Healthy Halloween Treats
Halloween is just around the corner, and for many adults what starts out as the innocent desire to please the neighbors quickly turns into a candy feeding frenzy the day after. We all know the best way to stick to a healthy eating routine is to avoid purchasing unhealthy food altogether, so here are a few healthy Halloween treats that will stop you and the neighbors from loading up on junk this Halloween.
7 Healthy Halloween Treats
#1 – Healthy Halloween Treats
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.
If you’re already carving out a few pumpkins, why not roast the seeds and give them to the neighbors? Pumpkin seeds contain a decent amount of fiber and protein. Plus they’re very seasonal. You’ll probably have to salt them quite a bit to live up to the neighbors standards, but that’s okay. It’s still a lot better than giving them candy.
P.S. If you can’t be bothered to carve a few pumpkins. Go for sunflower seeds. You can buy them prepackaged and they are a great healthy Halloween treats.
#2 – Healthy Halloween Treats
Sugar Free Gum.
Apple Pie - Healthy Halloween Treats
This one’s great if you want to do something that’s as close to real candy as possible. Sugar free gum looks like candy, tastes like candy, but doesn’t have the same calories or sugar as candy. Some kids might not like the lack of sugar, but none of them will be able to tell when you’re throwing what appears to be ordinary candy into their bags.
Nowadays they even have sugar free gum that taste like desserts! My favorite is the apple pie, and it really does have the flavor or an apple pie! :-) Ok, maybe it isn’t as good as the real thing, but it is the second best and they make for awesome healthy Halloween treats.
#3 – Healthy Halloween Treats
Packets of trail mix.
Trail mixes come in all shapes and sizes with varying nutritional value. Although some of them are high in sugar, salt, and fat, most of them are better than candy. As long as you pick one that emphasizes dried fruits and nuts, you’re doing a service to your neighbors. Just make sure you don’t give them to anyone with nut allergies.
#4 – Healthy Halloween Treats
Beef jerky.
This item might cost you a bit more, but it’s worth it because it’s much healthier than a lot of options. Beef jerky is a high protein snack that a lot of kids will love to eat. They might not be excited about it right away, but once they open the package, they’ll dig in. The only issue is the sodium.
#5 – Healthy Halloween Treats
Gummy bears made from real juice.
You could also substitute fruit roll ups. If you’re going to give kids sugar, you might as well give them the unprocessed “good” kind. Some gummy bears are made from real fruit juice, so it’s just like giving Billy next door a glass of apple cider instead of giving him candy. Of course, you would never want to tell him that.
#6 – Healthy Halloween Treats
Pretzels.
This one is both cheap and relatively healthy. Pretzels may have a lot of white flour, but they don’t have all the sugar you’ll find in candy. If you have to choose between sugar and salt, salt is usually the healthier of the two.
#7 – Healthy Halloween Treats
Small toys.
What has zero calories, encourages kids to play, and costs almost nothing to buy in bulk? You got it. Cheap plastic toys. Think about things like Chinese finger traps, decks of cards, yoyos, and whatever else you might find in a Happy Meal. That’s the sort of thing you should be giving out on Halloween.
When I was a kid, we all avoided the dentist’s house because we knew we were just going to get a bunch of toothbrushes and floss. None of these options put you in the position of a dentist. They help to curb childhood obesity, and even though they aren’t 100% healthy, they’re much better than candy.
I hope this post gave you some good ideas on healthy Halloween treats! There’s lots of healthy Halloween treats that didn’t make the list, so if you have some good options, make sure to share them in the comments box below!
Lastly, if my “Healthy Halloween Treats” blog post helped you out an any way, make sure you share it by clicking those funny looking social media buttons. Happy Halloweeeeeeeeen! Muah ha ha haaaaaaaa! :-)
