Halloween is a great kid’s day filled with creative costumes, parties, friends and spooky themes. It is also filled with lots of sugary candy treats.

Along with all the candy eating fun that kids enjoy comes tooth decay and weight gain. To avoid being a part of this dilemma, consider giving healthier treats such as:

• Cheese and crackers packages
• Sugar-free gum
• Small bags of pretzels or popcorn
• Fruit roll ups
• Fortune cookies
• Granola bars

Go Natural: If you don’t want to give out sugary treats, why not go natural by visiting your local natural food store. There are a variety of natural candies that could be used as healthier treats.

Homemade Treats: Make homemade treats such as popcorn balls. Remember to wrap the treats and put your name and phone number on the bag for safety reasons.

Alternates to Food Treats: Treats don’t have to be edible - they can also be fun. Think about giving these to trick-or-treaters:

• Glow stick jewelry
• Temporary tattoos
• Scary stickers
• Bouncy balls
• Crayons, pencils, or colored chalk
• Fun erasers
• Play-Doh
• Rubber spiders, worms or creepy fingers
• Pumpkin plastic rings

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Start Halloween off with this delicious recipe for breakfast:

• 1 cup of oatmeal
• ½ cup of pureed pumpkin
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar or maple syrup
• Chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

Prepare oatmeal according to your package directions. When almost done add remaining ingredients. Top with walnuts or pecans for an extra hearty breakfast.

Reference:
Content from the article Healthier Halloween reposted with permission from www.freshbaby.com.