The billion bags of candy have suddenly appeared in storefronts and on end-caps. It is as if little Halloween candy elves worked tirelessly, and with incredible market savvy, to ensure that no matter what degree your head is turned there is a mini Milky-way or Reece’s cup within eye-shot.
I like a Peppermint Pattie like the rest of you people but is it the best thing for us to be ingesting? And a particularly good question considering the quantities that we consume this time of year? So a prepared ghoul, is a successful ghoul. I am going to arm you with Paleo Halloween alternatives that have some element of nutritional value.
12 GHOULPROOF PALEO TREATS FOR THE ROCKINGEST PALEO HALLOWEEN
But first, maybe you are not a big supporter of the scary bits to Halloween, or you think you might like to do something different. I have some alternative ideas for Halloween you may want to consider:
WHAT CAN YOU PUT IN TREAT BAGS INSTEAD OF JUNKY FOOD?
Mandarin oranges with Sharpie jack-o-lantern faces
Lara Bars
Stickers
Sidewalk Chalk
Sticky Spiders
More here: PALEO FRIENDLY TRICK OR TREAT IDEAS
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Now some of you may choose to send your kids out for traditional trick or treating. If you do, it is a good opportunity to talk about the fun dress-up experience and sense of community. But it is also a time to talk about the impact of sugar and why we want to limit or eliminate it from our diets.
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH ALL THAT HALLOWEEN CANDY?
1. DONATE: My dentist office has a donation bin for all Halloween candy. You can simply take some or all of what was collected and drop it in the bin. Some dentists even have a “50 cents per pound” incentive!
2. SEND OVERSEAS: Do I want our troops hooped up on high fructose corn syrup? No. But the option is available. Here is the link to DONATE
3. JUST TELL ‘EM YOU TOOK IT: Thank you, Jimmy Kimmel. WATCH HERE
4. BUY BACK: Workout a mutually agreeable buy-back plan. Perhaps find out something they want like a new toy or a tech gadget and offer it in trade.
5. HALLOWEEN FAIRY: Anther sneaky yet effective way to get rid of that junk in your house. The Halloween Fairy descends in the middle of the night and sweeps away all the candy. Good news, she leaves a little treat in its place.
6. HIDE IT AWAY FOR LATER: For those of you living the Paleo lifestyle, I do not recommend this alternative. I have yet to successfully forget that candy is shoved in the back of the freezer. BUT, if you can forget about it and you occasionally have guests that insist on non-paleo treats, this option might come in handy.
7. THROW IT OUT: By far my favorite. What you are throwing away is not food, nor should it ever be part of a nutrition plan for a starving child in Africa, so just throw it out.
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Now we can finally get to it! Here are some great options for serving paleo-healthy treats and desserts during the Halloween season.
PALEO OPTIONS FOR HALLOWEEN
Chocolate Covered Bacon
Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
Antioxidant Chocolate Bites
Paleo Pumpkin Pie
Homemade Almond Joy
Paleo Ghost Truffles
Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pops
Roasted Sweet Potato Ghouls and ghosts
Apple Sunbutter Teeth Bites
Juicy Giggles
Tangerine Pumpkins and Banana Ghosts
Yummy Mummies
This Halloween practice some new ways to deal with all the temptation. Perhaps you choose to abstain from any of the Halloween events that promote lots of candy? Or maybe you schedule something fun for your family, like a dress-up bowling night or an at home party with games. At the minimum do not buy candy till hours before “show time” and throw it out as soon as the last kid leaves. Also, buying candy you don’t particularly favor is a good stop-gap as well. Paleo Halloween, rocks!
If you liked this post, you howl at the moon for these!
PALEO THANKSGIVING EXTRAVAGANZA
THE ART OF ZEN CHRISTMAS CRAFTING
LOOKING TO BURN OFF ALL THAT CANDY?
41 Responses
Homemade pumpkin seeds remind me of my childhood, love it!
I will definitely be making that chocolate covered bacon
I love the idea of the tangerine pumpkin heads! Totally portable, better for you than the pounds of sugar-coated candies too! I like serving something different up for Halloween treats!
So many great treats to choose from and enjoy the non eatable alternatives.
Halloween is awesome, my kids do all the work, and then I eat all the rewards! I do it for them, I want them to be healthy. It’s good parenting!
Some of these are so adorable… but I can’t stop thinking about the chocolate covered bacon!!!
ME TOO, JILL!!!!
MMmmm chocolate-covered bacon!!!!!!
All these foods look amazing. Yum. I need to make those banana ghosts and pumpkin oranges. So easy!
Great post!Love the idea of giving healthy treats.Thanks for sharing!
http://www.hugshomemade.com
Great info!! Lucky we don’t celebrate Halloween in South Africa
Really good!
A lot of great treats – I love Halloween for the treats. xx
Apple Sunbutter Teeth Bites – mind blowing idea! How well made! And I am curious about the antioxidant chocolate bites too.
Good! The Antioxidant Bites are my recipe! Please enjoy!
Such great ideas. I will never definitely be trying some of the recipes.
Love all your tips for what to do with leftover candy!
Thanks, Lindsey!!
These are great alternatives. Thank you
I am dreading halloween because of all the candy…that seems to stick around right through the new year!
I agree, but now you have tools to get rid of it immediately!
Awesome ! This looks really good
These are some awesome ideas! Love it!
Rita | http://www.styleroundtheclock.com
Great ideas! that bacon is not for me but the rest yummy
Funny. That is the one that I liked the best!
Don’t throw it out! We’ll take care of it right here. 😉
Ha ha! NOOOOOOOO Jessica!
I think halloween is one of the anticipated days both for adult amd kids.
Cool ideas!
Very cool post! I used to love going out for candy on Halloween! These ideas look divine! Not sure I could stomach the chocolate-covered bacon though! (And I am canadian lol)
That is hilarious. You will be surprised how much you love it when you try it! (I’m from Vancouver!)
These all look and sound so good! The homemade almond joy would be my fav because I love almonds!
Those paleo treats all looks amazing! Especially the chocolate covered bacon!
OMG those homemade almond joys look sooooo good!!! Those I have to try!!
Chocolate covered bacon YUMMMY!!!
Good suggestions on items like stickers or sidewalk chalk to give out to kids!
Great tips! There are so many health options for sweets!
Great ideas! Halloween candy makes me feel so gross.
This is a FANTASTIC resource and a wealth of info. I pinned it for later. Great job!!
Choco bacon! Yummy!
I love this! I am so sick of candy these option make Halloween more enjoyable and tasty