Candy Archives • D-Mom Blog

October 5, 2020 by Leighann

Don’t Get Spooked…Tips for Navigating Halloween With Type 1 Diabetes or Food Allergies

Don’t get spooked just thinking about Halloween. Your kid with diabetes (and/or food allergies) can definitely haunt the neighborhood and indulge in treats. Join me, leading up to Halloween, as I share some ideas and experiences with All Hallow’s Eve.

Image: Pixabay

Non-Candy Treats

Of course, kids with diabetes can eat candy, but not every parent wants their children eating a ton of it. So for parents looking for some alternatives for class parties, to hand out to trick-or-treaters, or to swap out for some of your child’s giant stash, here are some non-candy ideas that my kids have liked. Read 15+ Non-Candy Ideas for Trick-or-Treating and Halloween Parties.

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Candy Carb Counting

Here’s a printable candy carb count list from the ADA with many Halloween faves.

Looking for a very low carb, fun treat to make with the kids? Try out my 2-Carb “Candy Corn.”

Low Blood Sugars

And don’t throw out all that candy, save the high sugar candies such as Smarties and Skittles for treating low blood sugar. Did you know that Smarties and glucose tabs have the same first ingredient dextrose?

I’ll be paying much more attention to Q’s blood sugar as we make our round of the neighborhood this year. Read what happened last year: Where Are The Sour Patch Kids When You Need Them?

Craft Projects

Did you rise to the challenge of making Halloween decorations with your used OmniPods or other medical waste? Read how you can make Spooky sPODers and PUMP-kins.

And here’s a brand new Halloween craft tutorial for cute ghosts, bats, and Frankenstein over at Disney’sT1 Everyday Magic website.

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Celiac Disease and Food Allergies

“Every child should be able to experience the joy and tradition of trick-or-treating on Halloween. But kids with food allergies are often left out of the fun since most candy is off limits.” Read why I support the Teal Pumpkin Project.

We’re dealing with food allergies and diabetes this year. Here are a few treats we found, some of which are nut-free and even gluten-free. Read Treat Finds.

Here’s how I divvied up the candy last year when we got home: Halloween Haul.

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Guest Posts

Did you happen to read the article “Enjoying Halloween When You Have Diabetes” in the October issue of the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Forecast Magazine a couple of years ago? I offer a few tips there as well.

Happy Haunting!

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More posts about Halloween

More posts about holidays

More posts about allergies

March 24, 2019 by Leighann

Easter with Type 1 Diabetes: Tips for Parents

Don’t fret about Easter… here are some resources that will help you get through it, especially if this is your first holiday with type one diabetes. Includes over 100 non-candy Easter basket ideas!

Photo: Pixabay

Non-Candy Ideas: Don’t want to fill your child’s Easter basket with a ton of sugar? I have a creative list of over 100 non-candy items that you can give your child… for kids from preschool to high school!

Check out my list of 100+ Non-Candy Easter Ideas.

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Counting Jelly Beans: I like to buy a big bag of jelly beans and divvy them up into 15-carb portions. Q thought the Easter Bunny was on his game! Perfect for treating low blood sugars.

Learn why I Count Jelly Beans for Easter.

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The Thrill of the Hunt: In this excerpt from Kids First, Diabetes Second I share why holidays like Easter aren’t always about the candy and food but are about the experiences.

Find out why kids like The Thrill of the Hunt.

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Less Stress, More Happiness: I have an entire chapter in my book Kids First, Diabetes Second about holidays and celebrations that involve food.

Read more about my book Kids First, Diabetes Second and purchase your own copy.

December 15, 2018 by Leighann

Winter Holidays With Diabetes

Here are some tips for celebrating winter holidays, such as Christmas and Hanukkah, when your child has type 1 diabetes, including non-candy stocking stuffers, carb counting for candy, and gift ideas for T1D kids and the school nurse.

Image: Pixabay

The holidays can be daunting, especially for parents of children recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. You may think that you need to change some of your traditions, especially if they are food-based. The reality is that you can make almost anything work.

You just got through Halloween and Thanksgiving. Maybe things went smoothly; maybe you learned a thing or two.

Here are some posts that I have written that I think will be particularly useful for newly diagnosed and veteran diabetes families alike.

Stocking Stuffers and Gift Ideas

Don’t forget to thank the school nurse or other staff who care for your child when you are purchasing holiday gifts for teachers. Read 10 Holiday Gift Ideas For School Nurses.

I always find holiday candy in our pantry months later that has gone uneaten. I’m sure at Valentine’s Day there will still be some leftover Christmas candy. Many parents (and this has nothing to do with diabetes!) are reducing the amount of candy they give their kids and substituting non-candy items. Read 30+ Non-Candy Stocking Stuffer Ideas.

Teens aren’t too old for holiday traditions and stockings stuffed with goodies. Read Non-Candy Stocking Stuffers…for teens!

Got a busted pancreas? How about a new stuffed one. Need a way to carry supplies? How about a cute bag. Here are some gift ideas for kids with diabetes. Read Holiday Gifts For Kids With Type 1 Diabetes.

Holiday Decorating

Why not deck the halls with ornaments made from diabetes supplies such as used pods? We’ve been hanging these ornaments on our tree year after year. Read Holiday Decorating With Medical Waste.

We had so much fun creating these crafts for T1 Everyday Magic. Take a look at the tutorials for making reindeer ornaments and a wreath using diabetes supplies. Read Turn Your Diabetes Trash Into Holiday Treasures on the T1 Everyday magic website.

