Keyword/Tag: Halloween

Halloween Menu: Tasty Treats for your Ghouls, Goblins, and Ghosts

Posted on October 27, 2017 by -

Riddle: What is a ghost’s favorite fruit? (Keep reading for the answer!)

Halloween is just around the corner, which means fun times are ahead but so are a lot of WHOA foods, such as candy, chocolate, and other snacks high in added sugar and salt. Trick-or-treating is a great way to celebrate Halloween, but Brighter Bites wants to encourage you to make fresh fruits and vegetables part of the fun too!

Seasonal fruits and vegetables have been a part of Halloween celebrations for decades. Traditions like carving Jack-O-Lanterns out of pumpkins and bobbing for apples are two examples of incorporating fruits and vegetables into the festivities.

Remember the song, “Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat…”? Don’t worry, we don’t think you should go smell anyone’s feet, but you can easily give your kiddos something good to eat this Halloween! Consider replacing your bowl of candy with healthy items to keep your family focused on health. You can find mini boxes of healthy snacks like raisins, pretzels, granola bars, and un-popped popcorn. You can even find tiny apples or little tangerines to hand out to the little vampires and pumpkins at your door!

Halloween is also a great opportunity to put a spooky spin on seasonal dishes to make them more appealing to your picky eaters. We’ve put together a delicious menu to help you get into the Halloween spirit while BOOsting the nutrition on your table. These healthy takes on classic recipes incorporate seasonal produce and are sure to be a hit!

Halloween Menu

Spooktacular Squash Dip
Turkey Veggie Chili
Sweet Potato Harvest Salad
Smoky Greens
Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice Smoothie

Spooktacular Squash Dip: This dip is a great snack for the whole family! The recipe showcases butternut squash, a seasonal favorite. Serve the dip with carrots, celery sticks, or baked tortilla chips for a healthy appetizer.

Turkey Veggie Chili: This warm, hearty dish incorporates lots of fall veggies into a lean, turkey-based chili perfect for a crisp Halloween night.

Sweet Potato Harvest Salad: This sweet potato and apple salad combines two delicious fall staples. The pop of the pomegranates and the crunch of the pumpkin seeds make this salad a winner!


Smoky Greens: This recipe for steamed greens will bring a different color and lots of flavors to your table. Collard greens grow well into the fall season and are a great way to add greens to your plate (and you can tell your little one it’s what all the little goblins are eating!).

Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice Smoothie: Finish off your healthy dinner with a creamy pumpkin spice smoothie so the kids leave the house with a full tummy! This autumn classic is an easy way to use any leftover pumpkin, and the kids can help you whip up this easy recipe!


 

Kids need 2-3 servings of fruits and 3 servings of vegetables every day, so Brighter Bites encourages parents and kids to make fruits and vegetables a part of every meal, even on Halloween! Halloween is a great opportunity to introduce seasonal produce to your kids while keeping with the spirit of the day!

Have a happy and healthy Halloween!

Riddle Answer: BOO-berries!

Don’t be Haunted by Halloween: Tips for a Healthy Holiday

Posted on October 30, 2015 by -

At Brighter Bites, we promote eating fruits and vegetables at every meal and snack. But on Halloween, we know that it’s difficult to keep kids away from the candy. Well… maybe not just the kids! One thing that can be just as scary as the ghosts and zombies tomorrow night, we be all the leftover candy collected from trick-or-treating. It may be difficult to know when enough is enough with seemingly endless bowls of chocolate-covered everything hanging around the house.


Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography/Jenny Sugar   

As you can see from the above photo, popular Halloween candy is often already packed in 100 calorie pieces. Those little pieces add up when families start replacing Halloween candy for a piece of fruit at dessert or snack time. Don’t be afraid though! Treats like Halloween candy can fit into any healthy diet. Here’s how:

  1. The “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy is one that could work when children bring home an abundance of Halloween candy after trick-or-treating. Keeping the candy in a bowl or storage bag on a high shelf or in the back of a cabinet may make it easier for the whole family to avoid over indulging and prevent kids from sneaking candy when the adults aren’t looking.
  2. Another important factor in making healthy choices at Halloween is portion control. Most Halloween candy already comes in small, bite-sized packages, which makes portion control even easier. Setting the limit to one or two pieces at a time for all members of the household will ensure everyone gets a treat without overdoing it.
  3. Suggest to children that they select three pieces of candy from their trick-or-treating bags, and give the rest to your local dentist participating in the Halloween Candy Buy Back program, which sends candy in care packages to U.S. troops serving overseas.
  4. Finally, savor the candy that you eat. Eating the candy slowly and enjoying each bite will help you feel satisfied and keep your portions in check.

There can be a lot of scary things about Halloween, but candy doesn’t have to be one of them. Eat some apples, make some pumpkin muffins, and have a happy Halloween!