Community Corner

Enjoy Halloween on the Lighter Side

The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation provides tips to enjoy the holiday without the extra pounds.

For many people, autumn events like Halloween are fun times to dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, attend parties and eat plenty of candy. These events are also opportunities to provide nutritious snacks and get physical activity.

As local families prepare to celebrate Halloween, the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation is urging parents to think of ways to promote health with their children while still having fun this weekend.

Here are a few tips from the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation:

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  • Buy your Halloween candy as late as possible so it does not get eaten ahead of time.
  • Buy candy that you do not like instead of your favorite candy.
  • Pass out items such as apples, raisins, 100-calorie packs of crackers or Oreos, Teddy grahams and animal crackers. Also pre-packaged cheese crackers now come in whole wheat variety.
  • Make sure your kids have a good healthy meal before trick-or-treating so they do not gorge on candy.
  • Hide the candy and limit how many pieces they can eat each day.
  • Try and throw out of most of the bright colored candy. It has the most sugar and fake additives.

"Keep in mind all of the candy does not have to be eaten," Sheila Gillman, executive assistant at the CWF said. "After several days or so when my kids have lost interest, I pitch the leftovers when they are not looking."

Gillman said roasted pumpkin seeds can also provide a delicious healthy alternative to candy that is a good source of zinc.

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"For something fun, clip a pedometer onto your kids. It will be a fun and inexpensive way for them to keep track of how far they’ve walked," she said.

Alternatively, families who want to avoid candy altogether can join the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program. The United Nations Children’s Fund, was founded in 1946 to protect the well-being of children in the aftermath of World War II. More than 60 years later UNICEF is still going strong, providing money for improved nutrition, clean water, medications, vaccines, sanitation and educational supplies for children.

Families can order collection boxes and fundraising kits online or by calling 1-800-FOR-KIDS.


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