Healthy Halloween!

Pawsitive Nutrition wants you to have a happy and healthy Halloween! 

    

 

Did you know that approximately $1.9 billion dollars worth of candy is sold each Halloween? To avoid feeling like you were a major contributor, here are some ways to reduce the amount of calories, sugar, and fat you consume this October.

• Practice portion control. Decide how much you are going to eat and give yourself a portion rather than eating from a large bag.
• Don’t leave candy in plain sight. Put candy away instead of keeping it out on a table or counters.
• Be mindful! Enjoy every bite and stop when you’re satisfied.
• Donate extra candy.
• Consider not buying candy and opt for other “sweet treats” such as clementines and other fresh and frozen fruit.

Party Tips

• Have a healthy snack before leaving for a party so you are not starving when you get there.

• Drink in moderation. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram; these are considered empty calories because they do not have beneficial nutrients. Moderate drinking means one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men but you can always opt to make fun alcohol-free drinks for parties. One drink is equal to a 12 oz beer, a 5 oz glass of wine, or 1.5oz of liquor.

• Be active! Both dancing and trick or treating burn calories.

Halloween is for Pumpkins.

Pumpkin seems to be sneaking its way into all sorts of recipes. There are many reasons to add pumpkin products to your grocery list this Halloween. One cup of pure pumpkin has almost two day’s worth of Vitamin A, a vitamin important for gene transcription, eye health, and immunity¹. Carving pumpkins this Halloween? Toasting the seeds is a healthy tradition. One ounce of pumpkin seeds contains 5 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of fat. 

If you’re looking to try a new pumpkin treat, try this healthy pumpkin smoothie.

Creamy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Yield: 4 cups

· 2 cups milk (1%)

· 1/2 cup rolled oats

· 2 tbsp chia seeds (optional)

· 1 cup canned pumpkin

· 1/2 tbsp honey

· 1 frozen ripe banana

· 2 tsp cinnamon

· 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1. In a medium-sized bow whisk together the milk, oats, and chia seeds. Place in fridge for 1 hour or overnight.

2. Add soaked oat mixture to blender along with the pumpkin, honey, frozen banana, and spices. Blend until smooth. Add about 5 ice cubes and blend. Divide into four servings.

3. Sprinkle cinnamon on top and enjoy!

Nutrients	Amount Per Serving
Total Calories	184 calories
Protein	8 g
Carbohydrate	31 g
Dietary Fiber	7 g
Total Fat	4 g
High in Vitamin A (78% RDA), Calcium (23% RDA),  and Vitamin B12 (24% RDA)

                    

 

Recipe Adapted from: www.ohsheglows.com. Nutrient information derived from www.choosemyplate.gov.

Educational Information adapted from eatright.org.

1. Jane Higdon, Victoria Drake. Vitamin A: Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. 2007. Available at: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminA/. Accessed October 26, 2014.