You've Got To Taste This

When you're not good with clever costumes and you can't eat candy, Halloween loses a bit of its luster.  I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 12 years old and, since I was at the end of my trick-or-treating career, giving up eating sackfuls of candy was not a huge problem.  Now, unlike way back then, low-sugar candies are everywhere,  but I was still surprised to discover sugar-free Halloween Peeps.  I had mistakenly thought that Peeps were only for Easter, but then saw some pumpkin peeps at the grocery store. Then one of our food stylists told me about the sugar-free version.  No way!

Now I'll confess that I've never been a huge peeps fan, and I understand that most people either love them or hate them. I suspect that true Peeps lovers are incensed about these sugar-free versions (they also have sugar-free Easter peeps), and perhaps they have good reason to be.  But hey, it's about time that those of us with diabetes can at least join in the conversation.

These orange-colored marshmallow pumpkins come in a package of three, and a serving size is 3 pumpkins. They're sweetened with Splenda, malitol, isomalt, and sorbitol and one serving is 60 calories, has 0 grams of fat, and 23 grams of carbohydrate.  Note, however, that all of the carbohydrate comes from sugar alcohols, so you would not absorb that much carbohydrate.  If you've ever eaten many products sweetened with sugar alcohols, you know that they can cause mild stomach problems.

I think these are a fun addition to the Halloween candy lineup, but I actually would prefer a bite of chocolate or some peanuts. I'd love to hear if anyone else has some low-sugar Halloween ideas.