Halloween Candy Alternatives

I have fond memories of Halloween.
I loved dressing up and spending the entire evening outside, running from house to house, taking in all the decorations, and visiting with the other kids and the families in our community. I have many great memories of the houses that went full out, with haunting music, the parents dressed up, black lights and ghoulish decor, it all felt like a spectacle that you were a guest at and a witness to.

I don’t have that many memory associations with the candy. I remember eating candy and liking certain ones and not others, I enjoyed trading candies with friends and siblings, but I also remember feeling sick from it.

As an adult, who has had Cancer and studied Nutrition for over a decade now, I struggle deeply with Halloween. I am all for the dress up, the fun for kids, the decorations, the community connection, the door-to-door nighttime adventures, and the opportunity to experience a little time in an alternate world where all you need to do is be in character and enjoy the moment! BUT I struggle to understand why this fun-filled experience needs to include incredible amounts of toxins. Essentially, the kids go door-to-door and each house dumps some poisonous chemicals into their treat bag, offering some verbal connection and a wish for a fun night, and then the kids are left to manage an overwhelming amount of candy, decipher potential rules with parents, and otherwise consume all, if not a good portion, of it’s toxic chemical overload with little to no education as to what it actually contains.

It’s weird.

Most kids have not yet developed their own regulation with food, which is why, as parents, it is our role to teach them. Left to their own devices, most kids would opt for processed food, white bread and/or pasta, refined carbohydrate foods that are satisfying to the palate, feel safe or easy, and provide a temporary glucose boost for the blood sugar. Although kids come with some intuitive tendencies, most need your guidance to develop mind-body awareness around food and an understanding of the role food plays for the body and how to make good food choices. This is why handing a child an enormous bag of candy is simply a disservice to them, is often cause for conflict within the home, and is counterintuitive to educating kids well about food choice.

I fail to understand how the candy aspects of Halloween have any positive effects at all (maybe it’s just me?).

That being said, this is the way of society and some things we simply do not have the power to change in entirety. So instead, maybe some of us can make better choices for our kids and our friends & neighbours’ kids, and offer some candy alternatives that are less damaging and can provide a little real-food variety amongst a sea of non-food chemicals.

Since I have had a child (now 13 years), I have only ever handed out real food alternatives or better food choices for Halloween. It hasn’t been perfect, some years I’ve opted for organic, packaged chocolate or granola bars, and in recent years, I’ve added organic, cane sugar lollipops, but I’ve tried hard to mostly provide bags of popcorn and homemade cookies and, for the most part, the kids are stoked (and so are the parents!). I have a few neighbours who also hand out homemade treats and, because we live in a small town where everyone knows everyone, this is appreciated and not feared. I have a friend who has always left a bowl of apples at her door and gone out and about for Halloween with the kids and, every year without fail, when she comes home from the evening’s adventures, the apples are gone.

Here’s the point: the kids are, for the most part, happy about whatever goes in their bag because, for them, it is VERY much about the experience of Halloween, not truly, deeply, about the candy at all. Sure, the older the kids get, the more focused they are on the treats, noticing when they are handed an entire can of pop or a regular sized chocolate bar, but if they were handed something else, it wouldn’t change the experience of Halloween, and that is very telling.

Why then, can we not be handing out less damaging foods, paying closer attention to the ingredients in the packaged thing we are buying, and putting a little effort into making Halloween more about the experience than about the candy?

A Few Scary Facts About Food Additives:

Three of the most common additives in well-known types of candy are titanium dioxide, tertiary butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, and butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT. This ghoulish trio has repeatedly been linked to a wide range of potential health harms.

Titanium dioxide gives some types of candy their smooth texture and bright color. It’s used in Skittles, Starburst, Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish and Trolli gummies.

Scientists have warned for years about the potential health risks of titanium dioxide because it can accumulate in the body and lead to DNA damage and hormone disruption. Earlier this year, the European Food Safety Authority assessed the additive as being unsafe for consumption.

TBHQ is a food preservative that prolongs the shelf life of candies and snacks such as Reese’s, Pop-Tarts, Cheez-Its and more than a thousand other processed foods. TBHQ can harm the immune system, according to an EWG study published this year in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Other studies have shown how the additive can impair flu vaccine efficacy and raise the risk of food allergies. The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of TBHQ years ago and has not reevaluated it in light of new science that raises questions about its safety.

BHT, used in Rice Krispies Treats and Charms Blow Pops, has been listed by the FDA as generally recognized as safe. But some studies have shown it can cause cancer in animals and may act as an endocrine disruptor.

