Tricks or Treats? Healthy Halloween candy alternatives

Happy soon-to-be Halloween!  If you are like me, and you LOVE Halloween, you probably already started celebrating! I have been dressing up, participating in festivities, decorating my house, and baking all kinds of goodies. I even found a bag of uneaten Halloween candy from my work last year, along with some uneaten candy corn from last season. It was hard to believe I hadn’t eaten those soon after Halloween ended! But truthfully, it just wasn’t as appealing as it had been in the past. Not that I don’t have a sweet tooth – I definitely do – but the processed treats just didn’t taste as good as they used to.

As a kid, I would devour my candy within a week or so. It was soooo tempting!  Everyday I would have multiple pieces, because it was there + I was a kid = no self control! Even when you teach children to use some moderation, it can be quite a big concept for them to understand.

Another thing to remember – just because it’s vegan doesn’t make it healthy to eat – it just makes it animal free candy. Same thing with organic candy – although it is processed less, it is still high in sugar and not necessarily good for you – just better than the original.

So this year, here are some alternatives to candy that children are sure to enjoy well past Halloween.

1)      Raisins – Just kidding, we can get more creative than that.

2)      Play-dough: kids love it! We tried this last year and it was a huge hit.

3)      Small toys: hit up a store and get some small cloth toy balls for the boys.  You can find them pretty inexpensively at a superstore or even dollar store.

4)      Glow sticks: they’ll probably add them to their costumes right away.

5)      Bubbles: it will encourage them to play outside.

6)      Organic fruit snacks: if you must hand out food, go with something similar to candy that has at least a small amount more nutrition.

If you live in an area where you can make treats to handout, go for it! Make them with wholesome ingredients and plenty of love. Otherwise, give one of these alternatives a try.

Peace, love, and Happy Haunting!

Jessi