2005 Year in Review

Tricks for Making Halloween Healthful

Source: Carol Schlitt, Extension Educator, Nutrition and Wellness, cschlitt@uiuc.edu Halloween can be a challenging time to get healthful food into small bodies. "It's not impossible," says Carol Schlitt, nutrition and wellness educator with University of Illinois Extension. "But when it comes to all the high-sugar treats, parents may need a few tricks to encourage healthy eating habits this time of year." Schlitt offers these tips for a healthy Halloween:

- Maintain regular meals, including supper, before children go trick-or-treating.
- At Halloween parties, include healthy snack choices such as popcorn, pretzels, fruit juice punch, fruit/vegetable chunks with dip, and cocoa made with lowfat milk. The healthy choices will help balance out the candy.
- When passing out goodies to trick-or-treaters, it's okay to give non-candy treats, too. Pencils, stickers, small toys, sugarless gum, prepackaged dried fruits, and individual bags of pretzels make for a better balanced treat bag. Rest assured, the children will still get plenty of candy!
- Set a policy for eating trick-or-treat candy. It's better to eat it moderately over several days as a substitute for dessert or a few pieces along with a healthy snack. Eating candy non-stop throughout the day will dull appetites for more healthful food choices.

by  Editor, theCity1.com
October 17, 2005