Every Halloween, my mother prepared a hearty, nutritious, stick-to-the-ribs dinner. Her theory was that if she fed us a filling, nutritious meal before trick-or-treating, we would eat less candy when we came home. I polled many moms for this article, and many said that in spite of Halloween being an exciting day, all agreed that to help prevent children from eating too many sweets, it is important to take the time to prepare a wholesome dinner. You can accomplish this by planning the weekend before Halloween.
A nutritious beginning
Casseroles, meatloaf, soups and stews have varied ingredients, can be made ahead of time and are healthy, hearty choices. Children can assemble tacos or burritos on their own and are also fantastic choices that offer a variety of ingredients. Halloween is a great time to utilize the slow cooker, and not only is this method of cooking convenient, the combinations are endless and the results are delicious. The key on Halloween is to try to lessen the carbohydrate intake — save preparing or ordering pasta or pizza for another occasion. Practice balance and moderation on festive occasions.
Healthy Halloween treats
Selecting healthier treats is a responsible choice parents can make for children. Treats don’t have to be candy. Stickers, glow bracelets or glow necklaces, and bubble wands are some popular non-food items. When selecting sweets, try to stay away from candy that is made with high fructose corn syrup. Healthy options include individually packaged cereal bars, small boxes of raisins, miniature juice boxes and snack-size pretzels, (Snyder’s pretzel brand is selling Halloween-themed 1/2-ounce bags of pretzels), and Whole Foods brand 365 carries a variety of all natural fruit strip flavors. These are healthier, naturally sweetened alternatives favorable to standard candy made with high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, sweeteners and colors.
Organic trick-or-treat choices
» CLIF Kid bars (available from most major health-oriented grocery stores) carry several lines of organic, great-tasting nutritional choices. CLIF Kid Organic Twisted Fruit is made with real organic fruit and comes individually wrapped in several kid-friendly flavors.
» Also available from CLIF Kid is the Organic ZBaR. The ZBaR is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, valuable antioxidants and fiber. Popular kid-friendly flavors are Honey Graham, Chocolate Brownie, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip. Another reason to support Clif Bar & Cos., is that it is committed to sustainability and work diligently to reduce its footprint on the planet from the field to the final product.
» For Halloween-themed candy, College Farm Organic Naturepops (collegefarmorganic.com or 800-367-2441) offer all-natural lollipops available in two flavors, chocolate and citrus blast. The pops are gluten-free and made without corn syrup, nuts or trans fat. Not only does the Halloween giver benefit from handing out organic, all-natural Naturepops, the Earth gets a treat too the wrappers are compostable.
Limiting Halloween loot
Parenting expert Kristan Leatherman, of Chico, Calif., said, “To reduce the power struggles over your children’s Halloween loot, parents can offer choices around how much candy their kids get to eat.”
This is the time to encourage moderation. Allow children to pick three to four pieces of candy they can have when they get home. Limit their intake to a few pieces each day for the next week. The rest of the candy can be donated or thrown away.
The choice you make for your children based on the candy you provide and the limit you put on their intake is truly a Halloween treat only you can control.
Kerry Dunnington, food columnist and author of “This Book Cooks,” is passionate about food that reflects the season, nutrition, color, balance, texture and variety. Catch her column biweekly in Healthy Life.
Shecan be reached at [email protected].
