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Even if trick-or-treating is not on your calendar this
month, how often will you have the option to choose to eat
sweet treats and candy? Fall is a good time to practice (for
ourselves) and teach children about eating in moderation.
While we can enjoy some sweets through-out the week, if we
focus on healthy foods first, those sweet treats can
occasionally fit into the healthy eating pattern. For
children, help by setting limits to how much candy they can
have. If they have a lot of candy from this time of year,
find ways to share with others or freeze some of the candy
for future treats in the next few months. It doesn’t have
to be eaten all at once.
Match up healthy choices with the sweet treats. For example,
if a bite-size candy bar is on the menu for snack time, eat
an apple also. For kids, and also adults, eat the healthy
option first and then enjoy the sweet treat. Eat smaller
amounts of the sweet treats at a time. For example, enjoy
adding some additional ingredients to a popcorn snack.
Pop the popcorn without added butter, salt or sugar. Popcorn
is low in fat on its own and it’s high in fiber. Mix in some
small sweets like m&ms, candy corn, dried fruit, nuts and
other small candies. This is one way to have some candy but
also limit the amount to eat.
Think about the color, taste, crunch of healthy foods.
Sugary foods that are marketed to kids are advertised as
“fun foods.” Healthy foods can be fun foods also. Create a
smiley face with sliced bananas and raisins.
Cut fruit slices or sandwiches into fun and easy shapes with
cookie cutters. For Halloween, make a mini-pizza using
English Muffins. For toppings, let kids decorate a
jack-o-lantern face with sliced olives, red peppers and
pepperoni slices. A scoop of mashed potatoes on the plate
with two slices of black olives for eyes can be ghosts for
dinner. Decorate a peeled orange with a small piece of
celery at the top to look like a miniature pumpkin and stem.
Whether you’re hosting a fall party or just need some
healthy ideas for your own grocery list, try some of these
foods as the weather cools. Local apples come in so many
varieties!
Celebrate National Farm to School Month by crunching into
locally and regionally grown apples at noon on
Thursday, October 11. Everyone is welcome to
Crunch!
Although we aim for a collective Crunch on October 11, you
are welcome to Crunch
any day or time in October that works for
you. Eat apples on their own or with a
yogurt dip. Enjoy carrot sticks, pretzels, bite-sized
tortilla chips and salsa or bean dip, dried beef or turkey
jerky or clementine oranges. It’s also good time of year to
enjoy soups that are stocked with lots of fall vegetables.
As always, “think your drink.” Do you really want to drink
all those extra calories from added sugar? A lot of the
added sugar people get throughout the day comes from sodas,
sports drinks, energy drinks and fruit flavored drinks in
addition to candies and desserts. Stick with water, fat-free
milk and serving sizes of apple cider or 100 percent fruit
juice. For fall, enjoy a small serving of cold or warmed
cider or some sugar-free hot chocolate.
The “trick” this fall is to decide how you will make easy
changes for sweet “treats”! Information for this article
was collected from North Carolina State University and
Florida Extension Services.
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