Halloween kicks off the start of months of holiday celebrations filled with treats running all the way through Easter and with it a barrage of decisions for holistic families around sugar, food dyes, seed oils, and allergens that many conventional candys and snacks contain.
Online I see parents debating collecting candy and giving it to the switch witch, donating it to troops through dentist collections, allowing unlimited access for a short time before tossing the rest, avoiding trick or treating all together and dozens of other ideas to control the flow. One of our HMN chapters has started hosting their own holistic truck or treat, requesting that families bring only dye free and low sugar treats or non-food items.
Picking what works for your family might take some time and thought and might change as kids get bigger. A small neighborhood trunk or treat was perfect for my preschooler and mom and dad even shared some of the haul making Halloween feel like a small indulgence, but my now fourth grader wants to do the town trunk or treat and trick or treat in the neighborhood with friends and comes home with a big pile! Regardless of how you decide to handle the haul we can all strive to choose to share healthier treats with our friends and families ourselves!
There are several companies offering healthier choices that kids will be excited about but will also make you feel better about sharing them. Check out some of our favorites that are widely available:
- Yum Earth & Torie and Howard -lollipops, sour gummies and fruit snacks many Top 9 allergen free, organic, non-GMO, gluten free and vegan!
- Unreal – low sugar, peanut butter cups and chocolate coconut bars that are fair trade, gluten free, vegan, non-GMO with simple ingredients
- Black Forest – organic gummy bears that are gluten free, no artificial colors or flavors and many top 8 allergen free
- OCHO Candy – organic, fair trade chocolates including many favorites like caramel, peppermint and peanut butter.
What do you do for Halloween treats?