Tips and Tricks for Healthy Halloween Snacking
Halloween is known for being a scary time of year, but as registered dietitian nutritionists and Moms what is most frightening about this holiday to us is that the average trick-or-treater consumes about 3 cups of sugar (4,800 calories!) on Halloween night alone. Eeks! And then there’s still all of the leftover candy to consider.
Don’t fret –here are some techniques to try to keep your kids from overdoing it (and to prevent you from letting all the candy around the house from getting the best of you!)
1. Tell your kids in advance how many/much candy you will permit them to have on Halloween night. This way they will know what to expect and pay attention to what they will have without thinking that they can just dive into their Pumpkin Baskets and eat willy-nilly. Tammy tells her twin daughters in advance that they can have two pieces of candy on Halloween night.
This is a good idea for adults too. Tell yourself how many pieces of candy you will limit yourself to. This way you will keep track, have a plan and won’t eat mindlessly or without restraint.
2. Dealing with leftover candy: Keep healthier, yet satisfying treats around the house (AND SEE OUR FAVE LOW-CALORIE CANDY OPTIONS–some are 20-35 calories and chocolate–woohoo!) so your kids aren’t asking for all of their unhealthy Halloween candy throughout the day (and if they do—offer these to satisfy their hunger and sugar cravings in a healthier way.) These options are helpful to have around for adults too!
Menu of Healthy Halloween Treats:
Click here to see our delish swaps for when you want something chewy or when you want something instead of sour candy.
• Popcorn – Popcorn is a perfect healthy snack that can be easily turned indulgent. Toss a few pieces of dark chocolate into the mix and you have a tasty, low-sugar snack packed with antioxidants and whole grains.
• Snack Bars – Some snack bars taste so good they can be confused for candy. KIND bars, made with all natural ingredients, are not only healthy but also available in indulgently delicious flavors like KIND Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt and Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan. They are the perfect treat for kids and also a good source of protein.
• Fruit Covered in Caramel/Chocolate – Freeze bananas and drizzle with a tad of melted dark chocolate or cover apples in homemade, low-sugar caramel. These are decadent treats that are lower in sugar and much healthier than your average candy bar.
• Natural Fruit Snacks/Wraps – Trader Joe’s Organic Fruit Wraps are a perfect example of flavorful snacks and these wraps are 100% fruit and low in sugar.
Fresh fruit—always the perfect, healthy treat to offer.
• Pumpkin and Yogurt Parfait—kids love parfaits, so simply layer fat-free vanilla yogurt with canned pumpkin mixed with Pumpkin pie spice and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Top with a few chocolate chip morsels. (We also like to include a layer of sliced apple that we microwave for 5 minutes with pumpkin pie spice. The sweet juice from the spiced apple makes the parfait even more delish!)
We’re not gonna lie–we love chocolate like any sane person :). We keep frozen fudge bars, Arctic Zero Mint Chocolate Ice Cream and 100 calorie Deep Chocolate Vitatops around too!