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Holiday Ideas

Healthy Halloween Day Tips

Halloween is just around the corner, and ~65 million kids will go trick-or-treating.  Many parents are groaning thinking about all
of the candy (SUGAR!),  so let me share tips to lighten the sugar load.

Think NON-FOOD trick-or-treat choices: pencils, erasers, markers, glow sticks, mini rubber balls; sidewalk chalk, stickers, marbles, and bubbles.

Think NON-CANDY trick-or-treat choices: pre-packaged “snack packs” of goldfish crackers or mini pretzels, packs of sugar-free gum, and granola bars.

Channel the Halloween spirit into a learning opportunity… Talk with your kids about what fruits and veggies are orange.  How
do they grow and where? How might they be used? How can you cook them? How do they taste?

If you do plan to give out candy, three suggestions:

  1. Buy what you don’t like so that any leftovers will not be tempting.
  2. Buy small pieces of candy.
  3. Buy a small amount – just what you’ll really need for trick-or-treaters.

Instead of trick-or-treating, plan a neighborhood Halloween party with games and healthy nibbles for kids and parents.

Extra candy?

  1. Freeze it and dole it out during the year.
  2. Cut it up, put it into baggies, freeze, and then add pieces later throughout the year to brownie, cake or cookie batter
  3. Donate to a nursing home or to our military troops.

 

Read more | Comments (0) | October 29, 2011

BOO! It’s Halloween!

Halloween is this Sunday night – what fun kids will be having! Well, adults too with their Halloween parties.  It is estimated that over 65 million kids between the ages of 5 and 14 will be out trick-or-treating.  And parents are probably groaning thinking about all of the candy – code word SUGAR – that will be coming home.

 Halloween candy tips to lighten the load:

 Non-Food Options                                  

  • Pencils, erasers, markers, sidewalk chalk
  • Glow sticks, mini rubber bouncy balls, marbles
  • Stickers, bubbles

 Non-Candy Options 

  • Individual bags of goldfish crax, pretzels, Nilla wafers
  •  Sugar-free gum; granola bars 
  • Mini bottled water

 Candy 

  • Buy what you don’t like
  • Buy small pieces of individual candy – not large candy bars
  •  Buy just the right amount (no leftovers)

 What to do with the leftovers:

  • Freeze it and dole it out. One piece per day, for example.
  • Bring leftovers into work.
  • Crush or cut it up, put it into bags and freeze. Add candy pieces later throughout the year to brownie, cake or cookie batter.
  • Check with area nursing homes – they may accept it for treats for their residents.
  • Some organizations that will take certain types of candy to send to our military troops.

 Be sure to serve your little goblins a healthy dinner before they head out for trick-or-treating. And think of orangey foods to serve: grilled salmon, baked sweet potato fries, carrot salad and butterscotch pudding. YUM.

Read more | Comments (0) | October 28, 2010

The Gift of Health

This holiday season is the perfect time to give a gift that shows how much you care about your family and friends. Simple stocking stuffers such as Mrs. Dash seasoning, flavorful vinegars or oils, specialty nuts or dark, dark chocolate. Read the rest of this entry…

Read more | Comments (2) | December 21, 2009

Think Fruit!

Let fruits take center stage this holiday season. Seasonal apples, pears and cranberries are flavorful, high fiber and a good source of flavonoids. Read the rest of this entry…

Read more | Comments (0) | December 15, 2009

Stay the Course

YES, you can get through the holiday season without a weight gain. As you dust off those once-a-year recipes that you make for holiday gatherings, continue to use the same healthy ingredients that you choose all year long. This will keep the calories on the lean side. Read the rest of this entry…

Read more | Comments (1) | December 7, 2009

Tis the Season…

to pull out your family-favorite holiday recipes. With Thanksgiving kicking things off next week, and holiday parties and gatherings to follow, now is the time to plan for those occasions. Look over the ingredients in your recipes to see if any can be adjusted to lighten up the calories, sodium, fat or sugar content without reducing the flavor. Read the rest of this entry…

Read more | Comments (0) | November 17, 2009

Celebrate ORANGE

Halloween is the perfect occasion to have an ORANGE-fest. When my kids were young, we planned healthy orange- colored meals on Halloween Day. Read the rest of this entry…

Read more | Comments (0) | October 26, 2009