I'm 59.) When I was a kid, standard Hallowe'en fare was store-bought candy but the houses we would all rush to first gave out what we considered to be truly fabulous, home made treats: caramel apples, fudge, popcorn balls & peanut brittle, each item carefully wrapped in cellophane. Many, many people gave out plain apples, peanuts in the shell and raisins. Once in a while, we'd get a new pencil or a toothbrush and yes, I thought the peanuts kind of boring. That wasn't the point! It was the excitement of running the dark streets dressed up in costumes and getting loot that mattered. The hope that we'd arrive in time for Mrs. Wong's popcorn balls, some still warm, really made our night. Guess I'm from another age, but come on folks! Let's encourage a little creativity and applaud someone who puts her money where her mouth is! If the parents don't allow them to eat it, they'll at least pause for a second to think about the freaky people in their neighborhood who maybe care about promoting health along with treats. JD
Posted by: Judith at October 29, 2005 8:17 AM
O.k.---you want calcium--the gourmet way. Try Adora. It a real chocolate---melt-in your mouth type, not a chewy. Also, its all natural. Check details at www.adoracalcium.com. Also free samples from the website.
Posted by: rob at November 8, 2005 6:30 PM
Anything that adds a good source of calcium in your diet is great. But I really think the best way to go about getting your calcium is through natural calcium sources. Start eating foods that are high in calcium!
The link I provided is a tool that will help you assess how much calcium you are getting from your regular diet.
Check it out
Posted by: Julia at November 29, 2006 2:17 AM
I would just warn the parents because maybe there kid is lactose intolerant, it just seems bad to give kids that, I wouldn't want to hurt someone.
Posted by: kaitlyn. at October 7, 2008 9:07 PM