Halloween is a very exciting time for children and adults alike, full of costumes, decorations, and of course, plenty of sweets. It's hard not to want to indulge in the sweet treats that come with traditional Halloween celebrations, but at the same time, some of those indulgences need to be balanced out with healthier options. Here's how to do that without losing any of the fun.
Introduction to a Healthier Halloween
Halloween does not need to be a sugar-high fright fest. With some creative thinking and planning, this holiday can be enjoyed with fun and health.
The combination of healthy snacks with old favorites will make this holiday spirit come alive in the minds of individuals as they develop better eating habits.
Innovative Healthy Snack Ideas
Halloween can be a great time to encourage healthy eating by making food fun. Here are some creative snack ideas that are as much fun to prepare as they are to eat:
Ghostly Bananas and Citrus Pumpkins: Dip bananas in plain yogurt, add mini chocolate chips for eyes, and freeze them to make ghostly figures. Peel small oranges or tangerines, and stick a small piece of celery on top to mimic pumpkins.
Creepy Crawler Apple Slices: Skewer sliced apples with peanut butter between each one, forming a caterpillar body. Use cut grapes for the eyes.
Spider Web Veggie Dip: Arrange hummus in a dish and create a web with yogurt. Place sliced olives as spiders throughout the web. Add the healthy platter accompaniments of carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and cherry tomatoes.
These fun snacks can help kids get excited about making better food choices without missing out on the Halloween fun.
Alternative Halloween Candy Options
Provide other treat options to keep sugar consumption in check but not lose the fun of the season for kids:
Nutritious Treats: Pass out low-sugar granola bars, individual trail mix packets, or bags of popcorn. All are lower in sugar and higher in nutrition than most Halloween candy.
Non-Food Treats: Think along the lines of nonedible goodies in the form of stickers or erasers, or for the more active, glow sticks. The sugar could be minimized through this treat, and even the more serious cases with food allergy issues can tolerate these as a safe goodie
Nutriwise Products: If you wish to administer something nutritious, yet satisfy those chocolate cravings, consider the following inclusion: Nutriwise Protein Bars. High protein, and as low as 5 calories per serving; and you get all those great assorted flavors, a healthy Halloweening treat perfect for that bag.
With candy being an almost sure part of Halloween, here are some tips to manage intake:
Eat Before Trick-or-Treating: It's a good idea to have a healthy meal before heading out to trick-or-treat to reduce the temptation to snack on candy throughout the night.
Candy Sorting Ritual: It can be fun to sort candy as a family activity. It allows you to monitor what and how much your child consumes and removes any items you'd prefer they not have.
Set Candy Limits: Determine how many pieces of candy are allowed per day so that there will not be an overabundance of sugar.
Nutriwise.com for Healthy Halloween Options
Nutriwise has a wide range of products that would help balance out the amount of sugary goodies generally consumed during Halloween. This can range from meal replacement, high-protein snack food, and so much more, which are best at keeping hunger under wraps while providing the necessary nutrients needed:
Healthy Meal Replacements: Replace meals with Nutriwise meal replacement shakes for use as smoothies or just a meal before Halloween excitement, to keep you full, therefore not tempted by as much candy.
High-Protein Snacks: Replace traditional candies with a handful of Nutriwise snacks as a filling option that sustains longer intervals instead of fluctuations.
Education in Nutrition and Halloween
Educate the family on moderation concerning the Halloween season and lay an opportunity for lifelong healthy eating habits. Explain to the child why it is so cool to balance fun and being healthy and how fun-making healthier choices can still be fun.
Importance of Balance: Teach a child the importance of balance for a diet that can hold all the nutrients with regard to the amount taken in, and explain that having too much sugar negatively impacts health.
Reading Food Labels: Engage the older kids to read the nutrition labels so they can decide themselves on which treat to take.
Conclusion
Nutrition balance is all about intelligent planning instead of deprivation. By giving in to some healthy choices and keeping a lid on the candies, you would be having fun on this Halloween without depriving yourself and others. Nutriwise is a healthy, convenient product for that Halloween party or other holiday that can match well with any Halloween occasion. Remember, this is Halloween. It happens once a year. Some sweets are okay. But now's a good time to educate your child about balanced nutrition in an entertaining atmosphere.