Don’t let added sugar spook you this Halloween. Between school parties, and evening trick-or-treating, your child will inevitably indulge. However, there is no need to fear! Keep reading below to find out how to keep your children’s appetites, and health, on track this Halloween.
This article is written by Noha Waibsnaider
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Concentrate on Healthy Halloween Meals
Making sure your kids eat healthy and filling meals throughout the big day will minimize their desire to gorge on candy. Nutritious and filling meals are also a good idea for parents. This way you are not tempted to snack on your child’s loot. Lean meats, veggies, and whole fruits are all wonderful options.
For snack time, remember to read the labels of packaged snacks to ensure they’re truly healthy and nutrient-rich; not just seemingly so. Many so-called veggie and fruit snacks are loaded with non-additive and unnatural fillers. Other seemingly healthy snacks, such as some yogurts and juices, can also be just as sugar-filled as candy.
Go here for 5 tips on how to get your kids to eat more veggies
Candy isn’t the only treat available
Experts call fruit “nature’s candy” with good reason. Though they contain sugar and satiate sweet cravings, fruits are loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They take longer to digest than candy. Which means that their natural sugars are absorbed slowly and don’t cause the dreaded highs and crashes that affect kids so negatively.
Dried fruits such as mango, pineapple, or even dates, allow for sweet treats in portable packaging; but without sacrificing health. You can also always stand apart from the candy crowd by giving your kids non-edible treats like glow sticks, stickers and small toys for longer-lasting, and healthier, fun.
Teach healthy attitudes toward sweets
If your family generally eats sensibly, your overall pattern of health will have a more lasting impact than one day of indulgence. Don’t overly stress over Halloween treats, as your children may pick up on it and behave accordingly.
Instead, use Halloween as an opportunity to talk to your kids about maintaining a nutritious diet and raise issues of self-control and choices. Involve them in decisions to limit treats or indulge, and come up with a plan that you’re both happy with.
Manage the stash
Once your Halloween celebration is complete, managing sweets in the days following can be equally challenging. One strategy is to practice the “out of sight, out of mind” technique. Place candy in a hard-to-reach, spot so your family isn’t constantly tempted.
In my home, we like to allow our kids to “trade in” their candy for a toy or money. My son usually eats candy on Halloween, and then trades in the rest for a toy the next day. This technique helps kids feel more in control and doesn’t feel like they’re giving something up.
However you choose to practice a healthier Halloween, intentionality involving your children in their own eating decisions will turn a potentially frightful situation into a treat for the whole family.
For more on this topic, check out the full Fall Fun collection
Featured Contributor: Noha Waibsnaider
Noha Waibsnaider is the founder of Peeled Snacks, a maker of organic fruit and vegetable snacks. Committed to organic, clean food, Peeled Snacks makes a variety of vegetable and fruit snacks available in Whole Foods, Target, Amazon.com and grocery stores. Learn more at peeledsnacks.com
Website: peeledsnacks.com
Facebook: @Peeled
Instagram: @PeeledSnacks
