Monday, October 29, 2007

Trick or treat?

I've had to think more about Halloween candy this year since we've started Scooter on a gluten-free, casein-free diet. Of course, all of his favorites have milk chocolate, if not also some wheat ingredients. So I made sure to buy some 70% dark chocolate (no milk ingredients) and a selection of candies like candy corn and jelly pumpkins (not Scooter's favorites, but they might tide him over).

But then there's the issue of trick-or-treating. Which is difficult for a number of reasons:
  1. Our complex doesn't organize anything for trick-or-treating. Last year we had 0 kids come by.
  2. We would need to figure out somewhere to go--most likely drive to--if we wanted to give Scooter the full on experience.
  3. If we did hit a large number of houses, we're likely to end up with 90% of his haul being candy neither he not I can eat.
  4. And it's a school night.
Instead, I think we may see if he's satisfied with a trip to our favorite coffee shop. They're decorating for Halloween and it would give him a chance to show off his costume.

The other aspect of the coffee-shop trip I like is that they're collecting non-perishables for Daily Bread.

When I first read about Daily Bread's Fall Food Drive a couple weeks ago, I went through our pantry. Trillian and I had already decided we'd be making the switch in Scooter's (and my) diet, so it made sense to get rid of any gluten-containing items that Trillian knew she wouldn't use before our move. I filled an over-sized tote with mixes and soups and pasta and a number of other things and happily dropped them off on my trip to the grocery store.

But we still have more than we're likely to use in our pantry, and I will gladly pack them up and bring them to the coffee shop so that out little astronaut can drop them off in the collection box.

Reverse trick-or-treating. Less junk food, fewer calories, a cleaner pantry, and a good feeling.

Want more of the nitty-gritty about what we're doing with gfcf? Go check out my Kitchen.

5 comments:

Aliki2006 said...

Halloween night always presents problems for us. We generally don't eat many sweets and end up with way too many. Fortunately, my kids both prefer gummy candy things and not chocolate!

kittenpie said...

Our neighbourhood is a major hotspot for Hallowe'en, so there's no real dilemma. We just keep it to a few houses of poeple that we know so she gets a taste of the experience, and mostly sit around the porch and enjoy giving candy to other kids.

Laural Dawn said...

I love reverse trick or treating! Great idea.
Honestly, Matt would not go for it - and I get more excited than he does. But, whatever. It's still a really good idea.

moplans said...

Sweet!
My friend's son has a dairy allergy and dark chocolate is her secret weapon too.
Bernard Callebaut makes bunnies, choc chips etc if you didn't already know that.
Pricey but worth it.

Mad said...

What a great idea. Miss M went trick or treating with her day care today and she now has enough candy to last 4 years. It's disgusting, really.