Trick-or-treating on Halloween is a time-honored tradition for many children. The costumes and decorations seem to get more impressive as the years go by. People become heavily invested in transforming their front lawns into clown mayhem. Others prefer to go all-out with their costumes and let other people go to the extravagant level with home decorations. 

That’s all well and good and enjoyable for all, but we haven’t touched on the hot topic that all parents discuss on this unofficial holiday: candy. As a general rule, it’s wise to have a good balance of healthy food and junk food. For children, proper nutrition is integral for their growth, development, learning, and overall health. Some children have a fairly decent understanding of candy and only need a couple pieces to satiate their sweet tooth. Other kids continue to open wrappers and shove their faces full with any sweet creation they collected while trick-or-treating.

About 89% of children participate in Halloween activities, so it is important for parents to have some tricks of their own. Kids will undoubtedly wonder why they cannot have more treats, so you need a few ideas to avoid sugary meltdowns. Continue reading for some helpful information and a few surprisingly fun and enjoyable treats.

Don’t Forget Halloween Traditions

Candy is but one focal point of Halloween, and we encourage you not to forget other fun traditions. Get your children involved with decorating the house, carving pumpkins, or have them contribute to their own costume creation. That will usually inspire them to carry these traditions through the rest of their lives. Perhaps they become thrifty creative types who go all out on costumes every year!

Find Other Uses For Candy

There are many programs available if you want to donate candy to troops, sell it, or even give it away. If you do not want the candy your child collects to go to waste, you can freeze it or even bake with certain types. Since the holidays are around the corner, you may consider making gift baskets with the candy.

Set Limits

Do not let your child keep the candy in their bedroom. You should keep the candy in a secret location in the kitchen. Children are crafty and may find ways to sneakily steal some candy, especially if you keep it off limits for good. Do your best to divide the Halloween haul into small portions and put limits on the amount your child eats. That way you are not denying them their treasure; rather, you are letting them enjoy it in moderation.

Keep Your Expectations Realistic

Around the time of Halloween, children will eat sweet stuff, be it at school, at home, while visiting a shop, or after trick-or-treating. You may expect some Halloween trading to happen during school lunches. Or perhaps they enjoy a small treat after dinner. Just set expectations that your children will have some candy. Depriving them of that candy may actually cause negative outcomes. 

Halloween lands on October 31, but the entire month is Halloween Safety Month. This is a good time to talk with your children about safety while they are out trick-or-treating. It is also a good idea to educate your children about portion control and the effects of sugar. To help enjoy healthier treats than candy, here are a few fun Halloween-themed recipes. 

Halloween Banana Ghosts And Clementine Pumpkins

A little chocolate never hurt anyone! That is especially true if you pair the chocolate with bananas and clementines. You can’t give these out to trick-or-treaters, but you can make them for your own household!

Click here to make the recipe. 

Frankenstein Avocado Toast

It’s alive! Create a monster avocado toast with this themed appetizer. It’s fun for everyone who sees it and you can get the whole family involved for assembly. Have one person assemble the different parts of Frankenstein’s monsters!

Click here to make the recipe. 

Homemade “Blood” Vial Juices

Pull out the festive stops this Halloween by making these healthy “blood” vials. These are much healthier than classic V8 juices, which are full of sugar. Get in the spooky mood with this “blood” juice that goes great over ice!

Click here to make the recipe.

SHARE:

The post Tricks And Treats For A Healthier Halloween appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

For the majority of Americans, it’s very difficult to eat healthy during the fall. Between pumpkin spice lattes, Halloween candy, and the inevitable Thanksgiving feast, people aren’t necessarily prioritizing salads or smoothies. While eating green salads, chia pudding, zoodles, and more may not be in the cards, starting the day with a green smoothie is very attainable.

