Halloween will be here before we know it! With that in mind, here are some tips to help you enjoy the festivities without the guilt:
- Eat treats in small portions and moderation.
- Make a conscious decision to stop eating when you feel that you are at 8/10 on a fullness scale and don’t allow the assortment of foods tempt you to overeat.
- Eat a variety of different foods and venture to try new foods instead of being complacent with comfort foods.
Unsurprisingly, Halloween baked goods are predominantly packed with refined sugars, saturated fats, trans fats, and sodium. However, there are healthy ways to enjoy baked good. Make substitutions in homemade baked goods like whole grain flour, black beans, or oats for all-purpose flour. If a recipe calls for sugar try apple sauce, honey, or a cocoa/cinnamon/sugar mix. Oils and butter in recipes can be swapped for canned pumpkin, fig puree, or avocado.
If you want to be more creative with your treats, try changing the appearance of your healthy snacks. Present treats in unconventional ways and pique the curiosity of kids and adults alike. Have you ever seen smiling teeth made of apples, peanut butter, and mini marshmallows? Other ideas are caterpillar grape sticks, vegetable skeletons, fruit salad in a hollowed watermelon, and endless more possibilities.
More treat ideas:
- Apple cider with cinnamon
- Chocolate pumpkin muffins
- Baked sweet potato fries
- Chicken wraps with sun-dried tomato tortilla
- Chocolate covered fruit
- Homemade guacamole and blue corn chips
- Ants on a log (celery, raisins, peanut butter)
- Smoothies w/ Greek yogurt
- Vegetable platters
- Fruit salad
By Jayson Fong, registered dietician at St. Joseph Hospital
