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Archive for the ‘Food allergies’ Category

7 Healthy Halloween Foods That Are FUN To Eat

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

Family Fun magazine’s ideas for {healthy} Halloween fare are sure to be a hit with little ghouls and boys.

These dishes also double as edible dECOr, saving resources and money.

Invite kids to get crafty during your Halloween party – and you’ve just added an edible “activity” as well.

Meow! Use veggies and bean dip to make Black Bean Cat Crudités.

Ghastly grins! Apples and almonds are all that’s required for these “Apple Bites.” You could also fill “mouths” with nut butter and make the “teeth” out of all-natural white chocolate chips.

Finger food! “Carrot Fingers” reach out of veggie dip. Ew… Yum.

Eat your eyeballs – er, veggies! With “Edible Eyeballs” you can do both (and of course, munching on carrots is good for your kids’ peepers!)

Marvelous monsters! “Swamp Creatures” are made with scoops of mac & cheese, but you can also make with potato salad, quinoa salad or any other “salad” that holds together well. Swamp sludge can be made with spinach, kale, collards or a combo sauteed greens. A great dish to serve to filler-er-up before trick-or-treating.

Stick our your tongue! Simple but fun, these “Goblin Grins” are sure to cause smiles all around.

Yummy Mummies! These cute little “Pizza Mummies” Are a great main dish. Use English muffins or bagels (also available in gluten free!)

TIP: Always choose local & organic ingredients, whenever possible. However, if you want to know which foods carry the heaviest pesticide loads (many are on this list) and which are safer to buy conventionally grown, click to find “The Dirty Dozen” and “The Clean Fifteen.”

For more even more healthy Halloween food ideas, click here. And for Family Fun’s top craft ideas, click here and here.

Happy (gluten-free) Halloween!

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

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Give little ghouls a fun night without food worries

Halloween candy is downright scary for the nearly 25 million Americans avoiding gluten.

Gluten-free expert and author Carol Fenster details practical ways to maintain Halloween’s spooky-fun spirit without fear of hidden gluten.

Ideas include: Learn to read labels (looking for wheat, rye, barley, spelt, and oats); contact manufacturers to verify candy content; ask your natural market to create a dedicated gluten-free Halloween section; organize a home party that shifts the focus away from food and onto games, prizes, and costumes; and serve a gluten-free supper (try Applegate Farms’ new gluten-free chicken nuggets and Amy’s line of gluten- and dairy-free pizzas).

Gluten-free natural candies for Halloween include Candy Tree, Crispy Cat, Ian’s, GoNaturally, Let’s Do…Organic, Newman’s Own Organics, PureFun, St.Claire’s, Stretch Island, Tropical Source, and YummyEarth. Sidebar on GF mixes and products from Bob’s Red Mill, Pamela’s Products, Glutino, and EnjoyLife.

For the full story, click here.

Reposted with permission from Delicious Living Insights. Do you have tips and tricks for celebrating a gluten free Halloween? Add your ideas below.

Food allergies and Halloween – how to turn scary into sweet

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

For the 2.2 million kids (and growing) who have food allergies, Halloween traditionally presents a cauldron of concerns.

Exposure and ingestion of foods that trigger allergic reactions may cause severe physiological reactions – even death – so many parents of food allergic (and food-sensitive) children work hard to create non-food based Halloween traditions for their kids.

With the epidemic of food allergic and food sensitive children in America, it may be time to lean heavily towards handing out goodies that are “treasures.” Shiny stones, (recycled) spining tops and handmade friendship bracelets are treats all children can enjoy – whether they suffer from food allergies (or other health issues such as diabetes and obesity) or not.

Another idea is to hand out candy that is less likely to be allergenic, such as the confections from www.divvies.com or www.amandasown.com, which are not made in facilities processing wheat, peanuts, milk or eggs.

And yet another option is to allow trick-or-treating, but afterwards have a “swap.” (Health-conscious parents may want to do the same.)

Swapping is simple: allow your child to trade some candy for a few pre-purchased or made treat or treasure items that won’t cause a problem. If you’d like, you can then invite the Halloween Fairy/Sugar Sprite/Great Pumpkin/ or Candy Witch to your home to take the rest of the loot – leaving another treasure behind (see previous posts here and here for more on this tradition).

How do you handle Halloween and other food-focused occasions?