Healthy Halloween Treats

After having several patients ask me about healthier options for treats this week I decided to make that the next blog article. However, you may be surprised to read my recommendations for this topic.

A simple Google search will bring up hundreds of easy recipes for healthier snacks and treats for Halloween. I was curious to see what these experts had recommended so I read through several of the articles. Some of the recipes were pretty good and the majority were meant to be fed to your own kids and not handed out during Halloween…I hope. You’re pretty much asking to get your house toilet-papered or worse if you were to hand out green beans or eggs. Yes, you read that right, one site had a green bean recipe. Yummy!!!

So what treats do I recommend? Here’s an answer that you probably won’t hear from most docs. Just go out and have fun. Hand out normal Halloween candy. Let your kids have fun and allow them to enjoy the Halloween candy. However, here’s the important part. Enjoy the Halloween candy…IN MODERATION!!!

I recommend separating the night’s haul into 2 separate piles. The first pile is what you will allow your children to have (and perhaps yourself) and the other pile is thrown away. Don’t skip this part, throw it away. Otherwise, you’ll be tempted to get a piece here and there and the next thing you know the second pile has been eaten.

Here’s the bottom line. Is Halloween candy good for you…NO! Is sugar good for you…NO! But, if enjoyed in moderation then there’s no reason why you and your kids can’t have a fun night Trick-or-Treating. Sometimes as parents we put too much pressure on ourselves to make things perfect. Remember, its ok to have fun sometimes!

Happy Halloween everyone! And don’t forget to throw away that second pile!