Chew On These Halloween Candy Facts
So you started out the week with 6 pounds of Halloween candy, but now there’s only half a bag left to hand out tomorrow night?
Sounds like Dad did the shopping. According to a survey for M&M’s, most men (62 percent) buy the type of candy they like best; only 8 percent get the kind their kids like, compared to 47 percent of moms.
Whatever ends up in the house, almost half of the parents polled admit to sneaking some goodies themselves while passing them out. (The other half, of course, are lying.)
Among the other survey findings:
One in four trick-or-treaters collect their candy in a pillowcase. Another 8 percent use paper bags (primarily girls), while 6 percent go for garbage bags (preferred by boys).
Nine out of 10 kids sort through their candy after they get home, with two-thirds of them putting it in “good” (the kind moms bought) and “bad” (the kind dads bought) piles.
Three out of 4 kids eat some of their candy right away, with half saying they scarf down five pieces or more. And a full 7 percent finish it all the first night - a very full 7 percent.
About 1 in 3 kids hide the candy they don’t eat. (Attention, moms and dads: The most popular stashes are under the bed, 19 percent, and in the closet, 16 percent.)
More than one-third of the kids claim they still have candy left a month after Halloween - presumably, the same ones whose parents lied, too.
Ant acids, anyone?
Those with the true Halloween spirit will bake goodies instead of buying them - like Bug Bites, Beetle Bars and Mealworm Spice Cake.
Those are among the entomological treat recipes offered by the friendly folks from Orkin Pest Control at their spider, er, World Wide Web site (http:/ /www.orkin.com).
Of course, this close to Halloween, your supermarket is probably fresh out of dry-roasted insects. But all you need to do is spread live, cleaned bugs on a baking sheet lined with paper towel and bake at 200 degrees until dry (test by crushing with a spoon).
For the faint of stomach, Orkin notes that chopped nuts can be substituted. But as any connoisseur can tell you, they just won’t taste the same.
Hey, lettuce lips
And for all you kids who don’t keel over from excess candy consumption, Nov. 30 is the entry deadline for the National Salad Head Contest.
School groups can win up to $5,000 by building a “salad head”- human, animal, cartoon character, whatever - made from at least 15 different fresh fruits and vegetables, and sending in a picture. For a copy of the complete rules, contact The Fresh Sheet at the address below.
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MEMO: We’re always looking for fresh food news. Write to: The Fresh Sheet, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5446; fax 459-5098.