To get in the fall spirit, this smoothie is appropriately titled “Green Monster Smoothie.” Why does it have the name it has? Well, the ingredients are ingredient titans, monsters if you will. The nutritional profile is incredibly diverse. The kale supplies the body with dietary fiber, magnesium, antioxidants, and vitamins A, C, and K. Strawberries enhance the antioxidant content of this smoothie and offer a high dose of vitamin C, which boosts immune function. Bananas are excellent sources of potassium and complex carbohydrates, and they help to thicken smoothies.

For the average person, the “questionable” ingredient is the cucumber. Aren’t cucumbers meant for salads? Yes, but they go great in homemade juices and smoothies as well. Cucumbers are naturally rich in water, helping to hydrate the body. Additionally, cucumbers contain a lot of potassium and vitamins A & K. Plus, they are quite refreshing. See for yourself when you drink this smoothie. We can’t promise anything, but you may feel an incredible burst of energy after drinking it.

SHARE:

The post Raw Vegan Green Monster Smoothie appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

Trick or treat? It tastes like candy but it’s healthy and nutritional.

SHARE:

The post Raw Vegan Boonanas For Class Party appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

Pumpkins don’t go out of style the minute halloween is over; we actually think they get more popular with the amazing winter squash varieties. If you plan on cooking with sweet baby pumpkins, don’t discard the seeds because you can clean them for roasting. You can make a pumpkin soup for dinner and have roasted pumpkin seeds as a healthy snack for the next day.

SHARE:

The post The Perfect Roasted Pumpkin Seeds appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

A little chocolate never hurt anybody, especially when pairing it with bananas and clementines. While you can’t give these out to trick-or-treaters, they do make for cute and healthy Halloween snacks.

SHARE:

The post Halloween Banana Ghosts And Clementine Pumpkins appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

If you are cleansing and want to celebrate Halloween without breaking your diet, get creative and festive with these jack-o-lantern bell peppers. Stuff them with your favorite veggies sticks and enjoy the raw vegan ranch dip. When the jack o’lanterns are empty, slice them up and dip them in the “ranch” too!

SHARE:

The post Jack-O-Lantern Bell Peppers Are Spooky Snacks appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

Feel like being Doctor Frankenstein and creating a monster? No? How about little monster toasts? This is a healthy appetizer idea that is fun for the kids and everyone who sees them. Have one person cut the seaweed, someone else can make the electric bolts, and the other can assemble the faces. It’ll be fun and delicious. Plus, you get to eat avocado, which is just the absolute best. You can double or quadruple the recipe to make these for a lot of people.

SHARE:

The post Halloween Food Idea: Frankenstein Avocado Toast appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

Who doesn’t love mushrooms? They are a great source of B-vitamins, vitamin D, and the minerals potassium, zinc, and manganese. These healthy “eyeballs” are a savory and healthy Halloween appetizer. No cannibalism here, people; just delicious and nutritious eating. Wait and “see” how these taste. Ok, that was a terrible joke, but this is a great recipe for the spooky time of year.

SHARE:

The post Stuffed Mushroom “Eyeballs” for Halloween appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

Maybe you’re having a Halloween party and you need to throw together a quick, easy, and healthy snack. Rather than doing the run-of-the-mill party snack like veggies and dip, get in the spooky spirit and have some fun. Make this dip look like a witch’s face. The only sad part is that it doesn’t look like a witch once people dig in.

SHARE:

The post Witchy Guacamole Dip For Your Halloween Party appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

This fun salad is a great, healthy little appetizer for a Halloween themed dinner. The oranges serve as bowls, jack-o-lanterns, and you get to eat the orange in the salad. The lovely citrus goes great with the sesame flavored dressing. You don’t have to go all Michelangelo on the carving. A few triangles and some mouth-looking shape will do the job, and will definitely be a highlight of the meal.

Note: peanuts are pictured, but they are hard on the digestive system so we swapped them for walnuts.

Photo Credit: Cadry’s Kitchen

SHARE:

The post Jack-o-Lantern Salad With An Asian Dressing appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.