The cooler air and changing leaves can only mean one thing! Fall is upon us and Halloween is right around the corner. While the kid in me loves the idea of dressing up and indulging in unlimited candy over the entire month of October, I understand that the sweets need to be balanced out with non-sugary treats that are still festive and fun.

As a registered dietitian and a mom to a candy-loving daughter, I try to find ways to allow my little one to enjoy the season without overdoing it on the sweet treats. While candy in moderation can be a healthy part of a diet, excessive sugar intake can take its toll on a child’s weight, dental health, and behavior. While I see nothing wrong with an occasional indulgence once-in-a-while, a month-long sugar-a-thon does not result in anything positive for both parents and kids.

Thankfully, I have found some dietitian and mom-approved ways to offer up some Halloween fun while taking it easy on the candy.  All of these have been tested on my very opinionated daughter who has a vicious sweet tooth. If she is happy with these treats, everybody will be happy with these treats.

Here are three ways that we celebrate Halloween in a fun, yet candy-free way.

1. Whip Up Some Homemade Treats With Your Kiddos. When you cook at home, you have complete control over what is going into your recipes. And working with your kids in the kitchen is a great way to bond and help them learn skills they will need for the rest of their life. Kids seem to be just as happy gobbling up a better-for-you snack with a Halloween twist as they are chowing down on a pre-packaged candy bar.

One kitchen favorite we have in our home is making vampire mouths. Starting with one washed, cored, and quartered Envy apple, we cut a wedge from the skin side of each quarter and press almond slivers in place of teeth. The skin of Envy apples are a perfect shade of red to look like lips and offer up a boost of fiber to help support your kid’s gut health. Plus, this snack has no added sugars, yet is naturally sweet and yummy!

2. Go For Some Non-Edible Fun. From slime to stickers, there is no shortage of treats that don’t involve food. When my daughter starts whining for yet another peanut butter cup, I whip out some werewolf temporary tattoos or a pumpkin-shaped stamper with ink. My daughter gets so excited to play with something new, that she doesn’t give the lack of candy a second thought.

3. Opt For Some Halloween-Themed Low-Sugar Packaged Snacks. One of our household favorites around this time of year is all the fun snacks dressed up for Halloween! Whether it’s buying pretzels in the shape of pumpkins, little fish dressed up as vampires and bats, or other snacks in the shape of ghosts, you name it, we love it! I make a point to purchase better-for-you snacks dressed up in Halloween flair like PopCorners Halloween snack packs to keep the focus on the festive and not the sweets.

A healthier and just-as-fun Halloween can be had without a constant sugar rush with a little creativity and know-how. Choosing better-for-you snacks that are wrapped in festive packaging, making DIY fruit-based snacks, and leaning on small toys instead of treats can help your kids enjoy their Halloween without the sugar hangover.

Lauren Manaker, MS, RD
Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Lauren Manaker is an award-winning registered dietitian, lactation counselor and author. Lauren's work has been featured in numerous publications and demostrates her committment to sharing evidence-based nutrition guidance that simplifies healthy eating. When she is not writing, Lauren can be found boating with her husband, daughter and rescue pup on the waters of Charleston, SC.

Eggs, bacon, pancakes, and waffles are all typically considered breakfast foods (unless you’re at a diner at 2 a.m. after a party). But people may look at you strangely if you eat them for anything other than breakfast or brunch—and brunch definitely requires mimosas. That is why I tend to get a lot of strange looks when I tell people I cook breakfast for dinner at least twice a week.

With two kids—one of whom is less than a year old—it has quite literally saved my sanity. And here are four reasons why.

1. It’s Cheap

Breakfast food is probably the least expensive option I can choose for dinner. On an easy night, I serve cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, toast, and some fruit. It’s pretty simple, and the only thing I actually buy for my breakfast-for-dinner that I don’t use elsewhere is the bacon or sausage.

If I want to get fancy, I can whip up some pancakes or make waffles with ingredients I already have in my pantry, so there’s no extra expense there. All in all, it’s probably the easiest thing I can do for dinner, short of ordering a pizza, and it’s infinitely cheaper.

2. It’s Quick and Easy

How long do you spend in the kitchen prepping and cooking a typical dinner? One hour? Two? Longer?

I have to say, if you’re spending more than two hours in the kitchen, take a cooking class. You’ll save yourself a ton of time in the long run.

I can whip up an entire breakfast feast in less than half an hour, and most of that is cooking whatever breakfast meat I’m going to serve with dinner. There’s one pan for the eggs, one for the meat and a third for the pancakes if I’m cooking them on the stove. I’ve got this killer recipe for super easy pancakes that don’t use any flour at all, and even my picky eater devours them. I am the multitasking queen when it comes to making breakfast for dinner.

