Trick or TREAT!

October is here and that means that everyone is already thinking about what they will dress up as on Halloween. Fall is one of my favorite times of year and Halloween is possibly my favorite holiday. I love that it inspires creativity and self expression and encourages families and communities to interact and celebrate together. It is a fun and exciting night, but it's focus unfortunately has become more about candy than anything else. Sure, trick-or-treating is a once-a-year adventure for kids but it ends with them gorging on chocolate and sweets for the next month...at least! Not the healthiest message to send to our kids.

You don't need to keep your kids from trick-or-treating or start lobbying your neighbors to hand out apples and boxes of raisins to keep your family from the fun. Instead, follow a few of these tricks to make sure your kids get a Halloween treat!

1) Let your kids choose a few of their favorite pieces of candy from their baskets and then donate the rest. Many local dentists will buy or swap candy at Halloween and donate it to troops overseas through Operation Gratitude. Halloween Candy Buy Back will help you find a participating dentist in your area!

2) Find recipes that use candy such as snickers, peanut butter cups and M&M's and have a bake sale with your creations. Let the kids have fun with you in the kitchen to get them excited about the alternative use for their goodies! Let them use the proceeds towards a new toy.

3) Make Halloween night about spending time together (Part 1)! After trick-or-treating host a pumpkin carving party for the family or neighbors. Roast the pumpkin seeds with your favorite spices or flavors as a healthy treat for kids to snack on instead of candy. (If you haven't joined our newsletter yet, our October Recipe will show you how! Sign up on sidebar of this site.)

4) Make Halloween night about spending time together (Part 2)! Go apple picking with the family the weekend before and use the apples to make healthier candy apples together on Halloween night. Use honey or brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup, or follow this raw recipe from Renegade Health:

Raw Caramel Apples

• 1 cup dates (pitted and unsoaked)
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup almond milk (or other nut milk of your choice)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional)
• 1 dash sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or 1 inch vanilla bean, scraped
• 3-4 apples, depending on size

Preparation

• Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
• Start with 1/4 cup almond milk and add until consistency is such that apples can be dipped and the caramel sticks.
• Insert a popsicle stick into the center top of each apple.
• Dip in caramel sauce.
• Refrigerate until caramel solidifies

5) Avoid hiding candy and then using it as a reward when your kids help out around the house. This sends the wrong message. We should be encouraging children to make healthy choices because it makes them feel good, not allowing them to make poor choices so that they behave well. Instead offer them healthier alternatives such as fruit, trail mix or popcorn.

6) Use their collected candy in creative ways. Make gingerbread houses or ornaments with them for holiday decorations.

Keep it Fresh and Spooky!

- Jill

Keeping a Food Journal

If you are looking to loose weight or just make healthier choices for your body, keeping a food journal can be a powerful tool to assist you. Keeping track of what you are eating will help bring awareness to your eating habits and patterns. To keep track of meals, snacks and drinks that you consume, keep a small notepad in your purse, or keep a log on your phone, laptop or ipad.. whatever is most convenient for you to use throughout your day. You can even purchase food journals like the Diet Minder from book stores. The food diary process is designed to be fun and informative. It will help you recognize poor habits or foods that you react to and will help you find connections between what you eat and how you feel.

What to keep track of:

• The Date
• Time of day
• What foods – What foods were eaten, how were they prepared and in what quantity. Be sure to include all ingredients. Be sure to include beverages and include misc items such as gum/candy.
• Hunger level (on a scale of 0-5) at time of meal/snack
• Meal situation – The place and activity surrounding meal/snack. Indicate home cooked versus eating out, etc.
• Sensations – Indicate emotional and physical feelings, mood etc.
• Indicate any medications or supplements you are taking and when
• You can also include any physical exercise you do
  

The most important part of a food journal is noting how you feel physically and emotionally before, during and after each meal, snack or beverage. At first it may feel odd or you may not be sure what you are feeling. That is okay! Just write what you feel. Physical symptoms will be bodily sensations and may be a little bit easier to recognize than emotional ones.

Here are tips to get you started:

• Clues for physical imbalance: headaches, stomach pain, muscle cramps, coughing, fatigue, insomnia, restlessness, shakiness, muscle weakness, poor concentration, pallor.

• Clues for emotional imbalance: anxious, bored, scared, mad, sad, depressed, scattered, restless, irritable, agitated, hyper, guilt.

• Clues for physical balance: bright eyes, hunger, stamina, natural deep breathing, high energy, restful sleep, focus, alertness, strength, good attention span, clear complexion and good color.

• Clues for emotional balance: confident, excited, energized, humorous, happy, interested, focused, calm, relaxed, easygoing, patient.

Many people do not realize how much they eat until they start to write it all down. Try not to let the journal create negative feelings or feelings of guilt. Instead use it to hold yourself accountable for what you put in your mouth. If it helps, partner up with a friend and share your journals with each other at the end of each week. Sometimes knowing that someone else will read everything you’ve eaten is motivation enough to stick to healthy choices!

If you forget to write down a meal, just keep going. It’s all fine. Just keep writing!

Keep it Fresh!
-Jill