Thursday, November 1, 2007

NOVEMBER 1, 2007

THE HEALTH LOWDOWN ON HALLOWEEN CANDY
3 Musketeers Miniatures: Contain at 24 calories and less than 1 gram of fat per piece.

Milky Way Minis: Contain 38 calories and 1.6 g fat per piece.

Snickers Minis: Contain 42.5 calories, and 2.25 grams of fat per piece.

2 Twix bars: Have 80 calories per cookie, so two Twix bars have 160 calories.

One Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkin: Has 180 calories!

Almond Joy and Mounds: Both have 200 calories for 3 Miniatures. They also have a lot of saturated fat (8 grams per serving each), which is more fattening than a Quarter Pounder (7 grams of saturated fat).

Two packs of Fun Size M&Ms: Have 180 calories and 8 grams total fat, 5 grams of which are saturated fat.

5 mini Kit-Kats: Have 210 calories; 12 grams of fat; 8 grams saturated fat

1 candy corn: Has 6.36 calories

Hershey Kisses: Each one has 22 calories.

Twenty Peanut M&Ms: Have 220 calories. That said, the peanut M&Ms have a little more nutritional value (4 grams of protein and less saturated fat) so if you are craving these treats, don't worry. It's only Halloween once a year.

MANAGE THE SUGAR RUSH
· Feed ’em real food first! Don’t send kids out hungry. Make sure they have a full dinner before they eat dessert.

· Lose extracurricular sugar: Pay special attention to the amount of sugar your kids are ingesting from other sources during the day — avoid soda and sugary cereals since you know they’ll be eating lots of candy.

· Get them exercising: Have your kids walk and walk and walk …

· Let them enjoy their candy: Halloween and candy go hand in hand, so let your children enjoy the one-day sugar rush by putting a cap on the total amount that they eat. Wait until they get home from trick-or-treating to dig in. (I allow my own kids five favorite pieces.) You may also want to have them count out 10 extra favorites to save for the following few days. Then establish a system, perhaps one piece with their lunch and one after dinner.

· Get rid of your leftover candy by November 1: Donate to a local charity, school drive or church. Give to your doorman, if you live in an apartment. Leave goodie bags in the mailbox for your postman, or in the milk box for your milkman. If you still can't get rid of it, dump it. Don’t feel guilty.

THE REAL COST OF MARRIAGE
Love isn't easy, and it sure as heck isn't free. A 50-year marriage will run you a cool $590,400. Make it count.

But first, our sources:
· National Greeting Card Association
· National Restaurant Association
· Forbes.com
· Broadway.com
· CNNmoney.com
· TravelDailyNews.com
· Unity Marketing
· Mintel
· Hotelinteractive.com
· American Pet Products Manufacturers Association
· Planned Parenthood
· National Retail Federation
· National Association of Theater Owners

What You'll Give Her: Flowers
Cost in a Year: $300
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $15,000

What You'll Give Her: Cards for all the usual reasons
Cost in a Year: $21
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $1,050

What You'll Give Her: Dinners out
Cost in a Year: $2,526
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $126,300

What You'll Give Her: Expensive dinners to apologize
Cost in a Year: $700
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $35,000

What You'll Give Her: Theater, movie, concert tickets
Cost in a Year: $752
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $37,600

What You'll Give Her: Vacations
Cost in a Year: $2,913
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $145,650

What You'll Give Her: Jewelry
Cost in a Year: $1,336
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $66,800

What You'll Give Her: Lingerie
Cost in a Year: $122
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $6,100

What You'll Give Her: Trips to the spa
Cost in a Year: $275
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $13,750

What You'll Give Her: Haircuts, grooming products for you
Cost in a Year: $1,000
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $50,000

What You'll Give Her: Vasectomy after the kids are born
Cost in a Year: $1,000
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $1,000

What You'll Give Her: Caring for the dog she loves so much
Cost in a Year: $1,266
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $63,300

What You'll Give Her: Valentine's Day
Cost in a Year: $86
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $4,300

What You'll Give Her: Mother's Day
Cost in a Year: $70
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $3,500

What You'll Give Her: Holiday, anniversary, birthday gifts
Cost in a Year: $421
Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $21,050

TOTAL Cost in a Year: $12,788
TOTAL Cost Over a 50-Year Marriage: $590,400