Showing posts with label healthy holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy holidays. Show all posts

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Healthier Halloween Snacks

We love celebrating holidays, but we can’t live on candy alone. Here are some ideas to make your Halloween a little healthier. Consider mixing up your candy bowl this Fall to include some non-food options:
  • Colors
  • Chalk
  • Glow sticks or bracelets
  • Stickers
  • Sugar-free gum
  • Temporary tattoos
These treats are also great options for party favors if you are having a Fall or Halloween party. Your friends who have kids will thank you that you gave them activities (side walk chalk for hop scotch) to burn off some of the energy from the extra treats. 
 
Speaking of parties, if you throw one, consider some of these fun treats. Here are my ideas for healthier snacks for celebrating Fall and Halloween.


Grape Worm

Thread grapes on a skewer or toothpick and glue edible eyes to make a worm. This a good activity for little cooks. Make sure to warn your family and guests about the toothpicks!


Candy-Corn Cereal Treats


Puddings in Costume
Cut paper to cover the top and circumference of your pudding cup. Use a white piece of paper and marker to create a ghost face. Use an orange paper and black marker to creat a jack-o-lantern. Add a green piece of paper to make the pumpkins stem on top of the pudding. Use colorful, patterned paper and edible eyes to create silly monsters.

 
Low fat string cheese Ghosts

Use a marker to add a ghost face to string cheese to make a boo-tiful ghost!


 
Mummy Turkey Dogs

Wrap bread dough or crescent rolls around turkey dogs to make a yummy mummy. Disclaimer my friend, Rachel, made these, but I did snap this picture.

Fruit Pumpkins

Peel cuties or tangerines and place a slice of celery in the middle of the orange. Disclaimer my friend, Rachel, made these, but I did snap this picture.

These are great ideas to add something sweet and something healthy for your Halloween party. They are great snacks to give your kids before Trick-or-treating. If your kids are full from a festive, healthier snack before trick-or-treating, there will be less desire to eat all the candy they are receiving.

As the parent, remember to set guidelines for health. It is a good idea to set boundaries for limiting dessert and candy intake. We want to fuel our kids in a healthy way to support adequate and appropriate growth and development.

If you end up with an abundance of candy, you might consider donating some of your Halloween candy to programs like Halloween Candy buyback program and OperationGratitude. Look for these programs in your area if you are interested in donating some of your Halloween candy.


For more of my tips for healthier Halloween and Fall activities, check out my post with four more practical tips for healthier trick-or-treating.


For more Fall and holiday recipes and tips for healthy eating, follow RDtipoftheday on Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. I provide different resources, tips, and recipes on each social media platform. So, make sure to follow me to get your #RDtipoftheday.

If you like this post you may also like:


Monday, November 16, 2015

Easy Entertaining: 8 Simple Sides

With the holiday season quickly approaching, you likely will have parties to attend, meals to prepare, and many guests visiting. It can be easy to get stressed out, but that's not necessary!  In this blog series, easy entertaining, I am sharing some of my tips for easy entertaining and recipes that are quick, easy, and most importantly delicious!  I am taking some of my favorite holiday recipes and giving them a RDtipoftheday healthy tweak. I'm excited to share these recipes and hope that this will help you have a happy and healthier holiday season.

To make entertaining easier, I would encourage you do offer a few different sides that are easy to prepare. That way, you have a variety of food choices, but you did not make complicated dishes. I also like to think about using different cooking methods to make sure you can prepare all the dishes at the same time. So, I like to make something ahead of time (think salad or crudites), something in the oven, and something on the stove top. This helps keep the oven from getting too full or trying to cook to many things on the burners. To help, here are some examples of simple sides made by me, RDtipoftheday.


Simple Sides

Crudites Platter with Hummus


and Steamed Carrots

Green Bean Bundles
using lower fat turkey bacon





Asian Almond Green Beans

Black Pepper and Honey Glazed Carrots
add black pepper for a sweet and spicy treat


Turkey Crudites Platter
with Homemade Hummus

Great for holiday leftovers!

For more recipes, encouragement, and tips for healthy eating, follow me on PinterestInstagram, and Twitter


If you liked this post, you may enjoy:




Being a Good Hostess Series