Image: Pixabay

Carb Counting and Christmas Candy

Much of the food served at Christmas and other winter holiday celebrations is the same as that served at Thanksgiving. Here is a list of carbs counts. Read Carb Counting At Thanksgiving.

I was surprised to find out that Pez and mini candy canes don’t have a lot of carbs. Read Pez, Oh Yes, We Have Santa Pez and Candy Canes: Not So Many Carbs, Either.

Advent Calendars

My kids love counting down to Christmas with an Advent calendar, though these days they like it filled with Legos! The inexpensive chocolate-filled Advent calendars have surprisingly little carbs for each piece of chocolate. (Read the nutrition label if you purchase one.) Read Counting Down to Christmas and Advent Calendars: All the Countdown, Not So Many Carbs.

Easter with Type 1 Diabetes: Carb Counting Jelly Beans

Portion out 15 carbs worth of jelly beans at Easter for easy carb counting and a fun way to treat low blood sugars.

Photo: Pixabay

Q: I’m having a bag of jelly beans. How many carbs?
Me: 15.
Q: Whoa! The Easter Bunny is good!

It’s no coincidence that the snack-sized bags filled with jelly beans in the eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny have 15 carbs each.

I could have just thrown some jelly beans into each egg, but I found that a few minutes of extra prep save me time and energy later. Fifteen is a number that’s drilled into our heads when it’s come to diabetes management (rule of 15s: give 15 carbs, wait 15 minutes, check blood sugar, repeat as needed). Fifteen is a number I can easily remember if Q asks me how many carbs are in that bag of jelly beans. And she can use a bag of jelly beans to treat a low if she wants to have something other than juice.

Image: D-Mom Blog

More Resources:

100+ Non-Candy Easter Ideas

Counting Jelly Beans For Easter

Kids First, Diabetes Second Book (There’s a chapter called “Less Stress, More Happiness” that talks A LOT about these types of issues.)

The Thrill of the Hunt (excerpt from Kids First, Diabetes Second)

Snack Table Save

Q’s girl scout troop was in charge of a fun night at her school and the girls stayed after school to decorate and set up. They ate a quick early dinner, did about 10 minutes of homework, and then each had a one-hour shift running the stations.

While Q was at the “fishing” game, she told me that her CGM had alarmed and that she definitely felt low. Her CGM showed a number in the 60’s or 70’s with double arrows down, meaning that she was tanking quickly.

Instead of looking for her supply bag to forage for a juice box or glucose tablets, I headed straight to the snack table where I remembered seeing a bowl of Smarties.

I grabbed three rolls and headed to the fishing game where I tossed them at Q and told her to eat them all. (Normally she would start with two rolls.)

Most kids at the party were eating the Smarties as candy, but for us they are medicine.

Halloween Party Smarties

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Carb Counts of Candy

Easter with Type 1 Diabetes: The Thrill of the Hunt

With Easter approaching quickly I thought I would share an excerpt of my book Kids First, Diabetes Second. There is an entire chapter devoted to helping kids with diabetes enjoy the same experiences as other children including playdates, sleepovers, camping, amusement parks, and holidays. We all know that there is more and more emphasis put on food at the holidays. Here are a few tips that might help get you through Easter. If you have more ideas, I would love to hear them in the comments.

Photo: Pixabay

Chapter 7: Less Stress, More Happiness

With all the added tasks and concerns we have as parents of a child with diabetes, it’s easy to get caught up in the details of daily management and lose sight of the fact that your child is still a child—with all the enthusiasm and curiosity that entails. He or she may have diabetes, but it’s important for long-term well being to have normal childhood experiences. Playtime, parties, holidays, and sports are supposed to be fun but, let’s face it, diabetes adds a challenge to these rites of childhood. So, how do you balance caring for your child’s health and letting them just be kids? I have a few suggestions.

Easter: The Thrill of the Hunt
On Easter, our focus is on fun. The Easter Bunny leaves a note for the kids with clues as to where he hid surprises. The kids grab their Easter baskets and follow the clues. At each location there is one item for each child. These include non-food items such as a book, sidewalk chalk, a toy car, or small plastic animal, plastic eggs filled with coins, and, of course, it culminates in finding a chocolate bunny!

I know your first thought was of that chocolate bunny. Kids delight in getting a chocolate bunny. The key is not letting them eat it all at once. When we let Q have a little chocolate as dessert over the next week, we break off a piece of it and weigh it, using carb factors to calculate how many carbs in each piece. (Refer to the section on carb factors.)

We also go to a big Easter egg hunt in our town every year. I treat it similarly to Halloween, allowing her a few treats over the next few days, and then getting rid of the rest of the stash. While a big part of Easter celebrations is the candy, you will find that it’s more about the thrill of the hunt.

JUST AS SWEET

Here are some alternatives to candy:
Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars
My Little Pony or Littlest Petshop
Books
Puzzles
Sidewalk chalk
Bubbles
Plastic eggs filled with a handful of change
100+ Non-Candy Easter Ideas

Learn More

If you’d like to learn more about the book, you can read more on the Kids First, Diabetes Second book page. It’s available widely in print and as an eBook from book sellers such as Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and IndieBound. And if you do read it and find it to be a valuable resource, I would greatly appreciate if you could write a review on any of the online retail sites. Thanks!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to booksellers.