Halloween: a holiday centered around gorging yourself on chocolate, candy and other sugary treats. As a kid, what’s not to like?
However, as you grow up and have children of your own, you start realizing how dangerous this can potentially be for your kids. The night can result in crazy-high amounts of sugar, fat, carbs and calories being eaten by your kids, giving them a horrible sugar rush and an overall poor night of healthy eating decisions. You finally start understanding what your parents warned you about when you were young.
Children are not going to want to go Trick-or-Treating or go crazy on snacks on Halloween night, that is just not going to happen. But why not try to slightly improve the situation by finding healthier and better alternatives to hand out this year? And no, we aren’t advocating to be the
And no, we aren’t advocating to be the old fuddy-duddy who hands out apples or pennies on Halloween night: that is a good way to get your home Tp’ed or egged. We are simply suggesting some slightly smarter and healthier candy and treat alternatives to hand out.
Dark Chocolate
Yes, believe it or not, chocolate can be good for you, in moderation of course. Dark chocolate is the perfect example of this.
Fiber, iron, magnesium, copper, manganese and potassium. All essential vitamins and minerals, and all that can be found packed full in a serving of dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has also been found to help low blood pressure, is a great antioxidant and can reduce cardiovascular disease. You may even be tempted to steal a piece from your kids!
Of course, at the end of the day dark chocolate is still chocolate and does contain amounts of sugar and calories, so don’t let your kids go overboard. In moderation, dark chocolate can be a delicious, savory and healthy candy alternative that kids will still love.
“Fun-Sized” Snacks
Ok, ok: So you probably realize you can’t get away without serving up any candy. It’s Halloween for crying out loud! But, that doesn’t mean you can be a little strategic about your candy choices.
Always go with “fun-sized” candy. You’ll minimize the amount of sugar and calories in every treat and it is much, much cheaper to go with a big bag of little candies than the full-sized ones.
However, not all “fun-sized” candies are created equal. Some are still bursting with sugar and calories, despite their smaller stature. A few to stay away from: Heath, Kit Kat bars, Nestle Crunch and 3 Musketeers are some of the worst offenders. There are some that limit their negative qualities, however. Almond Joy, Mounds, Payday and even Butterfinger are below 100 calories apiece. You can check out this cheat sheet we found online for more.
Go Nuts!
Handing out nuts this Halloween is a great way to satisfy those crunchy, salty crunchy cravings without piling on all the sugar and calories. Small packs of peanuts are available at stores, or you can prepare them yourself.
Peanuts contain an abundance of vitamins and minerals and are a great source of natural, sugarless energy. Different kinds of nuts carry with them varying properties, but for the most part this holds true across the board.
This opens up better opportunities to also hand out candy and chocolate with nuts in them. The nuts won’t make up the sugar and calories, but candy like Payday or Peanut M&M’s are decent candy health-wise to distribute.
Of course, you can always make your own treats! Randall Beans has plenty of surprising, delicious and healthy sweet treats made with beans like Black Bean Brownies or Guilt-Free Chunky Cookie Dough with White Beans. Check out our recipe page for other great dishes!
Scare up some fun with jars from Randall Beans
