Halloween! A day that has turned into a week of carnivals, parties, costume contests, and the ultimate event – Trick or Treating! How then, do we embrace this time, keep the traditions and fun, but ward off the over-indulgence of treats?
Here are some SIMPLE steps to for a Healthier Halloween:
1) Keep treats as just that – a treat! Teaching kids from a young age that treats are meant to be for special occasions or at special times of the day will help them learn to appreciate them as such. The less we have treats, the more we appreciate and look forward to them. When they become a commodity at every meal or for every snack, they actually hamper our taste buds from tasting all the other foods and their unique flavors, and we no longer appreciate them as a treat. We crave the sugar rather than the essential nutrients provided in healthier options.This practice also lessens the sugar energy roller-coaster. Although sugar serves as a stimulant to start, there is a crash after the sugar high. The sugar high and sugar crash roller coaster is exhausting. Learning is minimal during this time as students drag themselves through these extremes. Not only does this negatively impact the brain and thinking, the nutritional benefit of treats is almost nil and the craving or desire for real food is lost.
2) Offer to buy your children’s treats and then donate them to a local group that provides care packages to troops overseas. Or, better yet, have your littles write a note to our active military thanking them for their service and telling them a little about themselves and/or asking about the soldier’s life. If there is anyone that deserves a treat, it’s them! This will instill the idea of paying it forward and selflessness.
3) Be creative when handing out treats. Instead of candy, what about temporary tattoos or funky pencils. Students are always in need of pencils and the more glitter and bling, the better! Hair glitter is fun although may be hard to pull off. Neon sticks provide fun entertainment. Gum is a good alternative to candy, especially for older kids who may be trick-or-treating.
4) Think outside the box when hosting a party or bringing treats to the classroom for a class party. As a classroom teacher, I’ve seen many students get sick after Halloween parties and not even get to enjoy an evening of trick-or-treating because of too many sweets. Not only that, they don’t even enjoy all the sugary treats. Fruit Kabobs are often a hit as are cheese and crackers. A protein always helps slow down the rate at which the sugar is metabolized providing for a little more even tempered trick-or-treater.
This SIMPLE Kabob is made with mandarin oranges, blackberries, mozzarella cheese balls, and chocolate vinegar. If you like this post, feel free to share it, comment on it, and/or subscribe to follow my blog. Thanks!