There’s Nothing Scary About Healthy Halloween Treats

What's the most wonderful time of the year? For many Americans the answer to that question is "Christmas." But for a growing number of people in this country, Halloween has become the most anticipated holiday on the calendar. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) 2007 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, consumers are expected to spend $5.07 billion this Halloween, up from $4.96 billion last year. The survey also revealed that of the 58.7 percent of consumers who will celebrate Halloween, 33.2 percent plan to take children trick-or-treating, and 28.3 percent will throw or attend a Halloween party.

In the midst of all of this holiday hubbub, parents should take the time to plan healthy alternatives to give trick-or-treaters. Shereen Jegtvig, About.com's Guide to Nutrition has some really great ideas to replace the traditional candy snacks. Shereen, a Certified Nutrition Specialist, has over 15 years experience in health care and nutritional counseling, and she's also logged time as the parent of trick-or-treaters.

Her first suggestion is to skip the food altogether and give Halloween pencils, stickers, or party favors that can be found in any party goods store. Another sure fire hit with kids is trading cards like Pokemon and Naruto.

If, however, you feel it wouldn't be Halloween without a food treat, then Shereen recommends that you use pre-packaged items like:

• Individual-size boxes of raisins
• Small bags of sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• Individual-size bags of popping corn
• Pre-packaged 100 calorie treats
• Sugar free gum

Avoid snacks that are high in saturated fats and artificial ingredients. Another key consideration is portion size, smaller is better. If you do give out candy, use the bite-size bars. In addition to one of these bars, give your Halloween visitors a small box of raisins. As Shereen says, "If you give candy and raisins, your kids won't feel their parents are the only weird ones on the block."

When planning your Halloween party menu, Shereen suggests that you use fresh vegetables, whole grain crackers, and dips. Keep in mind that serving fresh vegetables gives you the opportunity to provide some really flavorful dips, even if they have a few extra calories. Stay away from soda, and serve warm apple cider instead. A second option is to offer your guests a variety of cheeses, lean meats and whole grain breads and let them fix their own snacks.

Another nutrition expert, Jackie Keller, also believes that parents need to be mindful of what they are handing out on Halloween. Jackie is the Founding Director of the Los Angeles-based health food company NutriFit, and author of Amazon top-100 bestseller, Body After Baby: A Simple, Healthy Plan to Lose Your Baby Weight Fast (Avery/Penguin, 2007). In the course of her practice she has had the opportunity to work with such stars as Angelina Jolie, Reese Witherspoon, Uma Thurman, Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz, Susan Sarandon, Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson, Chris Klein and Jake Gyllenhaal.

To help parents choose the right kinds of snacks Jackie offers the following guidelines:

1. Avoid treats that contain high fructose corn syrup and that list sugar as their number one ingredient.
2. Avoid treats that have trans fats or partially hydrogenated fats.
3. Aim for treats that are fruit or whole grain cereal-based, and that have as close to 3 gm of fiber per serving as possible.

She also reminds parents to consider children who may have allergies when selecting treats. Here's her list of items to avoid:

1. Peanut-based snacks - A peanut allergy is the result of your immune system identifying peanuts as harmful, which triggers the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to neutralize the peanut protein. Some of the most common symptoms include itching, redness, swelling, shortness of breath, wheezing, nausea, abdominal pain, lightheadedness or loss of consciousness.
2. Strawberry-based snacks - Researchers in Sweden have discovered a protein that is believed to be responsible for strawberry allergies. This protein is associated with the fruit's red color. Individuals with a strawberry allergy can suffer itching and swelling in the mouth and throat when exposed to normal strawberries, but they have no reaction when they come into contact with the rarer white varieties.
3. Items that contain honey (for very small children) - The National Honey Board (http://www.honey.com/downloads/infantbotulism.pdf) warns that honey may contain spores that can cause infant botulism if given to children less than one year of age.

The last Halloween health tip comes from Dr. Young-Jin Sue, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist at New York's Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Sue says that parents should always be on the alert for asphyxiation and aspiration hazards.

"Asphyxiation hazards are small roundish, firm objects, which can completely occlude (block) the child's airway leading to immediately life-threatening effects. Aspiration hazards are small firm objects smaller than the airway diameter, not lodging at the larynx but passing into the trachea, leading to persistent discomfort ranging from difficulty breathing to pneumonia from aspiration onto the bronchi. In general, high risk for aspiration or asphyxiation can come from any small firm candies. This would include gumballs, hard candies, jellybeans, gummy bears, skittles, smarties, spree, any gum, and cough drops. I think licorice might be included because it is relatively firm and could be bitten into aspirable pieces.

Lollipops, particularly flat ones, are probably low risk. However, the child's developmental abilities, health and temperament need to be considered. Some children suck patiently on their pops while others bite them off the stick. Some sit quietly as they enjoy their confections; others run around at breakneck speed or engage in wrestling. Some children handle such foods well at an early age. Others gag on hard candies well into school age. Many kids chew carefully, but others are known to try to swallow foods whole. It's not difficult to imagine that a blow-pop bitten off the stick could lead to choking, never mind the bubble gum at its center."

If all of this seems as though you're taking the fun out of Halloween, or you're setting yourself up for a tug-of-war, stop a moment and think moderation. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing situation. As Dr. Sue says, "It's tempting to decree outlawing all risky treats, but as parents, we've all been in situations where judicious bending of rules helps maintain the peace."