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Tag: healthy halloween treats

FitnessHealthy TipsLifestyle

Halloween Tricks and Treats

Good news and bad news: Halloween is this Saturday! This can be a good thing because that means if it’s your cheat day then you can really enjoy it with your friends and family, and even be able to indulge in some sweets and still get back on plan. The bad news is, Halloween day can easily turn in to Halloween Weekend with candy and sweets lingering in your home long after the celebration is over.

 

It’s hard not to be tempted when you are surrounded by candy. Even if you don’t like sweets, it feels like temptation is all around. Don’t throw away all your hard work and give in to something you can have any day. Remember, Halloween candy is everyday candy in little costumes. So that cute little chocolate bar that has a ghost on it is really just a a regular chocolate bar you can buy everyday at the local grocery store.

 

Halloween is a fun and festive holiday but it is one day. One day that you can enjoy to the fullest and then get right back on your healthy path. The important thing that all of us should focus on is staying clean and healthy up until Halloween. Many of us are probably buying candy and snacks in preparation for parties and trick or treaters, but you shouldn’t start snacking and nibbling ahead of time. Keep it clean, like any other week, and you will make things so much easier when the festivities end. A helpful hint is to buy the candy you DON’T like this way you are not tempted.

 

If Saturday is your cheat day, enjoy! Remember not to eat everything just because you can. It’s important to eat the treats that you love, not just everything in sight. Mindless eating can become a problem if you let yourself thoughtlessly eat candy after candy. Make it mean something – it’s a treat after a week of eating clean, not just an excuse to eat an entire bag of candy.

 

If Saturday is not your cheat day, then make you own little trick or treat bag and save it for your cheat day.  Have a plan to stay clean for the day. This is more important than usual because you will be surrounded by reasons to cheat. Be sure to follow your plan and try and eat like you normally do. If you are attending a party, eat something healthy ahead of time if you don’t think there will be anything for you there. You can also make healthy treats, like these:

 

Banana Ghosts | Feed Your Skull

Banana Ghosts

 

healthy-kids-halloween-treats-07-pg-full

Pumpkin Dippers (carrots and greens with tooth picks in a bed of hummus)

 

clementine-pumpkins

Mini Pumpkins

 

Cheese-Stick-Zombie-Fingers

Cheese Stick Zombie Fingers (use peppers as finger nails)

 

o-HALLOWEEN-RECIPES-facebook

Dyed Hard Boiled Eggs (Boil eggs as usual and let them cool for 30 minutes. Gently crack the shells but don’t break them off. Put the eggs in a Ziploc and cover in food dye. Let the dye soak in for 30 minutes then rinse the eggs and remove the shells.)

 

Screen Shot 2015-10-27 at 2.42.38 PM

Vegetable Tray

 

Another helpful tip is to stay active. Trick or Treating is fun and it’s also a great opportunity to walk your neighborhood, be social and watch the kids.  Safety is always first priority. Make sure you check their trick or treat candy.  Keep the kids safe while crossing the roads and always best to be in by dark.

 

Once the holiday is over, it’s time to get back on track. You can keep the memories and pictures, but the candy has to go. If it is in your home, it will make it that much harder for you to stay clean. Beware of bite sized candy! It can be great when you want to have a taste of something over the weekend, but it can fool you if you keep it around. One little bite sized piece of candy may not seem like a big deal but every bite counts. If you keep some candy for your family and kids, let them pick the treats they love the most that they can have in moderation for the next few days then get rid of the excess. There are a number of great ways to get rid of unwanted Halloween candy: Organizations like Operation Gratitude will use the candy in care packages to soldiers overseas. Many dentists will “buy back” the candy and use it in care packages as well. If you have young kids who have a hard time giving up their candy, some parents use a trick called the Switch Witch. It’s like the Tooth Fairy, but with this trick they leave candy and in exchange they get a small present. You can also tuck the candy away and after a few days you will probably find that out of sight is out of mind.

 

Have a Happy and Safe Halloween!

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

 

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018

FitnessHealthy TipsLifestyle

Halloween Tricks and Treats

 

Good news and bad news: Halloween is this Saturday! This can be a good thing because that means if it’s your cheat day then you can really enjoy it with your friends and family, and even be able to indulge in some sweets and still get back on plan. The bad news is, Halloween day can easily turn in to Halloween Weekend with candy and sweets lingering in your home long after the celebration is over. 

 

It’s hard not to be tempted when you are surrounded by candy. Even if you don’t like sweets, it feels like temptation is all around. Don’t throw away all your hard work and give in to something you can have any day. Remember, Halloween candy is everyday candy in little costumes. So that cute little chocolate bar that has a ghost on it is really just a a regular chocolate bar you can buy everyday at the local grocery store.    

 

Halloween is a fun and festive holiday but it is one day. One day that you can enjoy to the fullest and then get right back on your healthy path. The important thing that all of us should focus on is staying clean and healthy up until Halloween. Many of us are probably buying candy and snacks in preparation for parties and trick or treaters, but you shouldn’t start snacking and nibbling ahead of time. Keep it clean, like any other week, and you will make things so much easier when the festivities end. A helpful hint is to buy the candy you DON’T like this way you are not tempted.  

