Janet Jacks' 5 Tips for a Healthy Halloween

Janet Jacks, founder of Goodness Me!, shared with us her tried-and-true tips on how to have a Healthy Halloween with little ones! Read more to benefit from her experience.  

Halloween can be a fun time for your little ones, of dressing up and make believe and going door-to-door to trick-or-treat. But it also can be a problem for us and our families when we consider the amount of candy they can collect and consume. While the amount of sugar is a real concern, even greater is the danger of all the chemicals and synthetic ingredients these “treats” contain … and these being dumped into little tummies without the important nutrients to metabolize and detoxify it all is an even greater concern. What to do?  

I used to be an elementary school teacher, and the day after Halloween, the children were zoned out, over active, and unable to concentrate. Their bodies were having a hard time dealing with the sugar and chemical aftermath.   When my children were small, they loved the excitement of getting dressed up and knocking on neighbours’ doors, of going out in the dark and staying up late. Setting some parameters ahead of time ensured a happy evening that left everyone feeling like a winner. Here are our secrets of success:  

• We limited the expedition to a few nearby streets, and brought them home before they become overtired or chilled. This kept the amount of goodies reasonable.
• When they came home, they happily traded their collected treats for more nutritious ones that we had bought for them and they loved. They looked forward to this trade every year; it was not deprivation in any way. Check out our Goodness Me!-approved list of our 5 Favourite Healthy Halloween Treats here.
• A few of the ‘better’ (less offensive) treats we let them keep and eat. Once they were old enough, we read the candy labels together and helped them understand that they did not really want to eat shellac or a host of other disgusting ingredients. For a list of 10 ingredients to avoid on Halloween, check out our FREE Halloween Guide with 4 great kid-friendly recipes. Get it here!
• The collected treats were set aside to be given to a charity.
• When they were older, sometimes we traded treats for money that they could put towards something they were saving for