Thanks to the frightening amount of sugary candy available, Halloween isn’t usually a holiday that’s synonymous with health, but a little planning can fix that. Follow these five tips to make sure this Halloween is a healthy one for you and your kids!
1. Be a good role model by passing out healthy Halloween treats to the neighborhood kids, and by limiting your own candy consumption.
2. Set limits on the amount of candy your kids eat by encouraging them to share the candy with others or trade it in for coins or small toys.
3. Avoid cavities by limiting sticky or chewy candy that can get stuck in teeth and encouraging kids to brush and floss right away after eating Halloween candy.
4. Fill up on healthy foods first. Before kids head out for trick-or-treating, make sure they eat a healthy dinner to keep them from snacking on candy.
5. Turn candy wrappers into a nutrition lesson – have your kids read the nutrition facts and ingredients lists of different candies to teach them about calories, fat, sugar and “yucky” ingredients such as artificial dyes, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup and more.