For a dietitian, Halloween is one of those holidays where you just cringe. At our local Halloween Parade this week, I heard a mother say "All this candy is great, now we don't have to stop and get the kids dinner!' I by no means turn into a Halloween Witch when it comes to Halloween Candy, but I do think that you need to set some limits and also to make sure that you don't skip the real food too!
I will admit getting my kids to eat real food before trick or treating is a little bit of a challenge but the Trick is to make that real food a Treat too. You can try things like making a skeleton out of veggies and making the head a bowl of low fat dip. I haven't decided but I think I will be making a "brain" out of cauliflower and filling it with monster dip (ok maybe it is my own version of guacamole but at least it has some nutrition). You can make witch or monster fingers with grilled chicken strips with slivers of red bell pepper inserted into the tips to make the finger nails. I even got a recipe that made mini-jack-o-lanterns out of oranges and filled them with fruit salad. Sometimes you just need to rename things to make it fun too! A great homemade tomato-based soup can easily be transformed into Vampire Blood Stew or something similar. Be creative and don't forget to have fun with the healthier treats this Halloween too!
Happy Halloween!
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