The Queen of Candyland... or Glut?

As if this time of year isn’t tempting enough… I decided to invite dozens of bags of candy and chocolate into my home for the purpose of designing a Halloween costume entirely out of sweets. The candy bra inspired the ensemble – it was a birthday gift from a friend last year that I simply HAD to incorporate into a costume. And voila!

From head (a 2,280-calorie cotton candy headpiece) to toe (896-calorie candy button legwarmers) I fully embraced my sweet side… and my sweet tooth. I was seriously kidding myself to think I could maintain any level of self-control while taping, stringing, melding and wearing my sugary masterpiece. After calculating, I estimate the consumption of no fewer than 4000 calories throughout the process. Yikes!

When Halloween was over I promptly cut my way out of the dress and – after a few last goodbye bites – discarded my diet’s biggest enemy thinking: why couldn’t I have gotten a broccoli bra?

This is clearly an extreme case, but the subject of self-control is one that so many of us deal with each and every day. Does your ability to resist temptation change with the season? Your emotions? The people you’re with? I’m constantly trying to crack the code! Do you have any self-control tricks – or solace – to share with me and the rest of us?

And one last question… was it worth it?

Trick or treat? Apparently you can do both.

Peas Of Mind disguises vegetables as French Fries, and I think it’s brilliant! Now if only candy companies made an effort to promote peace – or peas – of mind this Halloween, November would be a much easier month for moms, dentists and anyone watching their diet in any way.

I liked this concept so much that I decided to test out a version of it on my coworkers today. If you disguise celery as a Tootsie Roll, does everybody win?

Project Tootcelery. (Like my cutting board? It's from the MoMa.)

Answer: YES.

Kaitlin said, “I’m so happy it was celery… I wasn’t even in the mood for chocolate. A healthy, crunchy little surprise!”

Moms, how bout it?

Happy Halloween.

The most costume-y holiday (unless you pull out an Easter Bunny suit every spring) is nearly upon us! While it’s a given that you’ll snag some adorably diminutive candy this weekend, whether it be from your own candy dish or your kid’s trick-or-treating haul, not all All Hallow’s treats are created equal. These are the tiny ghouls packing ridiculous amounts of calories in their miniscule little bodies.

While we certainly don’t advocate depriving yourself of that chocolatey treat if you really, really, really want it, if a party pack of Skittles or a tiny Twizzler would satisfy your sugar craving just as well, this list might convince you to opt in that direction instead.

1. Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins—At Halloween and Christmastime, Reese’s transforms their flagship cup into the shapes of teensy pumpkins and wee tannenbaums in the spirit of the season. In an accompanying spirit of overindulgence, those treats can pack a serious caloric punch. Each Halloween pumpkin will set you back 180 calories, which is a lot for something that might go down in less than a minute.
2. Peanut M&Ms—A Halloween favorite because of its ability to induce amnesia (you know you’ve daintily nibbled one, ignored the bag for 20 seconds after finishing, and then started the process all over again as though it never happened), that cheery yellow fun pack will run you 93 calories.
3. Mr. Goodbar—This deliciously simple concoction of milk chocolate and salty peanut chunks is oh-so-so good. One fun-size bar in your trick or treat pail is 90 calories, which isn’t so bad until you factor in the utter difficulty of eating just one. Curse you, Mr. Goodbar.
4. Rolos—There’s nothing not to love about this delicious chocolate/caramel concoction. Chocolate and caramel are a perfect pairing, a most holy union, and yet one snack-sized pack contains 171 calories. A truly cruel trick by any measure.
5. York Peppermint Patties—Snarfing down these minty delicious rounds may leave you with fresh breath and a burst of sugar energy, but at a whopping 165 calories per patty, they just might be the most expensive breath mint you’ll ever eat, diet-wise. We recommend eating 4 rolls of Mentos for a similar effect and calorie punch.

How many times have you been asked “What are you being?” in the past month? Enough already! I have a different question: Are you being something you secretly want to be in real life?

I believe that’s a YES.

Superman! Cinderella! An Arabian Princess who moonlights as a plumber! Bubble Boy! Halloween is the time to embrace the freedom of morphing into anyone or anything in the world… or your own world. But let’s be honest, there’s a small – if not huge – part of you that is dying to take on the attributes of this character on an everyday basis, and I’m going to help you do it.

When planning out your Halloween persona this year, start thinking ahead about how to get more mileage out of your costume, your imagination, and even make a fashion statement in the process.

SEXY VAMPIRE
Vampires made a huge comeback this year, and I’m villing to bet that many of you vill vant to suck my blood this Halloween too.

Take Home Notes:
GLOVES: Use them to fancy-up a little cocktail dress, or for a more everyday glam approach, pair with a short sleeved shirt and jeans.
HAT: Last week I bought a headpiece just like this – and it’s not for Halloween! If you dare, try a wacky headpiece the weekend AFTER. Think Gaultier.

NATIVE AMERICAN
Come on, who doesn’t want to run around pre-Christopher Columbus America chasing wildebeests?

Take Home notes:
DRESS: Yes, the dress. Except we’re only going to see the bottom half because you’re going to wear a sweater, textured tights and boots.
HEADBAND: You might want to take off the feather… or you might not. Crowning the head with a decorative band is chic – and way more 2009 than 1492.

STEWIE
Being the most brilliant, cynical, quippy baby in the entire world is without a doubt something we all wish we could turn back time to do.

THE PLASTIC BUTT: You can’t see it here, but I bet you know where you would find it. Forget about the gym, get rock hard buns in seconds flat!
THE HEAD: Use as a laptop carrier case. Your computer just became genius.