Tips for a Healthy Halloween

Avoid the sugar crash of Halloween candy and STILL have a spooky, fun-filled holiday!

Halloween weekend can wreak havoc on a healthy lifestyle...if you let it. Mounds of chocolate, candied apples, and candy corn paired with very little activity can lead to a disastrous weekend for the health conscious parent.

Follow these Halloween Tricks and Treats to make this weekend a healthy, spooky affair:

- Use sugar-free or low calorie hard candy in your candy bowl.
- Opt for chocolate with 80% or more dark cocoa (studies have shown in aids in lowering blood pressure and raising good cholesterol)
- Make it an active weekend for your kids and their friends. Plan a Halloween dance party for the neighborhood children, a biking adventure, or even a walk around the neighborhood.
- Offer healthy snack alternatives such as trail mix bags, almonds, cereal bars, or protein bars during.
- Limit the amount of candy your kids can eat throughout the day. Make 4-5 pre-packaged bags of 2-3 small pieces of candy. Give them one bag a day to be eaten around lunch time after their whole food meal (so as to avoid binging on candy right before going to sleep).
- After you ration the Halloween candy for 7-10 days, throw away the rest! Having extra candy in the house is an invitation to you and your kids to binge on chocolate. Out of sight, out of mind.

Make this Halloween weekend a healthy, safe, and fun occasion. You may be labeled the “health nut mom” of the neighborhood, but your kids, their neighbors, and their parents will thank you in the long run! It’s not about a weekend of binging on candy; it’s about having a healthy, happy family.

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