Healthy Tips and Treats for Halloween

By: Chelsea Wellness Center

October 25, 2016, 2:42 pm - Categories: Nutrition

Healthy Tips and Treats for Halloween

Parties, costumes and pumpkins aren’t the only treats during Halloween. Candy is hard to avoid in the grocery aisle, at the office or at your child’s school. Serve up some healthier options for your family that will trick your taste buds, but won’t ruin your diet.

Dark Chocolate Apples – Create a tasty treat that’s rich in antioxidants by following these simple steps from EverydayHealth.com:

You’ll need: 4 apples, Sticks, 1 cup dark-chocolate baking discs or chips, parchment paper

Directions: Remove the apple stems and insert the sticks into the top of the apples. Melt the dark chocolate baking discs or chips in a double boiler (or just insert metal bowl into a pot of boiling water). When the chocolate has melted, slowly rotate each apple until all sides are covered in chocolate. Place on a tray lined with parchment or wax paper and set in the fridge to cool (Steinhilber, 2015).

Fun Non-Candy Items – To keep your kids from overindulging in sugar you can portion a certain amount of candy with these non-candy,healthier options from active.com (Wellington, 2016):

• cereal bars
• snack packs of dried fruit, pretzels, nut and seeds
• trail mix
• low-fat crackers with cheese or peanut butter filling
• animal crackers
• beef or turkey jerky
• single serve boxes of healthy ready-to-eat cereal
• raisins and chocolate covered raisins
• single serve packets of low-fat microwave popcorn
• hot chocolate or apple cider packets
• small toys and pocket-sized games
• glow sticks
• costume jewelry
• funny Halloween glasses
• false teeth
• miniature magnifying glasses
• tiny decks of cards
• markers
• stickers
• temporary tattoos
• bookmarks
• crayons
• coloring tablets
• paint brushes

Eat a healthy dinner before trick-or-treating – Having a healthy dinner before trick-or-treating will help curb your child’s appetite. Children will eat fewer pieces of candy if they are full (Waxman, 2012). It is recommended to have your children create two piles of candy: one pile of their favorites and one pile for what they would like to give away. The second pile can be donated to charities or hospitals in your local area. The remaining candy should be portioned to 1-3 pieces a day (Waxman, 2012).

These are just a few of the options you can use to create a fun and healthier Halloween for your family.

References

Steinhilber, B. (2015, October 22). 10 Healthy Halloween Treats for Kids. Retrieved from Everyday health: https://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-halloween-treats-for-kids.aspx#04

Waxman, O. B. (2012, October 30). 5 Tips for a Healthy Halloween. Retrieved from Healthland.time.com: https://healthland.time.com/2012/10/30/5-tips-for-a-healthy-halloween/

Wellington, C. (2016, September). Nutrition Tips for a Healthy Halloween. Retrieved from Active.com: https://www.active.com/nutrition/articles/nutrition-tips-for-a-healthy-halloween