 Chloe Olsen, EWG Communications Intern
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2021/10/scariest-thing-about-halloween-may-be-whats-lurking-candy

Unfortunately, I could spend an entire blog (or write a book) on the dangers and detrimental health effects of food additives, but this time around, I’d like to focus on some solid ideas to help us do something productive instead!

Alternative Ideas to Halloween Candy

WHOLE FRUIT: Fresh apples, tangerines, or other fruit with peels, if you could find mini bananas, those would be perfect. There is nothing wrong with giving out fresh, delicious, real food fruit, nope, nothing.

DRIED FRUIT/NUT MIX: I’ve never met a kiddo that doesn’t love dried mango! You could easily buy some dried fruit in bulk, bag it yourself, and hand that out as a delicious, sweet treat. A nut mix would also work well for this!

POPCORN: My personal favourite, the kids seem to love a simple bag of salted popcorn in and amongst all the sweet food intake. We use coconut oil and himalayan sea salt and although it’s a bit of an operation to get it all popped and bagged, it’s worth it every time!

ORGANIC, HIGH QUALITY CHOCOLATE: Depending on what is available to you, you might be able to find some individually wrapped high quality organic chocolate. Kids love chocolate and deserve to reap the benefits from real cacao without the additives of processed sugar and preservatives.

COOKIES/GRANOLA BARS/BAKED TREATS: If you feel comfortable where you live, this is a wonderful contribution to Halloween. Making cookies, mini pies or butter tarts, chocolates or homemade granola bars, is a lovely way to show that you care about the kids and feel it’s worth the effort to treat them with real food goodies. Need ideas? Find them here 😊

BETTER CHOICE PACKAGED FOOD: If you are just too busy to put in any extra time, there are plenty of options out there that offer a better quality or choice as far as packaged food goes. Opting for some mini granola bars, fruit gummies, or organic, cane sugar lollipops, still counts and is still a step in the right direction 😉

NON-FOOD TREATS: Sometimes this is not as appreciated by the older kids, but stickers, erasers, mini notepads or markers, all make a great “treats” that kids can enjoy for a longer time period than something consumable. You could even have a bowl of these for the younger kids and something different for the older ones.

Lastly, REMEMBER THIS: Anything you can do to help is something and counts. So, do what you can. The more of us onboard with making a move towards real food at Halloween and on all the days and special occasions, the more this approach and enthusiasm spreads!
Thanks for being here! Happy Halloween! 🎃

Feeding the Ravenous Teenager

It was just yesterday that my son was small enough to scoop up into my arms, snuggling my face into that soft spot on his neck as I swung him around the kitchen making snacks together. I now have to chase him down to snag a hug before he goes off into the world for hours or even days on end, and I am left to trust and work hard to let go just enough to give him more independence and autonomy as the days move forward. As with all change in parenting, simultaneously, my heart grows with pride and breaks with loss, but I believe in him deeply and can’t wait to see who he becomes in the years to come.

Sigh.

And.
Holy Gawd CAN THIS KID EAT!!!
The eating is just never ending. NEVER ENDING! If you are just entering the teenage realm, are deep in it, or are glimpsing the coming teenage eater in your sprouting preteen, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
They are hungry!
ALL.
THE.
TIME!
It’s no surprise as they are growing like a banana tree on steroids: they have increased physiological demands that scream at them tirelessly for extra nutrition. During the teenage years, their hormones are changing, organ and tissue development are increased, they are building bones and muscles, they are building their immune system, and sending large amounts of nutrients up to the brain for tissue development, nerve formation & transmission, hormone regulation, and to protect the brain from oxidative stress. It is an intense time in ALL THE WAYS: physiological, biological, psychological, and social.
Feeding them really good food is just one way to help them through.

I know what you’re thinking: BUT GOOD FOOD COSTS SO MUCH MONEY!!!
True. Frustratingly true! But let me ask you something: what is more important to you - spending extra money on trivial things: a fancy vehicle or condo, dinners at restaurants, a Starbucks coffee a day, seasonal new clothes, a weekend at a fancy resort, OR strong long term health (and disease prevention: cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mental illness, autoimmune disease) for your growing child? Never mind what you will teach them by choosing their health over material things. Will it be a financial output for a handful of years? Absolutely! But evaluating your priorities is an important step in managing the food cost struggle.
AND. AND there are many things we can do to try to keep the grocery bill down while feeding these ravenous teens well.

