Halloween has become synonymous with candy and sugary sweets, but it’s also a great time to teach your family the "trick" to balancing the gooey candy they love with healthy Halloween eating.

Serving a balanced meal before heading out to Halloween festivities will help keep your trick-or-treater from gobbling up all their candy before they get home.

Feed your family a hauntingly healthy Halloween meal of Inside-Out-Cheeseburgers, Baked Cauliflower Brains and Pumpkin Pie.

Halloween Party Recipes for Kids

Start a new tradition of inviting family and friends to your house for a pumpkin carving pot luck and make festive and fun Halloween party recipes. The kids will love the scary names and the parents will love that the colorful ingredients are rich in nutrients and make great use of seasonal fall flavors.

For more ideas on making Halloween fun without overdoing the candy treats, read our Healthy Halloween Eating Tips.

Other recipes this week like Cauldron of Chili with Spider Bread and Cheesy Spaghetti Squash, or Spiders Nest Dip and Pumpkin Milk Punch help set a Halloween mood without giving up healthy eating. Enjoy…if you dare!

Hectic schedules can make healthy eating a challenge for everyone. And, when something has to give, it’s easy to understand why family meals may fall by the wayside. Yet, family meals can actually lead to better physical and mental health for your children!

Benefits of Family Meals for Children

Frequent family meals are related to better nutritional intake for the entire family -- and improved academic achievement for children. The habits children form early in life will impact their health over a lifetime.

Children who eat family meals consume more fruits, vegetables and fewer snack foods than children who eat separately from their families.

Studies have shown that families eating meals together almost every day generally consumed higher amounts of important nutrients such as calcium, fiber, iron, vitamins B6 and B12, C and E, and consumed less overall fat, compared to families who rarely eat meals together.

A survey of high-achieving teens showed that those who regularly eat meals with their families tend to be happier with their present life and their prospects for the future.

Parent Role Models

Children won’t perceive healthy eating as important if it is not something that they see you doing. Eat and serve sensible portion sizes. Be open to trying new foods and new ways of cooking foods.

Read more tips for parents: Healthy Eating Starts With Parent Role Models.

Keep Your Life Simple With Easy Meals

When time is of the essence, keep meals simple. Take advantage of prepared, nutritious foods. Purchase a freshly roasted chicken from the supermarket or a ready-made sauce or marinade and add it to sautéed chicken, beef or shrimp for a tasty main course.

Reheat a soup or casserole that you made on the weekend. Order a pizza and serve it with a salad!

No matter how simple the meal, take the time to sit down and enjoy it with people you care about. It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with your children and family to talk about their day.

Time spent at the table with friends and family will help your children form positive attitudes about food and eating and creates fond family memories that will last a lifetime.