10/14

Healthy Halloween

Today over at AOL, we are tackling Halloween… but with a healthy twist!  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and as Brooks is getting older I need to be a bit more deliberate on how I balance out the overwhelming amount of sugar and candy that surrounds us this time of year.  Gone are the days when I could do a bait and switch of a cracker for a cookie.  Below are MY tricks and treats on how to survive Halloween without having sugar fueled zombies on your hands

Tip #1:  Feed your child a good healthy meal BEFORE you hit the mean streets for trick or treating.

A hungry kid is not a good thing especially when there’s a bag of candy at their fingertips.  I know this is a simple and really basic rule but it is SOOO easy to get caught up in the rush and hubbub of getting out the door for trick or treating!!  Prepare ahead of time; order in, whatever it takes to make sure you’ve got your little ones belly full of good eats before you brave the wilds of Halloween town.

Tip #2Make sure your child’s loot bag is NOT gigantic.

Remember when were kids and would use a pillowcase and not return home until that bad boy was filled to the brim?  No wonder you would end up with a bellyache at the end of the night! Make sure your bag fits the size of the child.  The smaller the bucket the better off you all will be.

Tip #3The Switch Witch.

The jury is still out on the switch witch but I have to say from one witchy poo to another, I think she’s got it going on.  The Switch witch is a good witch that visits your home on the night of Halloween and takes candy and replaces it with a gift.  You can really tailor this to suit your family and make a little tradition out of in and in some cases the child writes a letter to good ole “SW”, similar to a note to Santa, requesting a particular item.

Tip #4 I think the goal with any of it is to try and teach your kids moderation.

I think something we may try this year is setting the candy aside and every night for dessert Brooks can choose a couple of pieces of candy from his Halloween stash.  One of my good girlfriends goes this route and it seems to work well with her brood.

Tip #5 Something that is VERY simple and easy is to skip the candy completely

Wait a second… before you start throwing rotten eggs at my house, I’m NOT handing out toothbrushes or poison apples.  I’ve got some great suggestions as trick or treat loot alternatives.   Halloween glitter tattoos, fun pencils, pretty much anything glows in the dark.  Something that is sure to score points with parched trick or treaters is a nice ice-cold juice box.  What ghost or monster wouldn’t enjoy a little refreshment as they make their way down the lane?  Lunch box sized snacks are also PERFECT to give out… snack packs of Annie’s cheddar bunnies, Fruit leather, pretzels… this list goes on and on. 

Now that I’ve got you headed to Halloween town with some of my healthy minded tips, please check out my AOL video of how to make a veggie skeleton that your little ghouls and goblins will love to gobble up!  I’ve included a picture of my skeleton that you can print out and use as a template.

Veggie Skeleton

Print out the picture below to use as your template for making your crudité boned fellow.