Hey there!

Purim is just around the bend! Can you believe it? Which kid doesn’t like Purim? You get to dress up, be happy, eat a meal and of course there is a lot of candy… and that’s the part that I want to talk about.

I’m sorry for bursting your bubble, but even on Purim eating as much candy as you want is kinda the same as eating as much candy as you want on a regular day… Purim is not some sort of magical day that you can eat tons of candy and still feel fine. Of course on Purim we all indulge and eat more sweet things than usual but you don’t have to eat it all on the one day, you can spread it out.

Yes it’s hard to stay healthy on Purim, so if you get tons of mishloach manos and don’t know what to do with it all, here are some tips:

1. Choose one candy that you really like and that takes you a long time to eat (think a lollypop), and eat that one slowly on Purim. Take a lick here and a lick there, it will last you ages. On Purim day you don’t have to eat many sweet things since there is a meal that will fill you up. (Not to mention that this year Purim falls out on Friday, so you want to save your appetites and candy for Shabbos as well.)

2. Divide the rest into categories, things that you can take to school, i.e. pretzels, popcorn, etc., those you can save for school. The second category should be things that have more sugar in them and you don’t usually eat on a weekday for fun. Think chocolate, snack bags, hamentashen, and any types of pastry and cake. Those you can save for Shabbos. Then all the rest of the junk (probably things filled with food coloring, sugar and chemicals) you can throw out and ask your parents to give you something instead (like a prize or some money, see if they agree first!). Or else you could trade with your friends for better- for- you food. (I don’t advise that though, since then your friends end up with all of the junk!)

3. Once you’ve divided it all into categories and have decided what to save for when, you can do a huge trading game with your siblings. (The ones old enough to do it for fun and not get upset). Those are such fun! Just don’t do this on a hectic Friday, save it to do after Shabbos. How do you do it? Each person puts all of their nosh (candy) and you start swapping! (I’d like two chocolates for that bag of popcorn please… etc.)

4. Some people give out snacks that are especially kosher for Pesach. Save those!!! You’re going to want something to snack on during Pesach, so this can be it!

I hope those tips helped, please tell me how things work out in your household!

Have a happy, healthy and delicious Purim!