Canada's online magazine: Politics, entertainment, technology, media, arts, books: backofthebook.ca

Politics, tech, media, culture and more, from a Canadian point-of-view

  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Science and Tech
  • Living
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
You are here: Home / Living / Conflicted about candy

Conflicted about candy

10/26/2009 by backofthebook.ca Leave a Comment

By Jodi A. Shaw

Navigating your way through the grocery store requires slightly more skill than usual this time of year. Maneuvering the cart around the mountains of Hallowe’en candy displayed in the entryway and randomly throughout the store becomes an exercise in both agility and self-restraint.

On my routine weekend trip to the Co-Op, I finally gave in. A box of 125 tiny, assorted chocolate bars for $14? Score one for my budget, and another for the kids who would soon be trooping up to my door.

I contemplated the cheaper, less palatable candy, but quickly recalled the childhood disappointment I felt each Hallowe’en when I sat, post-treating, and picked Sun-Maid raisins, Hallowe’en Kisses, and candy corn out of my loot. I opted for the $14 box despite the heads-up from another customer that Wal-Mart offers an identical product for $9.97.

kid-holding-candyAt home, I treated myself to a couple bites, and noticed how much smaller they seemed compared to what I remember from my trick-or-treating days. I know I’m an adult and I know Hallowe’en is for kids, but little by little Hallowe’en is getting less thrilling. But look on the bright side: while the shrinking portions and the bloated price is an obvious strategy to increase profits, it comes with an interesting side effect.

In an age where kids are inactive and overweight, the less candy they get, the better. I’m almost tempted to defend trick-or-treating because at least the kids aren’t parked in front of the TV eating junk food and are up and moving around. In pursuit of copious amounts of candy, at least they’re putting some miles on their sneakers.

But as for me . . . Every time I walk through the kitchen I grab a mini chocolate (or three) and the guilt is getting heavy. As an adult, and the only person responsible for my health and well-being, I am always aware of the consequences of what I put in my mouth, so I’ve got a few extra sit-ups to do and a few extra kilometers to run. And then I’m going to dole this stuff out to kids?

Clumps and blobs of high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, fat, preservatives, colouring in shiny wrappers — Candy: the kids are coming for it.

It’s not cost-effective to hand out toothbrushes and skipping ropes, but I feel awful contributing to and encouraging over-consumption of unhealthy edibles. At the same time, if I give them something “healthy” to gnaw on, I expect they’ll just pick it out of their bags and give it to their parents, just as I used to.

I wish I hadn’t wasted $14 on the box of Cadbury. I had good intentions and was looking forward to seeing all the costumes at my door on October 31st, but I think this year I’m going to exercise real good intentions and keep my lights off and my door closed.

Filed Under: Living Tagged With: children, health, holidays, nutrition

Subscribe to BoB by e-mail or RSS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Google+
  • Living
  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
Fire sale sign

Fort McMurray: Shopping time!

By Brady Tighe We’re now officially in the aftermath phase of the northern Alberta wildfire crisis. The fire is long gone, and everyone with a home to return to is back in its … [Read More...]

Nathan Cullen

Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking

By Alison@Creekside The most interesting and innovative idea to come out of the first meeting of the all-party Special Committee on Electoral Reform, or ERRE, was Nathan Cullen's suggestion, … [Read More...]

Trudeau on quantum computing

The Trudeau gush fest is getting old

By Jim Henshaw There have been several bewildered as well as angry accounts coming out of the USA lately about how little media time has been spent covering the Democratic Presidential Primary … [Read More...]

Rick Meyers in Nanaimo Pride Parade

My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade

By Frank Moher On this dreadful day, I don't want to write about the shootings in Orlando. I want to write about my friend, Rick. Rick lives just outside of Nanaimo, a city of about 80,000, … [Read More...]

Stephen Colbert on Late Night set

Triumph of the drama nerds

By Frank Moher Two drama nerds have recently moved into high profile positions. Before I name them (or perhaps you’ve already guessed who they are; or perhaps you’d like to scroll down and look at … [Read More...]

From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon

Originally published on Our Rape Blog, the author's account of the aftermath of a violent sexual assault. By Mary Fraughton Have you ever played Hearts? It’s a card game. For our purposes, … [Read More...]

First Nations defending Lelu Island

The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

From Creekside: The B.C. provincial government is trying to green light the construction of a massive LNG terminal on Lelu Island in the Skeena Estuary -- Pacific Northwest LNG, backed by Malaysian … [Read More...]

Google

Follow Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

RSS CBC News



Recent Posts

  • Fort McMurray: Shopping time!
  • From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon
  • Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking
  • The fish hotel
  • Hatred on an Alberta golf course
  • The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”
  • My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade
  • Our selective sympathy
  • The Water Bomber, The Frogman and The Great Canadian Novelist
  • Komagata Maru: The story behind the apology

Tags

9/11 Afghanistan Alberta bad behaviour books British Columbia business Canada Canadian military Canadian politics CBC celebrity computers Conservatives crime environment family film G20 Globe and Mail internet Jason Kenney journalism Justin Trudeau law Liberals Maclean's music National Post NDP newspapers oil sands online media Ontario Quebec RCMP religion sports Stephen Harper television theatre Toronto U.S. Vancouver women

Archives

The Video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

Pages

  • About
  • Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in