Our expert dietitian Sarah Noone suggests some healthy alternatives for Halloween treats that won’t scare the kids

Go in disguise

With all the sweets in free flow it can be almost impossible to convince the kids to opt for healthier options this Halloween. However, there are a few cunning tricks you can try to disguise some healthy fruit and veg. For example, dipped strawberries in white chocolate or half a banana on a lollipop stick with chocolate chips for eyes, can make scary but sweet Halloween fruity ghosts.

Carving is not just for pumpkins

Remember carving is not just for pumpkins; you can make ghoulish shapes from crunchy sweet peppers, carrots, melon or apple slices; the only limit is your imagination.

Consider Non-Food Trick or Treat options

Goodie bags can be filled with so many different things, from transfer tattoos, to bubble-mixture and glow sticks. These can be an excellent alternative to sweet treats not to mention a great way to encourage kids to get creative and move about.

Play with your food

How often do we tell our kids not to play with their food? Well, rules are made to be broken, and Halloween is the perfect time to play with your food. Use these Halloween activities to help increase children’s exposure to fruit and vegetables; decorate tangerines and oranges for ready-made Jack-O-lanterns and bobbing for apples is fun for all ages.

Mandarin pumpkins

Use a pen to draw pumpkin faces on the outside peel of mandarin oranges or encourage the kids to decorate their own, they will soon be queuing up to eat their own designs.

Eat a “hair raising healthy” meal before Trick or Treat

Halloween is a lot of fun and of course the kids will want to eat the sweet treats the minute they get them. However, having a filling family meal before you leave the house for trick -or-treat means little ghosts and goblins may be less likely to snack as they go house to house or overindulge at the end of the night.

Spread out the treats

We all can relate, the kids are excited after trick or treating, and they want to start munching through their sweet treats as soon as they get home. Planning e.g. limiting the size of the trick or treat bag and agreeing in advance how many sweets they can choose when they get home, are great ways to talk to children about balance and how to spread out those sometimes foods such as chocolate, sweets or savoury snacks.

And most importantly ….

Have lots of Fiendish Fun

There are so many fun Halloween activities that you can now do with the kids during the midterm to celebrate the spooky season and make it so much more than just about the sweets. Why not plan a day trip to one of Ireland’s haunted house or get the whole family out and about for the day to one of the many pumpkin patches that are scattered across the country.

Please see here for some more heart healthy recipe ideas