As the Halloween season approaches, children look forward to finding the best costume, creating Halloween crafts, and consuming large amounts of Halloween treats, especially candy. As a parent, you worry about your kids developing unhealthy habits and sugar overload. You don’t want to deal with kids who are sugar high or having to make plans to the dentist the following day.
This forces you to make the tough call of saying “no!” to too many sugary treats. Fortunately, there are healthier alternatives to Halloween candy that you can feed your kids and neighborhood kids as a hand out to trick-or-treaters. Such include;
Individually-wrapped Treats
Most parents are hesitant when it comes to allowing their kids to enjoy anything that is not individually wrapped. Kids enjoy discovering a few random non-candy treats in the sack. Instead of giving out candy this year, you can try raisins, juice boxes, vanilla wafers, baked chips, sugar-free gum, popcorns, and cereal bars. These can help prevent tooth rot in your kids and in your neighborhood’ kids.
Glow sticks
Kids love these glow-in-the-dark sticks and can choose them over candy. They also come in a variety of colors for them to choose from and trade. The best part is that the life of a glow stick is temporary. Thus, kids make the most out of them since they are not destined for the clutter pile.
Temporary tattoos
Temporary tattoos are an excellent option for a Halloween treat and have the same allure as stickers. They end up washing in a day or two; hence instead of gorging up on candy, kids prefer enjoying them as the first activity when they get back home.
Halloween themed straws
Fun straws encourage kids to stay hydrated. Even better, attach them to small bottles of water with flavored drinks. Hit the dollar store and pick customized straws with Halloween themes, which are healthier options to candy.
Hand out small, plastic novelty toys
Toys are a great alternative to candy since they last longer and cannot be consumed, meaning no teeth rot. Include small plastic dolls, army toy soldiers, and building blocks in your Halloween treats to spice up the kids’ holiday season.
Banana ghosts and orange jack- o-lanterns
Halloween treats necessarily don’t have to be candies, toys, and costumes. You can also make it more fun with fruits while looking out for the health of your kids at the same time. It takes less than 5 minutes to create banana ghosts and orange jack-o- lanterns. Stick a few mini chocolate chips into half a banana and freeze them. Frozen bananas have the texture of ice cream. Also, draw a cute little jack-o-lantern face on your oranges, with no carvings required.
Date caramel
For a healthy Halloween party, this naturally sweet date caramel can spice up everything. Dip in sliced apples and serve them to your kids. Date caramel is a great alternative to candy, as it is natural and sweet, and beneficial to the health of your kids.
Halloween cupcakes
Top your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe with sweet potato frosting. Since sweet potatoes come in two colors, purple and orange, it makes them perfect for Halloween. They also work well with frosting since no artificial food dyes are required.
Homemade butterfingers
If you are looking for something that has a similar taste to candy, go for homemade butterfingers. They are crispy, peanut buttery candy bars that taste ridiculously authentic. They consist of all-natural ingredients which are beneficial to the health of your kids.
Fruit snacks
Organic fruit snacks like Annie’s homegrown fruit snacks satisfy your kids’ teeth without giving them a sugar overload. Fruit snacks are mainly made from fruit extracts without any artificial dyes. This makes them healthy to consume and a better alternative to candies.
As much as kids look forward to consuming large amounts of candy during Halloween, it doesn’t mean that they should spend the whole day eating sweets. Instead, you should limit the amount of candy to be consumed each day, to help prevent tooth rot and sugar overload, which can cause more serious health problems. Try swapping up with Halloween treats such as fruits, small plastic novelty toys, and healthy smoothies.