 

If Saturday is your cheat day, enjoy! Remember not to eat everything just because you can. It’s important to eat the treats that you love, not just everything in sight. Mindless eating can become a problem if you let yourself thoughtlessly eat candy after candy. Make it mean something – it’s a treat after a week of eating clean, not just an excuse to eat an entire bag of candy.  

 

If Saturday is not your cheat day, then make you own little trick or treat bag and save it for your cheat day.  Have a plan to stay clean for the day. This is more important than usual because you will be surrounded by reasons to cheat. Be sure to follow your plan and try and eat like you normally do. If you are attending a party, eat something healthy ahead of time if you don’t think there will be anything for you there. You can also make healthy treats, like these:

 

Banana Ghosts | Feed Your Skull

Banana Ghosts

 

 healthy-kids-halloween-treats-07-pg-full

Pumpkin Dippers (carrots and greens with tooth picks in a bed of hummus)

 

clementine-pumpkins 

Mini Pumpkins

 

Cheese-Stick-Zombie-Fingers 

Cheese Stick Zombie Fingers (use peppers as finger nails)

 

o-HALLOWEEN-RECIPES-facebook

Dyed Hard Boiled Eggs (Boil eggs as usual and let them cool for 30 minutes. Gently crack the shells but don’t break them off. Put the eggs in a Ziploc and cover in food dye. Let the dye soak in for 30 minutes then rinse the eggs and remove the shells.)

 

Screen Shot 2015-10-27 at 2.42.38 PM 

Vegetable Tray

 

Another helpful tip is to stay active. Trick or Treating is fun and it’s also a great opportunity to walk your neighborhood, be social and watch the kids.  Safety is always first priority. Make sure you check their trick or treat candy.  Keep the kids safe while crossing the roads and always best to be in by dark.  

 

Once the holiday is over, it’s time to get back on track. You can keep the memories and pictures, but the candy has to go. If it is in your home, it will make it that much harder for you to stay clean. Beware of bite sized candy! It can be great when you want to have a taste of something over the weekend, but it can fool you if you keep it around. One little bite sized piece of candy may not seem like a big deal but every bite counts. If you keep some candy for your family and kids, let them pick the treats they love the most that they can have in moderation for the next few days then get rid of the excess. There are a number of great ways to get rid of unwanted Halloween candy: Organizations like Operation Gratitude will use the candy in care packages to soldiers overseas. Many dentists will “buy back” the candy and use it in care packages as well. If you have young kids who have a hard time giving up their candy, some parents use a trick called the Switch Witch. It’s like the Tooth Fairy, but with this trick they leave candy and in exchange they get a small present. You can also tuck the candy away and after a few days you will probably find that out of sight is out of mind. 

 

Have a Happy and Safe Halloween! 

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

 

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018

FitnessHealthy TipsLifestyle

Healthy Halloween Treats

When you’re faced with the constant push of Halloween candy, what can you do to still make the season fun but also healthy? There are so many fall treats and activities that you can enjoy with your family that can also help you stay on track for your weight loss goals. Everyone knows that pumpkin picking is an essential fall outing, but apple picking is also a great seasonal activity for families and groups where the reward is a healthy snack. Kids will love picking them, and it will make eating them a special occasion every time you’re looking for a snack afterwards. When it comes time to carve pumpkins, don’t just throw away the insides. Save the seeds and bake them in the oven for a tasty snack that is also full of antioxidants and minerals, like zinc. And getting them fresh from the pumpkin means no added salt.

 

Another fun snack to make with your kids is Halloween Trail mix. The basic ingredients are Cheerios, nuts, pretzels, raisins and a little bit of Candy Corn, but you can mix it up with whatever flavor Cheerios you like and any kind of nut, or nuts. You can also add some reduced fat popcorn to the mix. Another candy corn themed treat is a Candy Corn Fruit Cocktail. Just cut pineapples and oranges (or Clementine wedges) into bit-sized chucks, and then layer pineapple then orange in a see through cup with a little whipped cream on top.

 

Screen Shot 2014-10-13 at 1.24.54 PM

 

Don’t let the orange peels go to waste – you can use them to make Jack-O-Lantern Fruit Cups. Just cut off the top of the orange and hallow it out, then carve a face onto the orange like a Jack-O-Lantern and fill with the fresh fruit of your choosing, like strawberries, grapes and blueberries.

 

Screen Shot 2014-10-13 at 1.23.13 PM

 

Clementines also make perfect mini pumpkins if you peel them and keep them whole then add a piece of celery to the top as a stem. You can keep going with the fresh fruit with banana ghosts – just cut some bananas in half and add two chocolate chips for eyes and one for a mouth on each half near the end of the banana.

 

banana-ghosts-and-clementine-pumpkins

 

A fun savory dish that could be a great dinner option is Halloween Stuffed Peppers. Simply carve a Jack-O-Lantern face onto the peppers and replaced the top after you carve out the seeds and then cook them as usual.

 

 Screen Shot 2014-10-13 at 1.25.26 PM

 

These recipes are all about putting a healthy spin on Halloween snacks, but also about something more than food. Your kids may try something new, and be proud of something that they picked or made from scratch. It’s more than just unwrapping a piece of candy, you’re preparing something together and eating something you won’t feel guilty about. While it is important to remember to eat healthy, it is also important to enjoy this time with your family. And with these ideas you can do both.

 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

 

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018