Some Halloween treats and tricks to create a more balanced and healthy Halloween experience:
1. Have your child eat a well-balanced dinner before going out trick or treating. This should help decrease snacking during the night.
2. Inspect all candy before your child eats anything. I used to think my parents were paranoid when they did but let’s be honest, more messed up things have happened in this world and better safe than sorry, better paranoid then dead. Throw away anything homemade (who knows if they followed all the proper food safety rules) or anything with a broken seal.
3. Healthier options to pass out besides candy: pretzels, popcorn, whole grain cereal, granola bars, fruit juice based fruit snacks, raisin boxes, juice boxes, toys, floss (just kidding).
4. Healthy Halloween party treats: Popcorn balls, carrot sticks, trail mix, sweet potato/pumpkin based baked goods, homemade candies, apples with nut butter and raisins, fig cookies, Halloween shaped whole grain pasta, oranges/clementines, bananas, black beans, are just some ideas.
5. One really fun and easy way to make anything Halloweenish is making a jack o lantern face out of anything… could be veggies on a pizza, bread, meat, etc.
6. Walk to trick or treat, don’t drive. Challenge yourself with hilly routes! If you’re passing out candy don’t sit at the end of your driveway, make those kids walk to your front door and earn that treat! *Make sure sidewalks are well lit for safety!
7. Moderate candy consumption post Halloween, one piece a day is a good amount. Combine the piece of candy with a healthy snack such as a piece of fruit and have your child eat the healthy snack first!
8. Get rid of extra Halloween candy by serving it in a snack bowl at Thanksgiving. You really don’t want to hold onto it any later than that. Plus one month of candy should suffice for any child (or adult).
9. If you hit the jackpot and ended up with a surplus of Halloween candy, remember you don’t need to eat it all yourself, parents can bring to work to share, or kids can bring to school or afterschool activities.
Remember the real trick of Trick or Treat is tricking your kids to eat LESS candy! Avoiding the stomach ache and cavity aftermath of Halloween by following my rules is your treat!
1. Have your child eat a well-balanced dinner before going out trick or treating. This should help decrease snacking during the night.
2. Inspect all candy before your child eats anything. I used to think my parents were paranoid when they did but let’s be honest, more messed up things have happened in this world and better safe than sorry, better paranoid then dead. Throw away anything homemade (who knows if they followed all the proper food safety rules) or anything with a broken seal.
3. Healthier options to pass out besides candy: pretzels, popcorn, whole grain cereal, granola bars, fruit juice based fruit snacks, raisin boxes, juice boxes, toys, floss (just kidding).
4. Healthy Halloween party treats: Popcorn balls, carrot sticks, trail mix, sweet potato/pumpkin based baked goods, homemade candies, apples with nut butter and raisins, fig cookies, Halloween shaped whole grain pasta, oranges/clementines, bananas, black beans, are just some ideas.
5. One really fun and easy way to make anything Halloweenish is making a jack o lantern face out of anything… could be veggies on a pizza, bread, meat, etc.
6. Walk to trick or treat, don’t drive. Challenge yourself with hilly routes! If you’re passing out candy don’t sit at the end of your driveway, make those kids walk to your front door and earn that treat! *Make sure sidewalks are well lit for safety!
7. Moderate candy consumption post Halloween, one piece a day is a good amount. Combine the piece of candy with a healthy snack such as a piece of fruit and have your child eat the healthy snack first!
8. Get rid of extra Halloween candy by serving it in a snack bowl at Thanksgiving. You really don’t want to hold onto it any later than that. Plus one month of candy should suffice for any child (or adult).
9. If you hit the jackpot and ended up with a surplus of Halloween candy, remember you don’t need to eat it all yourself, parents can bring to work to share, or kids can bring to school or afterschool activities.
Remember the real trick of Trick or Treat is tricking your kids to eat LESS candy! Avoiding the stomach ache and cavity aftermath of Halloween by following my rules is your treat!