How to Stay Healthy During Halloween

Fill Up First

• It is important to eat a healthy meal before a night out of trick or treating. It can help reduce the temptation of eating the candy while walking door to door.

Bag the Monster Bag

• Pick a small bag for your child to carry their candy in while they walk around the neighborhood. Do not use the pillow case method. They can really fill that up with a lot of candy and sweets. Encourage your kids to take one piece of candy from each house, since they may have several more houses in their neighborhood to visit. They will still receive enough candy at the end of the night if they stick with one candy per house.

Get Moving

• A great way to make Halloween fun and healthy is to plan fun family activities for everyone to enjoy. For example, you can bob for apples, or pumpkin decorating. Try to have them walk house to house. You may have to drive to get to certain neighborhoods but from there drop them off and have them walk. After all the fun of trick or treating is over you can come home and continue the fun Halloween activities with friends and family.

Look before you eat

• It is important to always check all your treats before eating them. Keep them away from anything that may be questionable to avoid getting sick. Also, checking the treats would be good to do for kids who may have a food allergy. You don’t want your child to accidentally eat a peanut butter cup when they are allergic to peanuts.

Have a plan

• This time of year, Halloween, is a good time to educate your kids on the importance of moderation and making smart, healthy choices. Make a plan before the child leaves on how much candy they can take at each house, what they can keep, and eat.

Healthy treats

• Clementines, blood oranges, or oranges decorated like pumpkins
  • Feel free to decorate them like Jack-O-Lanterns
• Snack-sized goodie bags filled with an assortment of pretzels, popcorn, dried fruit or veggies, trail mix, nuts, or pumpkin seeds
• 100% real fruit strips, ropes
• Monster teeth
  • Using peanut butter, yogurt covered berries, and apples
• Boo-Nana Pops
  • Dunk the bananas on a stick in white chocolate and put chocolate chips on for the eyes
• Spider Bites
  • Peanut butter sandwich cut in a circle with 4 pretzels on each side for the legs

 

 

Source: https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/how-to-have-a-healthy-halloween

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