New Jersey’s holiday weight gain begins today

The bad news is that you might have a lot of leftover Halloween candy around the house that you normally wouldn’t have. It’s tempting to take a little something sweet after dinner or throw a couple of things in your car to snack on in traffic.

Or maybe even keep it in that drawer as your little secret stash through the next couple of months. Holiday weight gain begins around Halloween and ends sometime after the New Year holiday.

Somebody's got to eat that Halloween candy, can't let it go to waste! You know that’s the time we all make resolutions to lose weight. There’s more bad news. We rank second overall behind Texas in average weight gain during the holidays.

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Canva / Townsquare Media illustration

The average weight gain for New Jersey men during the holidays is under a pound, .91 pounds. It’s slightly higher for women at 1.31 pounds. New Jersey is the only state where the ladies have such a large lead on the men in weight gain, although they can take consolation for being in the top 10 leanest.

Well, who could blame us with all of the amazing food we have here in the Garden State? The good news is the average person gains under 2 pounds during the holidays. People in Massachusetts gained the least weight and ranked at the bottom of the list.

Canva / Townsquare Media illustration

That explains why the pilgrims looked so skinny in all of those drawings. Let the holiday weight gain begin. Just keep it under 2 pounds and you’ll be fine. Save me some KitKat bars, please!

One of the Top 50 Candy stores in the US is right here in Jersey

Black River Candy Shoppe in Chester New Jersey was selected in Food Network Magazine's “America’s 50 Best Candy Stores” a couple of years back and the story went viral online earlier this year.

I decided to take a trip down there for myself to see what they had to offer. Right, when you walk in you feel like you are Charlie about to take over the chocolate factory. Black River Candy Shoppe is a cute little candy shop offering hundreds of different types of candy.

They have old-school childhood candy as well as an incredible selection of newer candy varieties. Candy is displayed in old whiskey barrels, and a lot of their candy is sold in bulk by the pound. It is located in downtown Chester right off of Main Street. Check out the photos from my recent visit:

Gallery Credit: Jordan Jansson

This has to be the best farmers market in New Jersey

If you’re looking for a great farmers market, you have to visit the Summit Farmers Market. This year they have over 50 vendors, offering a large selection of great produce from various local farmers, lots of specialty foods and more. There is also plenty of free parking. My dog and I went for a visit last week and took pictures of what they have to offer.

Vendors Not Pictured:

Adventure Kitchen
Angel Planet Foods
Anita's Baked Wonders
Bull 'N Bear Brewery
Fit Fed Puppy
Foraged Feast
Hummus Boss
Jana's Jammy
Java's Compost
Kariba Farms
Louis Organics
Luxx Chocolat
Made with Clay
Mangalitsa
Our Woods Maple Syrup
Roaming Acres Farm
Spice Sisters
Stefan's Polish Foods
Sustainable Haus
Valley Shepherd Creamery
WoodsEdge Farm

The Summit Farmers Market will be open every Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will last until November 20th. The market is located at Park & Shop Lot #1 on the corner of DeForest Avenue and Woodland Avenue.

Below are photos of some of the local vendors joining the farmers market this season:

Gallery Credit: Jordan Jansson

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy only.

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