Halloween Treats

Trick or Treat! It's time to celebrate on of my favorite holidays the Plan Z Diet way.

By: Zola
Chief Dieter
Plan Z Diet





I like Halloween more than Christmas. My husband and I used to have huge celebrations on Halloween. We’d throw a costume party and would invite friends over for food and drinks. Although we no longer have parties on Halloween, it is still my favorite holiday.

Apparently we’re not the only adults who get excited about Halloween. Statistics show that parents spend more than 1 billion dollars on Halloween costumes for their kids. This year, 41 million trick-or-treaters are expected to hit the pavement all ghouled up, ringing doorbells and asking for treats. And the adults will be at home waiting for them, with lots of candy. That’s the part that makes me Plan Z Diet queasy…all that candy.

Did you know people buy twice as much chocolate for Halloween than they do for Valentine’s Day?

Last year, parents purchased more than 90 million dollars worth of chocolate to give out on Halloween. Yikes! To make matters worse, 90 million dollars is just for the chocolate. That doesn’t even count the other stuff like the little gummies, the pop rocks and the mini tootsie rolls. And we wonder why so many of our children suffer from obesity.

I used to pride myself on having the best Halloween candy bar selection in the neighborhood. Now that I know what all that sugar does to a kid, I’m no longer interested in having the best candy on the block.

Since starting The Plan Z Diet I no longer give out candy. Now I get better stuff. I decided the smarter and healthier thing to do is to treat Halloween like a mini-Christmas.

Get my drift?

On Christmas, the tradition is to give gifts. I like that tradition very much. So instead of giving candy, I give toys on Halloween. There is no rule that says you must give kids candy on Halloween. There are all different kinds of “treats” that can make Halloween enjoyable. My husband and I make an evening of it.

Here’s what we do:

First, we set up a small table and two chairs next to our front door. Usually I grab a hall table; that way we can sit in the entryway of the house. We have a basket of treats all set to go. We make cocktails and set up snacks for ourselves, like Cinnamon Buttered Pecans and Fried Apples.

Then we get out a game we want to play. Usually it’s a card game that is not spoiled by the ringing of the doorbell. Each time the bell rings one of us gets up to greet the kiddies and we let them pick out what they want for a treat. Because we are both sitting by the door, we both see the costumes and enjoy the ceremony of the little ones chirping “Trick-or-Treat.”

We get to greet the moms and dads who are accompanying the kids too. It’s really a treat for us, truth be told.

At first the neighborhood kids get a startled look on their faces when they stick their hand into our treat basket and discover there’s no candy. But then they see there are fun little toys. We tell them they can pick a toy or two and then they turn to their parents and say, “Look Mom! They’re giving out toys! YAY!”

They giggle with glee as they try to make up their mind which gift they want.

Sometimes they have a hard time choosing. I don’t mind. That gives us more time to enjoy the costumes and the fun. Many times the parents are just as curious to see what is in the basket, and they’ll help their child pick out a toy. They thank me for not giving out more candy. The kids just don’t need it. There are healthier options that are just as fun.

For this year’s Plan Z Diet trick-or-treat basket I found a bunch of wind up monsters, teeny boxes of crayons and parachuting GI Joe’s. I also found some little rubber duckie tub toys dressed in their own Halloween costumes. They are darling. The best place to buy Halloween treats is at a craft store. That’s where I got my little monsters and the rubber duckies. Last year I bought Halloween themed pencils, whistles, kazoos, crazy glasses, flying frog toys, spider rings and stretchy skeletons. How fun is that?!?!

You can also go to stores like Target to get small toys. I go straight to the party section and look for the packs of toys used to fill goody bags. Since they are sold in multiples, one pack of party toys equals lots of happy trick-or-treaters. Each kid doesn’t need a whole bag of treats, one or two is plenty. I’ve gotten little cars and little stuffed animals. Stickers are a hit too. The options are limitless.

Giving out toys is good on your budget too. I checked the pricing: those little Snicker’s Bars are 17 cents each. I got 137 toys for under $20. That’s about 15 cents per toy. So I get the satisfaction of giving kids something that lasts more than the two seconds it takes to rip open a piece of candy and jam it in their mouth. Plus, I am not contributing to the sugar rush that sends them bouncing off the walls, the possible tummy ache, and the eventual weight problem that comes along later. I have given them hours (or at least 20 solid minutes) of fun. They can flip their flying frog across the table over and over again. They can tease the family cat with it. They can use their Halloween pencil for weeks. They can blow on their kazoo or their Halloween whistle ‘til they drive their parents nuts.

This is my contribution to a Healthier Halloween filled with just as much fun. Hopefully this (and these pumpkin recipes) will inspire you to experiment with non-candy treats this year, too. Try out my Plan Z Diet Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (they are a Plan Z Diet absolute favorite!)  and Plan Z Diet Pumpkin Cheesecake!

Have a Happy Halloween!


To read more of Zola's blogs CLICK HERE or head over to https://www.planzdiet.com/blog/