The Trick

We CAN fill our fridges and teenagers’ bellies without taking a second mortgage out on the house, but it takes effort and dedication (like any health related lifestyle choice 😉). Here are some ideas:

Shop Bulk: This is the smart, 20th Century way to feed a family, hands down. Firstly, organize your house in such a way to allow for bulk shopping, but keep your refills in a different location than your kitchen. Why? Because if the kids see that there are 100 Lara bars, they may feel it’s ok to take 5 to school every day and there goes your stash. Also, shop whole foods bulk as much as possible, rather than relying on processed foods. Think: nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes, canned tomatoes, etc. Processed food WILL NOT fill up your growing sprout, but instead teach the body that it needs to rely on sugar for fuel, not actual nutrients (more on this below).

Comparison Shopping: Do your homework. It used to be called coupon shopping and now it’s all about who’s got the lowest slashes. I would honestly rather see people shopping locally, at Farmers markets in the summer, and through the local food suppliers during the winter months instead of buying from the heavy hitters in the Food Industry whose sole purpose is about making money NOT the health of its consumers. How much of your grocery bill can you contribute towards local suppliers? Is there a distributor near by that considers health over mass consumption? Can you buy meat from a local farm? Or buy bulk squashes in the Fall and store them to last you through the winter? How you buy food has as much to do with health as what you eat, consider this when you are planning your shops.

Beans & Legumes: POWER HOUSE FOODS are the way to go with growing, nutrient-ravenous teenagers, and beans & legumes can save you in the financial department too. Buy these babies in bulk, soak & sprout them to increase nutrient value and digestion/assimilation, then add them to soups, stews, veggie burgers, as side dishes, in spaghetti sauce, anywhere you can, bulk up your meals with these nutrient packed beauties! They are super cheap and super high in fibre, protein, low glycemic index carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins, and satisfy the hungry belly for long periods of time. Here’s one of my son’s favourite lentil stews!

Oats & Whole Grains: Buy these in bulk also and teach your growing teens how to cook them. A bowl of brown rice + tamari + nutritional yeast + hemp hearts can go a LONG way when the body needs immediate energy (carbohydrates). Better yet, make extra the next time you use a grain as a side dish, then show your teen that they can just warm it up in a frying pan with a little oil and build a snack or meal around a warm grain. PRO TIP: rotate your grains to keep diversity & variety in the diet, this will ensure more nutrient variety as well.

Think QUALITY not Quantity: Have you ever noticed how your teen might be able to chow down an entire box of puffed rice in a day or so, but give that kid a real, solid smoothie and they stay out of the kitchen for hours? This is because if a body is given processed foods that are virtually nutrient VOID, it will ask for more food. This is why we have a tendency to overeat when we rely on crackers, chips, cereal, bread, etc. for fuel. BUT if you give the body what it needs: NUTRIENTS, then it will feel satiated with nutrients and be able to function for more hours without needing a continuous top up. Believe me when I say this: you are doing your child NO FAVOURS by feeding them processed food. Sometimes, yes, ok, for sure, but all the time, this is the trap. The poor thing is also much more likely to suffer more mood swings, acne, body odor, and depression, when fuelled by non-foods, laced with chemicals and refined sugar. Now, I know we are not all perfect in this department, and that using whole foods 100% of the time means a LOT of time in the kitchen, but here’s your chance to teach your kids how to make their own food sooner than later (more on this below).

So now that we’ve gotten a few shopping tips out of the way, here’s what I really want to share with you: HOW YOU FEED YOUR RAVENOUS TEEN WILL TEACH THEM LONGTERM HOW TO FEED THEMSELVES. They are ready. They are not only ravenous for food; they are ravenous for independence, for autonomy, for knowledge; they are ravenous for the skills to be their own person. Here are some ways you can support them:

Feeding the Ravenous Teenager

Smoothies: Smoothies are saving us around here these days. As many times a week as I can, I make my son a smoothie for after school and I load it with protein, good carbs, nut/seed butter, some spinach or a greens powder, and coconut water or almond milk, and I’m telling you: on the days he gets a smoothie, he’s an entirely different human than on the days we forget. He can also make it himself, so if I’m not around, or am busy, he knows how to throw together a yummy, simple smoothie, and likes to jazz it up a little too. Here are some kid loving smoothies to try.

Food at Regular Intervals: Kids need food every 2-3 hours. Well, we all do, but growing bodies particularly. If this is a struggle for them, find creative ways to support them in making this a priority - set a timer on their phone, or put homemade granola bars in their pockets, and bananas in their hands as they run out the door. Too much time in between meals is a detrimental trap, especially for teenage bodies. When the blood sugars bottom out, this is when we make bad decisions about food, reach for sugar, and/or become a raging moody monster (you know exactly what I mean 😉). Talk to them about keeping their blood sugars stabilized and how this will affect their health, their mood, their mind, and the way they interact with the world.

