COLUMN: 'Many parents may not be prepared for the sugar rush that comes with Halloween'

With Halloween just around the corner, many kids are getting their costumes to the ready.

Whether you’re having a party or going trick or treating, what many parents may not be prepared for is the sugar rush that comes along with it.

Rest assured there are some creative ways that we can lower the sugar load without reducing the fun.

Here nutritionist Laurann O’Reilly and owner of Nutrition By Laurann, guides us through some key tricks without the sugary treats so you can have a healthy Halloween.

For Those Trick or Treating

- Get Moving:  In preparation for what may be quite a lot of food, why not fit in some exercise such as a walk, swimming or a trip to the playground beforehand, to allow for the additional energy intake. When going trick or treating, why not make a game of it and walk instead of driving the kids house to house (where safe to do so of course). Tip: Stay safe and be sure to bring a bottle of water, a torch and wear comfortable shoes for walking.

- Include Healthy Meal: As busy and exciting as the day may be, be sure to fit in a filling and nutritious meal before the action begins. This will prevent you and the kids from overindulging in sugary foods first and reduce their chance of being ill from too may sweets

- Reduce The Trick or Treat Basket/Bag: This will help to reduce the number of sweets that enter your home and in turn helps control your environment for you and your children (think of the temptation). It may be helpful to encourage kids to only take one treat from each house as they’ll be able to visit more houses.
- Safety First: It’s very important to do a check of the treats and toys that your children come home with, to make sure that they’re safe. This could be from a choking perspective for younger children, but also to check that they’re not past expiration dates which could make them sick. Please also be aware of children with food allergies, if you’re minding other children be sure to check with their parent or guardian first.
- Agree In Advance: Of course, kids will want to hold on to their sweets for dear life so to avoid any tears, it may be helpful to plan in advance how many sweets they’ll be allowed to take at each house, keep, and eat. If they’re old enough, let them help decide what to do with any excess.

For the Party People
- Try Some Healthy Scary foods: Serve healthy dressed up in the Halloween theme. There are lots of creative ideas being shared online at this time of year, like banana ghosts, apple monster mouths, carrot witch fingers or home-made ice pops.

- Have Fun with food: You can also incorporate healthy foods into party activities, such as decorating making orange lanterns and of course the classic bobbing for apples.
- Try Some Scary & Fun Games: Why not include some active games such as zombie dance party, three-legged monster race, spider crawl, zombie tag. Not alone will this help to counteract some of the energy from treats, but it helps to burn off some of that sugar too.

- Rethink The Drink: Whilst sweets and chocolate may be obvious sources of sugar it’s important to be conscious of sugar-sweetened beverages. Tip: Offer water, milk, or make a Halloween themed punch from water and a splash of reduced sugar squash

- Allocate The Treats: Rather than leaving the sweets in an accessible bowl for a never-ending sugar rush, it may be best to hand out treats instead of letting them decide how much to take. If you have more than one item, ask them to choose which they prefer. This can help you get control of your Halloween budget, too!

- Fun Without The Food: Remember you don’t have to offer sweets on Halloween. Perhaps you could start a new tradition and give out healthier treats or non-edible fun items. You can really get creative fun and child friendly. Why not check out some of these ideas.

Healthier Treat Ideas
Mandarin or blood oranges, or oranges decorated with non-toxic ink
Snack-sized packages of pretzels, popcorn, graham crackers and dried fruit
100% real fruit strips
Squeezable yogurt tubes or pouches
Fun Without The Food Ideas
Fancy dress props
Glow sticks/bracelets
Crayons and colouring books
Make a scary (or not scary) mask
Temporary tattoos
Vampire teeth
Slime, putty or squishy toys
Friendship bracelets

Note: Be careful to avoid giving very small items that could be a choking hazard to small children

What to Do with Leftover Treats

So, Halloween is over, but you’re left with piles of sweets in your house, that would almost see you well into the new year. Here are some ideas for enjoying the evening’s haul and avoiding a never-ending sugar rush.

Let each child chose which pieces they would like to keep (again it may be helpful to agree this in advance). You can leave enough to have one or two pieces a day for one or two days. You can then save for another occasion, donate or re-purpose the rest as you wish
When your child asks for a piece of candy, pair it with a healthy snack such as a piece of fruit or a cracker
Why not offer to “buy back” sweets from your child with money or tokens they can trade in for a fun activity such as a day at the zoo or a toy
Donate excess sweets to those in need, into a children’s hospital or care packages.

Healthy Halloween Recipe
Nutty Dark Chocolate Dipped Apples
You can’t beat a fruity treat, topped with chopped nuts and dark chocolate this recipe is not only delicious but healthy too. It’s also naturally gluten free, dairy free and vegetarian friendly

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients
Squares
6 Granny Smith Apples
2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
1 ¼ Cups of Dark Chocolate Chips
1 Cup of finely chopped walnuts
1 Cup of finely chopped pecans

Instructions
1) Line a baking tray with parchment paper
2) Fill a saucepan mid-way with boiling water and add your chocolate chips and coconut oil to a heatproof bowl
3) Place the heatproof bowl on the saucepan and heat on a medium heat until the chocolate chips and coconut oil have melted
4) Place a wooden skewers or ice-lolly stick down the core of each apple
4) To a small bowl add your chopped walnuts and pecans
5) Holding the skewer/ice-lolly stick, dip the apple in the melted chocolate and immediate dip in the chopped nuts
6) Place coated apples on the parchment paper and place in the fridge for approximately 1 hour to set and enjoy