Mindful Pins of the Week {Healthy Halloween}

It’s a special Halloween double-edition of the Mindful Pins of the Week! You can find Part 1 Halloween Pins here.

If the thought of the bags full of high-fructose corn syrup your children will soon be bringing home is enough to make your teeth and stomach ache, why not try some of the suggestions below. You can entice your children to trade some (or maybe even all!) of their candy for these healthy treats when they return home, or even pass them out to the kids who stop by your door. They’re so good, they’re scary!

Image Source: TasteofHome.com

1. Strawberry Ghosts Kids (and adults) will love these white-chocolate covered strawberry ghosts. If you’re in a rush or have a kiddo who’d like to help, you can use chocolate sprinkles for the eyes and mouth. I love the “hair” standing up! Strawberries (and berries in general) are some of the most heavily pesticide-sprayed fruits, so buy organic whenever possible. Although if you’re being SuperMom and making these to hand out at your door, I say go the cheaper route and buy conventional. Fresh fruit is always a much better trade off than high fructose corn syrup.

Image Source: UnderConstructionBlog.Typepad.com

2. Jack-o-lantern Clementines What a yummy Halloween treat! Use a permanent marker to draw jack-o-lantern faces on clementine oranges. Clementines are one of my favorite fruits and I always love when they are in season. My toddler loves them also, and they’re the perfect size snack for little hands to hold. A bag of clementines doesn’t cost much more than a bag of candy, so consider passing these out to the neighborhood children instead of the standard candy assortment. Or just mix a few into your candy bowl and be ready to be surprised when children pick them instead of another boring lollipop!

Image Source: FamilyFun.go.com

3. Scary Teeth You can rest assured that your children’s teeth will never look like this, as long as they trade their bag-o-candy for these healthy apple and almond snacks. Simply cut an apple into big chunks, cut out a “mouth”, and stick sliced almonds into the mouth at random angles. What a clever idea! If the thought of sticking 10+ slivered almonds into an apple sounds tedious, why not make up one example an then let your children build their own! Craft and snack in one. What’s not to love?

Image Source: TasteofHome.com

4. Worms for Brains Dinner Encourage your children to eat a good meal before trick ‘or treating so they don’t just fill up on candy. This spooky and filling dinner is sure to do the trick!

Image Source: HalloweenCandyBuyBack.com

5. Operation Gratitude Halloween Candy Buy-Back Support our troops through the Operation Gratitude buy-back program. Local dental offices will “buy” your child’s candy and send it to our troops overseas. You can enter your zip code to find a list of participating dental offices near you.

{Editor’s Note: Check out our post about Operation Gratitude for more information.}