Spooky Surprises: The Truth About Halloween Goodies

Halloween is only a few days away! There is a lot of fun involved in Halloween, but if you are not careful you can pack a lot of calories into one day of fun. Americans are becoming more and more overweight due to poor food choices and inactivity. Halloween promises a night full of activity with parties and trick-or-treating. Here are some helpful hints to keep Halloween fun and healthy:

1.) Prepare a healthy, filling snack before you go to a party or take your kids trick-or-treating. An example of a snack to enjoy is a peanut butter and banana sandwich. You can also have a fruit and low-fat yogurt parfait. These snacks will help satisfy your sweet tooth before heading out and overindulging on sweets.

2.) Keep the goodies you collect from trick-or-treating around for 2-3 days then take the rest to the office or to class. This will allow you to enjoy some goodies, but it will keep you from being tempted to eat the whole stash.

3.) While at a Halloween party, fill a small plate with food at the food table and then leave the area to avoid the temptation of getting seconds.

4.) While at the Halloween party enjoy low-calorie or no-calorie beverages. If you are over 21 and choose to drink alcohol, mix your drinks with a non-caloric beverage. Examples are: diet soda, water, crystal light, and zero calorie powerade.

5.) If going to a Halloween party, prepare a healthy dish to bring with you for yourself and to share with others. Examples are: fruit and/or veggies and dip, baked tortilla chips and salsa, or pita chips and hummus.

6.) Don’t buy Halloween candy too early. If the candy is sitting around your house before Halloween you will be more tempted to overindulge in the sweet treats.

7.) After Halloween is over, place extra candy in a cabinet that you do not use everyday. Out of sight is out of mind. If you do not see the candy you will be less likely to eat too much of it.

8.) After Halloween is over, skip out on the candy sales. Instead of buying the reduced price candy, use the extra money to do something fun for yourself such as go to a movie with a friend, buy a new book, or buy a new CD.

9.) Here are some better options when choosing candy on Halloween:
-2 Dum Dums has 51 calories
-2 Hershey Kisses w/ peanut butter has 59 calories
-2 Rolos has 55 calories
-2 rolls of Smarties has 50 calories
-2 Midgees Tootsie Rolls has 47 calories

**Be weary of “fun-size” treats. Most “fun-size” treats pack almost 100 calories per pack.

Hopefully these tips and guidelines will help you have a fun and healthy Halloween this year! BOOO!!

GSU Coordinated Program Interns Group V

Snacks for Students

March is National Nutrition Month and the American Dietetic Association has come up with a great list of snacks that work well for students. Click here to download the list....

Some of the ideas you'll find on the handout are:

Graham Cracker sandwich with frozen yogurt and sliced banana

Baked Potato with low-fat cheddar cheese and salsa

Whole-grain waffle with low-fat yogurt and sliced peaches

Easy peanut butter balls

Parmesan popcorn

Mini pizzas on English muffins

Rocky Road pudding

...and more!

These aren't the beets that you remember!

Beet Chips

4 beets, scrubbed -- do not peel
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Maldon sea salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Using the slicing blade of your food processor, a mandoline or a sharp knife, slice beets thinly. You want them to be the size of a potato chip. Toss with olive oil and salt. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Roast 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning halfway through, until crisp. Check often to make sure they don't burn.

Makes 4 servings.

For a twist on vegetables...try baked veggie chips

You can make these at home!

Baked Vegetable Chips

Yield: Makes 6 one-half cup servings (3 cups total)

The fine-slicing blade of a food processor or a mandoline is a great tool for cutting these vegetables. Serve them as you would potato chips: as a snack or as a side dish with a sandwich. Choose either a Mediterranean-style flavor or a dill-based seasoning.

Ingredients:

For the Mediterranean-style Chips:
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 cups 1/4 inch thick slices peeled root vegetables such as sweet or white potatoes, parsnips, or carrots (1 pound)

For the Dill Chips:
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried dillweed
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups 1/4 inch-thick slices peeled root vegetables such as sweet or white potatoes, parsnips, or carrots (1 pound)

Directions:

For the Mediterranean-style Chips:
In a large bowl stir together the oil, garlic salt, thyme, oregano, and pepper. Add vegetable slices and toss gently till well coated. Arrange in a single layer on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 20-25 minutes, or till crisp and light golden brown. Serve warm.

For the Dill Chips:
In a large bowl stir together the oil, garlic, dillweed, and salt. Continue as directed above.

Recipe reprinted by permission of Weldon Owen. All rights reserved.

Make your own Trail Mix

Sure, you can buy trail mix in the store but it's not always affordable. Buying the ingredients separately will allow you to pick your favorite healthy ingredients and will also cost less in the long run. Make a batch ahead of time and portion out 1/4 cup at a time for an easy healthy snack that is great when you're on the go!



Ingredients:

Unsalted nuts, peanuts, cashews, or almonds
Sunflower seeds
Dried cranberries
Dried cherries
Dried apricots
Raisins
Mini chocolate chips
Mini pretzels
Multi grain Cheerios
Whole wheat Chex cereal
Granola

Directions: In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup of 8 of the above items. Choose a variety of ingredients (dried fruit, nuts, cereal, seeds, candies). Store in an airtight container. Serving size: 1/4 cup

Have you heard of the Laughing Cow?

If not, it's worth checking out. Laughing Cow products make excellent snacks and double as great low-fat recipe substitutions!

1. Laughing Cow Lite Swiss Cheese Wedges



These are only 35 calories per wedge and the rich Swiss cheese with a touch of cream makes for really good flavor. You can spread it on: crackers, apples, bagels, deli meat, sandwiches, wraps, and more.

Here's two quick snack ideas using the Laughing Cow Lite:

"Strawberry Cheesecake Snacks"

Ingredients:
2 Graham Cracker sheets (4 squares)
1 wedge Laughing Cow Lite cheese
1 tbs Low-sugar Strawberry Preserves

Directions:
Spread the cheese over the two graham cracker sheets, then top with the strawberry preserves. Then, enjoy!

"Sliced Pears topped with creamy cheese and almonds"

Ingredients:
1 pear, sliced
1 wedge Laughing Cow Lite cheese
1 tbs sliced almonds

Directions:
Spread the cheese evenly over the pear slices, then sprinkle with sliced almonds. This makes a great party appetizer, too!

2. Mini Babybel Light


(Regular Babybel cheese pictured here)

These individually wrapped cheeses have just 50 calories each, for the Light Babybel. You can enjoy a Mini Babybel with a serving of crackers and grapes for a great snack. How sophisticated!

The Laughing Cow website also has some great recipe ideas, so check them out here!

Quick n' Easy Chocolate Muffins

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
Prep time: 5 min, Cook time: 20 min

Ingredients:
1 box Devil’s Food cake mix
1 15 oz can pure pumpkin

Directions:Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the two ingredients together. The mixture will be very thick, but don't add anything else! Place batter into a 12-cup muffin pan lined with baking cups or sprayed with nonstick spray. Place pan in the oven, and bake for 20 minutes.

Yields: 12 muffins

Nutrition Per Serving (1 muffin):
Calories: 180
Fat: 3.5 g
Protein: 2 g
Carbohydrate: 37 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sugar: 20 g
Sodium: 357 mg