Sweet treats are holiday's worst trick
Halloween is becoming a guilty pleasure in more ways than one.
Swept along with the many other areas of modern living that are now being viewed through the lens of political correctness, celebrations of the holiday in recent years have begun to be replaced with "harvest festivals" by some schools and other organizations.
Halloween's distant pre-Christian origins and the spooky, gory characters some revelers choose to portray may give some celebration-planners pause. But one could argue that the imaginative play-acting the holiday inspires is probably a healthier way to spend an evening than settling down with a computer or video game filled with mind-numbing, routine scenes of violence.
More recently, Halloween has come under attack, with more justification, by nutritionists.
With American adults and youngsters eating themselves into poor health at an alarming rate, the holiday's traditional association with overindulgence in treats is one that deserves attention.
If anybody celebrates Halloween, it certainly ought to be the nation's candy manufacturers. When handouts at parades and parties and the traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating are all accounted for, tons of sweet treats will be flying off store shelves and into kids' tummies over the coming days.
(Not to mention the bulging midsections of more than a few adults. A certain editor still manages to consume his share of candy corn and peanut butter kisses at this time of year.)
A quick scan of various Halloween-related Web sites reveals a number of tips for treat-givers who want to provide healthier snacks for their gobblin' visitors this year. Some are more helpful than others.
There probably aren't many households that will be inclined to shell out $25 for a package of organic chocolates or to distribute treats made with edamame (individual edible soybeans).
But it does seem that it's time for treaters to start cutting back on the sugar and fat in the goodies they dole out.
As with anything in life, perhaps moderation is called for: providing a balance of more healthy snack choices or non-food items in each costumed kid's treat bag along with a few of the standard sweets.
After all, Halloween is a time for letting loose and bending the rules a little bit--including those set by the food police.
Following are some of the healthier treat suggestions from the Web that seem to have the merit of still being palatable to youngsters.
While fresh fruit is a healthy choice, it's not a good idea for door-to-door handouts due to concerns about food tampering.
But single-serving cups of low-sugar fruit or applesauce are just as handy to slip in a treat bag as they are to pack in a lunchbox.
Dried fruit and fruit leather also can be found in individual servings.
String cheese or pre-packaged cheese and crackers is a tasty way to sneak some calcium into kids' Halloween diets.
The granola bar, a snack that resembled a cake of pressed sawdust when it originally was introduced, has evolved to include softer, chewy versions featuring an array of flavors and coatings, including lower-sugar varieties.
Most trick-or-treaters likely would welcome mini-muffins, particularly if you choose ones with chocolate chips.
Snack packs of pretzels, popcorn or roasted pumpkin seeds are other good options.
Nuts also are a healthy choice, except for those who are allergic to them.
One would hope that kids going door-to-door are accompanied by adults able to screen treats for ingredients that might cause an allergic reaction and able to restrain the youngsters from breaking into the loot until they've made it safely home.
One way to enforce restraint is to hand out packets of sugar-free fruit drink or cocoa mix to be enjoyed later.
Sugar-free gum offers kids something to chew on other than candy.
As for traditional sweets, the least objectionable include bite-sized dark chocolate bars, which offset the sugar content with beneficial antioxidants, and licorice or gummy treats that are sweetened with fruit juice or cane sugar instead of corn syrup.
With treats, such as lollipops, that take longer to consume, kids will be less likely to gorge themselves at one sitting.
Non-food treat options also are plentiful.
Brightly colored balloons have the added benefit of making young celebrants more visible to motorists.
They can be found at most dollar stores, along with small puzzles and toys and colored pencils or crayons.
Other non-food ideas include trading cards, stickers, small magic tricks, rubber spiders or worms and coupons or gift cards good at a local restaurant or a family-friendly attraction such as a zoo, movie theater or skating rink.
