Meals Matter
Meals Matter
About me:
The Meals Matter Blog offers advice and tips on using a positive and realistic approach for meal planning, healthy eating, feeding families and fitness. Posts are written by registered dietitians, staff and guest bloggers of the Dairy Council of California.
Follow Meals Matter on Twitter @mealsmatter
Connect with Meals Matter on Facebook
The leaves are changing color … front yard haunts have begun to appear … bags and bags of fun-size variety candy bags have begun to pop up in grocery stores … what time of the year is it? Halloween! All over the country, children and adults alike anticipate this fun-filled holiday of trick-or-treating, costumes, and parties. With all of the activities going on, it is important to continue to focus on your families’ health and safety.
Because you’ve heard, and probably preached, the idea “don’t eat your candy until after you get home from trick-or-treating” since you were a child, here are a few other healthy and safety tips to think about for yourself and your family during the Halloween season:
- Curb their Sweet tooth: Before heading out to trick-or-treat, serve your kids a Halloween-themed dinner. This way, they can enjoy the Halloween spirit and won’t be as tempted to eat their candy before bringing it home for you to check. Check out our fun filled Halloween recipes.
- When you check your children’s candy, separate the ‘bigger’ or ‘fuller’ sized candies from the smaller ones, so you can properly factor in portion sizes.
- Don’t forget about your furry friends! Candy wrappers can get stuck in your pet’s digestive tract and can cause them to become ill, so be sure you properly toss those wrappers. Make sure not to force a costume upon your pet. What may seem adorable to you may be extremely agitating and discomforting to them. Some pets may not mind, but many may be bothered. If the pet costume has a mask, skip it!
Passing out Halloween Goodies? Try this list of healthy snacks and non-food treats.
Want other things to do with your family besides Trick-or-treating?
- Visit a haunted house or scary maze
- Decorate! Halloween is the new Christmas when it comes to decorations. Go crazy with your front yard haunt with cauldrons, witches, cobwebs, and any other ghostly ideas you can brew up. Thrifty tip: hit all the after-Halloween sales this year to prep for next year, and save plenty of money.
- Visit the pumpkin patch: Make picking pumpkins a family tradition. After you choose the perfect ones, take them home to carve and roast the seeds.
- Make homemade candy or fun Halloween treats for your family and friends: have some tasty fun and explore your creative side!
- Bob for apples and bring back a forgotten classic
- Read a book or two about haunted cemeteries, buildings, or paranormal activity
Have a fun filled holiday, but above all have, a safe Halloween!
Photo by: b3nscott