Healthier Alternatives for This Year's Trick-or-Treaters
Halloween is such a fun holiday for our children (and us adults, too!). However, sometimes it feels a bit wrong handing out preservative and artificial-ingredient-filled candies – right? Don’t get us wrong – we love treating ourselves to something sweet, but this year, we want to make a bigger effort to supply our trick-or-treaters with healthier (yet still tasty) options. Halloween doesn’t have to leave us with a stomach ache and cavity…instead, it can be another holiday that we celebrate in line with our healthy lifestyle!
Below, we’ve listed 15 creative treat alternatives for your Halloween visitors this year. Even if you’re known as the king-sized-candy-bar house, your trick-or-treaters will still love you with these healthier options – we promise!
1. SkinnyPop Popcorn
Packed with fiber and sugar-free, SkinnyPop is a tasty and salty treat.
2. Simply Balanced Fruit Leathers
Fruit leathers are a great option for Halloween because they are naturally sweet and taste like the old-fashioned fruit roll-up.
3. Granola Bars
Try to steer clear of granola bars packed with added sugar, and instead look for granola bars that are higher in protein and fiber. A few good options include Annie’s Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, Kind Bars and Larabars.
4. Alter Eco Chocolate Truffles
Alter Eco is a great chocolate brand with cleaner, 100% organic, minimally-processed ingredients. Also, their packaging is compostable and plant-based!
5. Bare Snacks
The Bare Apple, Coconut or Banana Chips are a great alternative to candy for this Halloween. The chips are naturally sweet enough and are packed with flavor!
6. Justin’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
These peanut butter cups are made with organic peanut butter and high-quality, certified organic chocolate. Can you say yum? These are one of our favorite treats!
7. Kind Fruit Bites
Kind Fruit Bites are made with real fruit, and there aren’t any shady ingredients added to them. Bye-bye, preservatives and added sugar!
8. Homemade Trail Mix
Our favorite way to make trail mix is by combining our favorite dried fruits, cacao nibs, seeds, mixed unsalted nuts and coconut shreds. For a little something sweet, add in some dark chocolate chips or your favorite granola!
9. Annie’s Organic Bunny Snacks
We mentioned Annie’s Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, but take a look at their other snack options as well – fruit snacks, crackers, cookies and snack mixes all made with certified organic ingredients.
10. Mandarin Oranges
Whether you are a Halo or Cutie fan, these small citrus fruits make a perfect Halloween handout. They are easy to peel and pair very well with some dark chocolate if we must say so ourselves.
11. Boxed Raisins
Single-servings of organic raisins are a perfect treat that are just sweet enough!
12. P3 Portable Protein Packs
If you’d like to splurge a little for your trick-or-treaters, P3 Portable Protein Packs are a great way to go. The combos include a lean protein with cheese, mixed nuts or nut clusters, and/or seeds.
13. Dark Chocolate (70% or above)
You know all of the antioxidant and heart-healthy benefits of dark chocolate that you read and hear about? Well, you don’t necessarily experience those benefits unless you’re consuming 70% dark chocolate or above. So this Halloween, hand out bite-sized dark chocolate squares for a healthy but sweet treat!
14. Kids RXBars
RXBars are made with super simple ingredients: egg whites, nuts, dates and either other dried fruit or spices for flavor. The Kids RXBars are a bit smaller than the adult-sized ones and have fun labels!
15. If you’d like to dodge the edible Halloween treat all together and would like to go a different route – pass out glow sticks, portable games, bouncy balls, yoyos, fun pencils or pens, or other goodies that you might think of instead. It’s fun to switch it up!
Do you have anything that you think we should add to this list? We’d love to hear what your candy alternatives are for this year!
Happy Halloween from Nest Health Connections!
Nest Health Connections
Nest Health Connections is a corporate wellness company revolutionizing health and happiness in the workplace. We create holistic customized wellness programs for employers and their employees.