How to ensure a healthy Halloween
- col-kate-shumaker
- October 23, 2023
- 606
Little ghosts, goblins and witches will soon come to our doors for trick or treat. The stores are filled with jumbo-size bags of candy and even jumbo-er size sacks for kids to collect said candy. It seems almost impossible to inject even a little bit of “healthy” into this holiday, but let’s try.
Growing up, my mother refused to give out candy for Halloween. She gave out pencils, stickers, tattoos and boxes of raisins. I have followed in her shoes and also refuse to give out candy. My husband and I are always pleasantly surprised to see how excited the kids are with our “different” treats. Interestingly, research done at Louisiana State University several years ago showed kids between the age of 3 and 14 were just as likely to choose a nonfood treat as a food treat.
What can you offer to trick-or-treaters instead of candy? Let’s look at this in terms of food and nonfood items.
Healthier Halloween snacks
—Boxes of raisins.
—Small bags of pretzels.
—Mini bags of microwave popcorn.
—String cheese or individually wrapped cheese chunks.
—Granola bars.
—Sugar-free gum.
—Sugar-free packages of drink mix.
—Crackers/pretzels with cheese/peanut butter.
—Juice boxes.
—Instant cocoa packets.
Halloween nonfood treats
—Pencils/pens.
—Temporary tattoos.
—Stickers.
—Erasers.
—Plastic rings.
—Glowsticks.
—Play-Doh.
—Mini games/toys.
—Bubbles.
—Finger puppets.
—Note pads.
—Coloring books.
—Small boxes of crayons.
These lists are just the beginning. I’m sure you could come up with more items to add. Just remember Halloween trick-or-treating does not have to be all about giving/receiving candy. As an added bonus, nonfood treats can be stored for next year.
If you have littles in your house that will go trick-or-treating, here’s an idea for handling their goodies. Allow your child to revel in their haul and one or two times to eat to their hearts’ (and stomachs’) content. After that, put the candy away and allow the child to eat it at designated snack and meal times, perhaps a few pieces for dessert or a little more with a glass of milk as a snack. The idea is to let the child learn to control their eating. If they can’t, then you get control of the candy, only to be returned to them when they can manage to control it.
Think back to the candy you ate as a child. I’m sure there are some fond memories there. Allow your child the opportunity to create some similar memories for themselves, within a healthy framework. Get ready for Thanksgiving and then the onslaught of holiday candies, cookies, cakes and other goodies. The Holiday Food Olympics are beginning.
Kate Shumaker is an OSU Extension family and consumer sciences educator and may be called at 330-674-3015. Like and follow OSU Extension Holmes County on Facebook @OSUEXTHolmes or visit http://holmes.osu.edu.