Healthy Halloween?

When we think of Halloween most of us think of spooky decorations, costumes, scary movies, trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, but most of all candy and sweets! Halloween is a hard day to avoid temptation when there are so many great candies and cookies to eat, so how are you supposed to keep eating healthy on a day where sugar is the number one food group? 

Keeping a healthy diet on Halloween can be very challenging, especially when you're entertaining guests. Everybody wants to stay on track but nobody wants to miss out on all of the special Halloween treats. Today I will provide some fun Halloween inspired treats and snacks that would be great for any Halloween party as well as healthier candies to hand out to your Trick-Or-Treaters!

Healthy snacks at parties don't usually get touched very much, they are usually the typical platters of broccoli, baby carrots and cauliflower, so how do you get people to eat their fruits and veggies? If you want people to eat the fruits and veggies, pair them with a healthy dip or turn them into something that looks fun to eat. You can even doll up classics like celery with peanut butter or carrots with ranch dip. Fruit can be hard to get rid of as well, an easy way to get people to eat it is making it into jack-o-lantern fruit cups, or dipping things like strawberries and bananas in white chocolate to make chocolate strawberry ghosts! White chocolate ghosts can even be one of the sweet treats served at your party. 

As for the unhealthy snacks such as kettle corn and chips, those can be easily substituted by Jack-O-Lantern Sweet Potato Fries and a clean kettle corn recipe. 

Although snacks are always appreciated on Halloween, everybody knows that the real stars are the sweets. Traditionally, candy corn and Halloween cookies are the main focus, but we all know those aren't the best things to be eating when you are trying to keep your diet healthy. Here are a few awesome recipes you will love for healthy Halloween treats.

1. Clean Eating Pumpkin Cupcakes

2. Peanut Butter Pumpkins

3. Clean Eating Candy Apples

4. Candycorn Popsicles

5. Chocolate Covered Ghost Strawberries

There are so many easy, healthy Halloween snacks and treats that I can't even come close to listing them all, so below are some links to places where I have gotten a lot of the recipes I will be using this year as well as a link that tells you the healthiest candies to be giving out to your trick-or-treaters. Enjoy, and have a very happy and healthy Halloween!

http://greatist.com/health/20-better-halloween-candy-choices

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-halloween/

http://www.listotic.com/64-non-candy-halloween-snack-ideas/

http://www.cleanandscentsible.com/2013/09/heathy-halloween-food-ideas.html

Going Green

You know those nasty green drinks you see health freaks carrying around? You know what I'm talking about, they're usually olive green or brown, kind of lumpy, and have a reputation for tasting like freshly pureed dirt? Well, these disturbing creations are called Green Smoothies. A green smoothie is basically a normal smoothie but with a bunch of leafy greens shoved into the blender along with all of the fruit. So, why do these drinks have such a horrible reputation? And why do people subject themselves to this tastebud torture?

First or all, let's  talk about why people drink this green sludge. Green smoothies have all sorts of great health benefits. Every day we are supposed to eat 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables each day. It doesn't sound like a lot of fruits and vegetables but when you factor into consideration our busy lifestyles, it is a lot more difficult to get the recommended servings each day. The green smoothie is filled with vitamins such as A and C as well as some others depending on the fruits and vegetables one chooses to put in the smoothie. Green smoothies also have a lot of fiber in them, which makes the green smoothie a better choice than a fresh fruit and vegetable juice because the whole fruit is not used when making juice. Green smoothies use the whole fruit (not including pits or skins from fruits such as mangoes and avocados). Over all, green smoothies are a wonderful way to get full servings of  fruits and vegetables without even noticing it.

So, why do green smoothies have such a bad reputation? Well, people give green smoothies such a bad reputation because green smoothies are believed to taste horrible! In truth, if done properly, green smoothies can taste just as amazing as a normal smoothie. If you put the right ratio of fruits to vegetables and use enough liquid, the smoothie may not even be green (or blow) and it will even be SMOOTH, the way a smoothie should be! Green smoothies are a wonderful way to feed kids their fruits and veggies too.

 

Now that you know all about these wonderful creations, here are some tips to make an awesome green smoothie! Enjoy and stay healthy!

1. Blend the greens with the liquids before blending with the fruit and other ingredients.

2. Use Greek Yogurt to make the smoothie creamy with a pack of protein.

3. Use one or two frozen veggies so the smoothie will be nice and cold!

4. Add chia, flax, or hemp seeds for extra nutrition.

5. Do the prep work for your smoothies and store individual servings in mason jars or plastic baggies for smoothies on the go. Make sure to keep your prepped fruits and veggies refrigerated! 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

 We have all heard about Chia Pets, but did you know that the little black seeds that create the magic of the Chia Pet have amazing health benefits? In fact, chia seeds are one of the many superfood secrets that have exploded in the health community in the past few years. Originating in South America, these seeds were a huge dietary staple of the Aztecs and Mayans. The Aztecs and Mayans prized the seeds because of their ability to provide sustainable energy; however, these seeds provide more than energy.

One serving (one ounce) of seeds is filled with protein, fiber, fat (5 grams of which are Omega-3s), Calcium, Manganese, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Potassium, Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), and Vitamin B2. They are also a great source of antioxidants and claimed to help control hunger. Just to add to all of these pros, a whole ounce is only 137 calories. 

But enough about facts, I am sure you are wondering how you are supposed to eat these tiny packages of nutrition and the answer is simple; you can eat chia seeds any way you want. When I eat chia seeds I typically put them in my yogurt with granola, or I like to put them in smoothies. Chia seeds have a very similar size and texture to seeds from marion berries. Although I typically include them in my breakfast, there are a million more ways to include chia seeds in your diet. You can put chia seeds in your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. You can even use chia seeds as an egg replacement in baking! So, in order to help you in your journey with the Chia Seed I have put together five of my favorite chia seed recipes! Enjoy!

1. Gluten-Free Fresh Blackberry Oat Bars

2. Chocolate and Coconut Chia Seed Mousse 

3. Honey Almond Chia Granola

4. Chia Seed Pudding

5. Banana-Peanut Butter Chia Seed Muffins