Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A Healthy Halloween

I have always loved Halloween even if I do nothing remotely close to dressing up. I can say we don't by any means go all out in our household (not motivated until we have a little squirt to scare).  Maybe it's just that it seems like the defining holiday of Fall in Florida.  Or the start of the Holiday Season in general. The last two years in a row Ryan and I created a tiny tradition of ordering our favorite pizza from a shared childhood pizza joint, putting on our only scary sounds CD and answering the door to pass out candy to the neighborhood kids.  This year Halloween is on a Sunday and I am not sure what that means for our little tricker-treaters but I will be prepared.  I don't, however, want to contribute to the massive amounts of refined sugars that no doubt send these children's bodies into a major sugar shock.  Yes, I know, it's once a year but still it just does not make to much sense (not to mention, once a year turns into a couple months worth of food bargaining between parent and child "You can have 5 pieces of candy once you eat a little of your veggies").  So with that in mind I have been racking my brain about a good replacement for the current over priced  preservative filled "Halloween Candy"offered. Turns out it wasn't that hard. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't dare deprive them of the fun and sugar-ish treats of Halloween, after all I don't want to get "tricked" next year.
I thought of making dark chocolate dipped fruit and nuts and  individually packaging them in baggies but let's face it...when their parents are sorting through the candy bag that night looking for needles and unwrapped items one of the 1st things that will go is the unlabeled, homemade, chocolate dipped fruit for fear that it has been laced with something(I wouldn't dare..or would I....mehaha!)
I did not give up there though.  So far I have come up with a couple some great alternatives, two of which involve honey.  Honey happens to be a natural energy booster, helps the immune system (perfect time of year for that) and has been known to heal many other ailments or centuries.  "Yes, Timmy you can have a Halloween treat before school! In fact I encourage it if it is made of honey."

Honey Sticks




HONEY STIX: These are a great alternative.  They come in many different flavors and ironically resemble those dyed sugar "pixie stix". 








Sesame Sticks: These are super tasty and again so much better for children.  They come individually wrapped and are typically easy to find and inexpensive.  They have them at our local Granary in bulk. 







Sugar free. Gluten Free.  Made from natural ingredients.  The kiddies would never know.  These are a bit on the pricey side. I took this picture from Amazon.com where you can order packs of 6 at a discounted rate.











Fruit leathers are also a good sweet treat to pass out.  I found this picture with a quick search on the Internet but most "green" sections of the grocery have their own brand.  Do not mistake these for "fruit roll ups" that can be packed with preservatives and unnatural sweeteners like HFCS. READ THAT LABEL!

1 comment:

  1. you are smart, and clever, and resourceful, but someone might just egg your house for lack of reece's!

    ReplyDelete