"trick or treat" news and stories

I was thinking about holiday-related candy lately. Which do you prefer, Halloween candy or Christmas candy? I guess it depends on whether you're the type of person who would want to eat a chocolate Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer or something called Nurse Hatchet's Body Parts Gummy Candy.

The latter is available at Candy Crate, an online store where you can get a ton of Halloween candy, including Pumpkin Whirly Pops, Boneheads Fruit-Flavored Skulls, Halloween Bubble Gum Coins, and Oozing Eyeballs. Sure, it's too late for tonight's Halloween activities, but that doesn't mean you can't have them delivered next week and gross out your friends and family then.

Does anyone give candy apples to kids on Halloween anymore? I remember getting one once when I was trick or treating. I think they gave it to me either wrapped in a napkin or maybe just by itself, just thrown in the bag. Not sure what I was supposed to do with it after the other candy got on it. I'm talking about the sugar glazed coating, not the caramel variety.

Today is National Candy Apple Day, which fits nicely on the schedule since we're doing Candy Day all day at Slashfood and it also happens to be Halloween.

I like caramel apples more. They're one of those foods you eat a lot less of when you become an adult, but I think this fall I'll make them again.

Any kid can tell you that some candies are much more desirable than others when it comes to Halloween booty even though they're all free and most know that they're not supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth. But even though the kids can be polite when receiving the candy, they ruthlessly categorize and consume it according to what is known as the Halloween Candy Hierarchy. The Hierarchy is based on "years of research and debate, on thorough testing and re-testing...and whatnot" and ranks all Halloween goodies in from top to bottom.

• TOP TIER - Chocolate based: Milky Way, Snickers, all M&M's, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Junior Mints, Kit Kat, Twix, milk chocolate Hershey bars
• SECOND TIER - Lesser chocolate based: Nestle Crunch, Almond Joy, Mounds, Tootsie Rolls, Dark Chocolate Hershey Bars, Fair Trade Chocolate
• THIRD TIER - "Upper Chewy": Milk Duds, Starburst, Jolly Ranchers (if a good flavor), 100 Grand Bar
• BOTTOM TIER - "Lower Chewy", gummy and crunchy center: Dots, Lollipops, Nerds, Whoppers, Swedish Fish, Gummy Bears, Licorice, Anything from Brach's, Hard Candy, Gum, LaffyTaffy, Jolly Ranchers (if a bad flavor), Bottle Caps, Smarties
• "Tier so low it does not register on our equipment" - Anything healthy, anything inedible

Obviously, the results are open to some interpretation and some candies Skittles, for example, are not included. Toothpaste should also be included as well-meaning, but lame, in the lowest rung. But perhaps all this is something to keep in mind when you want to know what will make the kids happy next Halloween.

[Thanks, Bob!]

Source

This Halloween, parents across the country might try to limit their kids' intake of candy from their Halloween haul, forcing them to limit themselves to one or two pieces a day. But does this teach children the wrong lesson about food? Some experts say that it does. This practice raises up the candies above the level of normal foods and they become something special, something coveted, something to sneak pieces of and hide the evidence. Such habits can set a precedence that will last for the rest of kids' lives and lead to problems with compulsive eating in the future.

Instead of making candy into this exotic and much-desired item, some parents let their kids eat as much candy as they want on holidays like Halloween. They eat fairly balanced meals the rest of the time, but on those few special occasions the kids can go all-out if they want to. This teaches kids to regulate their own intake (especially if they accidentally eat themselves sick once) because they know that indulgence isn't something to constantly be sought out. The kids aren't focused for the whole day on that one piece they will be permitted after dinner and are much less likely to binge eat when they actually do have free-access to treats.

Source

And we're talking literally - painted fingernails and everything.

Gael over at Pop Culture Junk Mail made these ladyfingers for her book club. Pretty easy instructions. You just shape dough into finger shapes (see pic), poach it in simmering water with baking soda. Drain them and sprinkle with rosemary (I love rosemary), use almonds for the fingernails, and bake them. She doesn't say what to bake them at or for how long, but you can probably figure it out and keep an eye on them. Or leave a comment for her and see what she did.

Anyone else making Halloween treats shaped like body parts? Maybe eyeballs or ears?