Kids love Halloween, as they tend to get to eat loads of goodies like sweets and chocolates. All these are from the trick r treats that they get while going house to house. Adults are not spared, as they have to eat the left overs or have Halloween parties that creates the mood. If you want to watch your weight and still enjoy the festive season, read on as this article from Mary gives you tips on how to eat.

Halloween can wreak havoc with your weight, blood sugar levels and dental health. Here are my Top10 Tips for healthy eating at Halloween.

• Instead of candy, buy Halloween toys for treats. Small, inexpensive toys like Halloween pencils, mini balls, stickers, vampire teeth, spider rings and other fun novelties are great fun for kids. Halloween toys can cost as little as 5 or 10 cents each, so you don’t need to spend more money than you do on candy. Toys won’t tempt you to break your diet; don’t contain food allergens like some candies; and extras can be stored for next year. You can even buy Halloween toothbrushes to give out as treats!
• Do not buy candy early in the month. The more time candy is sitting in your cupboard, the more willpower you will need to have. Too many people buy candy early, only to discover most of it has been eaten before the trick or treaters come around.
• Buy brands of candy you do NOT like. Every one has different tastes, and the trick or treat gatherers may love a type of candy you do not like. You face less temptation this way.
• Do not let your kids skip dinner before they go out trick or treating. They will eat more candy and junk to fill up and will be lacking the protein necessary in their diet.
• Limit trick or treating time. The more time trick or treating = the more houses = the more candy = the more total calories and sugar your child (family) will consume.
• After you have checked through the candy to make sure it is safe, let your child pick out 3 or 4 pieces to eat. Throw out any candy that looks questionable. Store the rest of the collected candy in a container and put it on a high shelf. Let your child have 1 or 2 pieces a day until the candy is gone.
• Take some of the candy, like Smarties or M & M’s, and store them separately for baking use. Next time your child has a birthday, or needs to make cupcakes for school, you can use these colourful candies for decorations.
• Not all of the candy has to be eaten. Throw some out as the weeks go by and the child is less focused on the treats from Halloween.
• Make sure your child balances candy with proper food. Provide a healthy snack like fruit, yogurt, crackers and cheese, etc. when your child comes home hungry. They will be less likely to binge on candy if they are not starving.
• There are fun and healthy foods that are associated with Halloween. Pull out and roast the seeds from the pumpkins when you are carving them. Take advantage of the apples, squash, tomatoes and vegetables in season. Turn the focus from candy to the wonderful harvest foods that are available this time of year.

Changing focus from candy to activities, crafts and games, will help your child associate Halloween with more than just collecting sweets. Setting a good example and learning nutrition facts can help you ensure that Halloween is not so scary for your family’s health.

Mary Roberts is a nutritionist specializing in natural foods. She writes articles and blogs about healthy nutrition for kids and families at http://kidsnutritionist.blogspot.com

Here’s an article i found that talks about being earth friendly, something that we all should do.

Let’s face it – Halloween is not great for the environment with all of those little packages, wrappers, costume bags, face paints, etc. It is not great for our waist lines or teeth either. Since I am always looking for ways to improve things, I feel I have stumbled upon a great solution to make Halloween trick or treat bags safer. How? Give out Halloween toys instead of candy.

What are Halloween toys? There are a number of items that you can buy for around the same cost as candy. My favorites are ones that will be used and reused often. Pencils decorated with pumpkins, ghosts, ghouls and witches make a fun reminder of Halloween that kids can use at school or at home. Erasers and pencil toppers also come in a variety of fun shapes and sizes. Since kids need these items anyways, why not give them instead of candy?

There are also items for recess or play, like: bouncy balls that look like eyeballs; squishy balls; soft spiked balls and toy tops. There are also keepsakes, like rings; necklaces; stuffed toys; glow-in-the-dark-teeth and light-up pins. There are practical items such as mini flashlights; socks; reflective necklaces and coffee mugs – although these will usually cost around $1 each. Craft items are also fun and useful and can include wood shapes; markers; foam kits; stampers and glitter glue.

As always, look for items that are made from recycled materials.

Kids love to get toys and receiving them as Halloween treats helps to cut down on the amount of candy and sugar they eat. Halloween toys are also great for schools, clubs and parties. Unlike candy, toys do not cause obesity, tooth decay or allergic reactions. Toys are harder to tamper with, so kids are safer. Best of all, you do not have to worry about over-buying. If you have toys left over, simply store them for next year. You can’t do that with candy!

Stephanie Browning (Eco Chick) is an environmentally conscious mom and activist who likes to share little ways we can all contribute to saving the planet for future generations. For more see http://www.planetecochick.blogspot.com Watch a video with kids making Halloween treat bags at http://www.fitforafeast.com/halloween_treat_alternatives.htm

I found some cool videos on haunted houses, take a look at some. I know there are more, please feel free to drop me a comment if you know of more haunted house videos

Check the haunted house – http://www.hauntedbuffalo.com.

House of Torment
E Highland Mall blvd
Austin, Texas 78752
Check the house out – http://www.houseoftorment.com

Want to dress up as a vampire for halloween? Here’s a vampire fang video, check the video out

If you are wondering how halloween came about, you would be surprise to find out that the day is actually from the celts culture wuo used to believe in pagan gods which believes in “Spirits”, both good and bad. It is believe that on halloween night, spirits of the dead would come out of their graves to torment the living. Why, not sure might be for fun or something.

To keep these spirits away, the celts would paint themselves in a ghoulish manner. The believe is that would keep evil spirits away from the living. As this culture continues, masks were invented and replaced face paint and thats how we have the dazzling costumes today.

In todays culture, costumes are starting to be evolve to a more friendly look and with kids watching latest movies, I wouldnt be surprize the costumes to change in looks soon

Did you manage to decide your cosutme already? If not you can check out the new costumes for the year

If you have a part y to go, what costume would you be going as? This year hot costumes would be GI Joe, Twilight or maybe transformers.

Are you looking to get one of these?