Batch Cooking: As much as you can, have good food on hand. If there are homemade banana oat bars on the counter, a bowl of nuts on the table, and cut up veggies in the fridge beside the hummus, then your kids will reach for those. Yes, it’s extra work, but enlist their help on the weekends, put in an extra few minutes every night, and you may notice that it’s not as hard as you think. Better yet, jump in on my seasonal Batch Cooking classes and see how many amazing meals & snacks we can pull off in a weekend!

Nutrient Packed Snacks: As mentioned above, aim for snacks that are nutrient-dense, not just full of calories. Store bought anything is going to have a lesser nutrient value than something you make, but I realize it’s difficult to make everything from scratch. Choose wisely. Have fresh fruit, frozen berries, nut & seed mixes, muesli, coconut yogourt, etc. as options instead of too many boxes of 100+ unrecognizable ingredient non-foods. Teach your kids the difference and make suggestions for snacks so that they know what to reach for and when. My son knows exactly what the options are when he’s hungry before bed: banana, cashew yogourt + frozen berries, apple + almond butter, etc., so he doesn’t find himself staring into the fridge or slapping globs of honey onto a 4th piece of bread (Gah! 🙄).

Kids in the Kitchen: I cannot say this enough: teach them about good food, how to make good food, how to read food labels and consider macronutrient balance (carbs + protein + fat). Even if they seem uninterested, what you say and what you do inevitably will ring through for them in some ways. It’s worth the effort. Ask for their help with food preparation, set them to the task of chopping or stirring or making meal decisions. Better yet, let them make dinner once a month or once a week and watch their creative side flourish. Check out my kids classes if you think your teen might benefit from learning from someone other than you, we have a lot of fun and the kids really learn a lot & beam with pride afterwards!

Well, if you’ve made it to the end: GOOD FOR YOU!! I know this was a long blog, but hey, I am so passionate about feeding our kids well and setting them up for positive relationships with food, that I’ll talk about it until those purple cows come home. As my pre-teen moves into the teen years, expect to hear more from me about feeding ravenous teens 😊

3 After-School Smoothies Your Kids Will Love

Every parent is familiar with the after school blood sugar crash. The kids come home from school, rockin’ the grumps, dragging their feet, dumping their backpacks and mitts and hat and jacket and whatever else they’ve got all over the floor while they whine that they are SOOOOOOOOOO hungry! They “can’t handle anything” and must eat right this minute!
When you make a suggestion, they let out an exasperated sigh and give you the look of hangry death.

I hope you are laughing (and not crying) by now, because you’ve seen this a thousand times.

Well, fellow Feeding-Hangry-Kids Enthusiasts, I’ve got a plan for you:

Make it a smoothie.
In fact, let them make it themselves. 

We’ve been on the after-school smoothie train here for a while and let me tell you, it’s changed the atmosphere in our house considerably. Ok fine, so the dumping of all the clothing is still a work-in-progress (you got me there), but my son will often come in from school and head straight for the freezer. He’ll pull out whatever frozen fruit we have and line up some other tasty ingredients on the counter (often coconut milk, hemp hearts, almond butter, vanilla, cacao) and hit up the blender. It is such an effective way to nip the hangry quickly, deliciously, and plus, he’s become quite the smoothie maker (we are still working on the cleaning up part  ).

Here are some of our favourite recipes that have become staples over the last few years. I will often use these recipes with Kids Cooking Camps and after-school programs and the kids love to try coming up with their own creations. I believe that giving kids some reins in the kitchen early is a great way to set them up with the desire to cook. It also nurtures a more connective relationship with food and provides them with some basic guidelines for good nutrition & a general set of kitchen skills.

Good Morning Sunshine

1 ½ cup spinach (or other leafy greens)
1 cup coconut water
1 orange, peeled and diced
1 cup frozen mango or pineapple or a mix of both
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of salt

• Place all ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.

Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie

1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup coconut milk
¼ cup grated beets
1-2 handfuls of chopped spinach
2 Tbsp hemp hearts
1-2 Tbsp honey (optional)
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla

• Place all ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately. Makes 2-3 servings.

Afternoon Pick-Me-Up Chocolate Smoothie

½ cup coconut milk
½ cup water
2 Tbsp cacao powder
Pinch salt
½ – 1 whole banana
1 pitted medjool date
2 Tbsp almond butter
1 Tbsp coconut oil
A few ice cubes

• Place all ingredients in your blender and combine until smooth.

Stay SMOOTH & Don’t let the After-School Hangrys get you down!

Like always, if you try these smoothies and love them, please let me know!!
Better yet, take a pic and tag me on facebook or instagram!

Looking for more healthy kid inspiration?