Don’t ask me to multitask anywhere else. Just don’t. It ends badly.

If I had to spend an hour or more in the kitchen trying to cook a meal that my picker eater probably won’t touch, I’d lose my mind. After about 20 minutes, both of my children will insist on being on my hip, and it’ll take me even longer to get dinner on the table.

3. It Helps Me Deal With a Picky Eater

In spite of my best efforts to expand her palate, my 5-year-old daughter seems happy to subsist on yogurt, cheese, and fruit. Half the time she’d rather go to bed without dinner than even try a bite of something I make.

I do feed her on those nights. Don’t break out the torches and pitchforks quite yet.

She loves her breakfast foods, though. If I set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her, I have to be careful to make sure she doesn’t eat the dish. This, above all else, is why I started making breakfast for dinner a couple of nights a week. I can make sure she’s getting plenty of protein, from eggs and bacon to the yogurt and fruit that she’ll devour before I can even put them on the table.

Breakfast for dinner helps me protect my sanity by preventing the inevitable battle that will ensue if I try to get my oldest daughter to eat something other than her favorites. I could cook her a Michelin-star quality dish, and she’d turn her nose up at it and ask for a banana. This way, I can make sure she’s getting plenty of good food without the fight.

4. It’s Healthyish

If you eat too many slices of bacon or a stack of pancakes, breakfast foods aren’t the best option, but if you’re careful about your food choices, breakfast for dinner can be pretty healthy. Eggs are full of protein and healthy fats, as well as a number of vitamins and minerals. Yogurt, especially the Greek variety, is full of calcium and probiotics to support gut health. Oatmeal is full of fiber and antioxidants.

There are a ton of healthy breakfast options for you to choose from. Just lay off the pancakes and maple syrup every night and you’ll be fine.

And, frankly, I don’t care what other people think.

When it comes down to it, I might get some funny looks for cooking breakfast twice a week, but you know what? I don’t care. It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s cheap but still healthy. Most importantly, it gets my picky eater to enjoy her dinner without starting World War III every night. I call that a win, and it has absolutely saved my sanity.

Jennifer Landis is a mom, wife, freelance writer, and blogger. She enjoys long naps on the couch, sneaking spoonfuls of peanut butter when her kid's not looking, and binge watching Doctor Who while her kid's asleep.  She really does like her kid, though, she promises. Find her on Twitter @JenniferELandis.

A stomach bug is never fun for kids or parents. You’ll probably do just about anything to avoid the misery—and mess—that comes when a stomach bug lands at your house. But before you reach for that cup of yogurt to ward off such bugs, new research shows that probiotics don’t help stomach bugs.

There’s a lot that probiotics can do for your gut health. You’d think those same probiotics would help out when your gut isn’t feeling its best—not so, says science.

photo: anaterate via Pixabay

According to two new studies, probiotics will not help minimize symptoms or quicken recovery from gastroenteritis, also known as the stomach bug. Both studies examined the effectiveness of probiotic use on kids ages ages three months to four years who were diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis. While study looked at a different type of probiotic bacteria, they both found the same results.

The participants of the study were given either a placebo or a probiotic for five days and then recorded their symptoms. They found no differences between the probiotic group versus the placebo in terms of duration of symptoms, like vomiting or diarrhea, time missed from daycare/preschool or the transmission of illness to other household members.

 

—Shahrzad Warkentin

 

RELATED STORIES:

Mom-Tested Home Remedies Because It’s Cold & Flu Season

Flu Season Has Arrived. Here’s What Parents Need to Know (So Far)

6 Pediatrician-Approved Tips to Keep Germs at Bay During the Winter

Photo: Quinn Dombrowski via Flickr

Good news ladies; your absolutely necessary morning coffee — and that five-o’clock glass of wine — are good for your gut health! A new study found that consuming coffee and wine (in moderation, of course) helped maintain the beneficial bacteria found in the gut.

Dutch researchers surveyed over 1,100 people on their diet, medicine prescriptions, and overall health. After, they studied the participants gut DNA from their stool.

They found that those who drank tea, coffee, and wine had more diverse gut bacteria than those who didn’t. The other foods they concluded are good for gut health? Yogurt, buttermilk, fruits and vegetables. Whole milk and high calorie diets, on the other hand, were shown to decrease the good bacteria.

Definitely something to drink to, right? Cheers!

Are you a coffee and wine drinker? Tell us in the comments below!

H/T: RT