Need a good Halloween party snack? If you are sick of browsing through Halloween recipes only to find baked goods and sweets, we have a delicious veggie alternative. Check out this video to learn how to make Pumpkin Patch Dippers from Parents magazine. This recipe is great with hummus, guacamole, and other healthy dips!

For more party recipes follow us at facebook.com/greenhalloween or Twitter @greenhalloween

The healthy treats and treasures you are giving away this Halloween deserve to look good! What better way to showcase how special they are than with some snazzy goodie bags? Perfect for your next party. Feel free to improvise with recycled materials.

For goodie ideas, check out our list of treat alternative, Candy Cheat Sheet, and twitter party tips.

Pumpkin Pouch Party Favors

• Orange crepe paper
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Greenfloral tape
• Treasures to wrap up

For each pouch, cut two 10-inch diameter circles from the paper. Stack two circles and put the goodies in the center. Gather the outer edges of the circle to form a pouch. Twist the paper above the treats. Wrap the “stem” with floral tape. You may need to trim excess paper before binding. Twist a piece of tape around a pencil to make vine tendrils.

Full-moon Flavor Bags

• Brown paper lunch bags
• Stamps + ink pad
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Hole punch
• Black ribbon or seam binding

Stamps the bags with fun words or pictures and fill with goodies. Fold corners back. Fold top of bag 1 1/2 inches down. Make a 2 inch paper moon. Glue moon to front of bag in top right corner. Punch two small holes through moon and bag 1/4 inch apart. Repeat in another spot in the moon. Cut two 5-inch pieces of seam binding and thread through the holes; knot to form bats (they will also secure the bag). Trim wings with scissors. To watch a visual demonstration, check out this video (just avoid all the candy she has in that bowl!).

Hand them out to your guests, and watch as they marvel at these precious bags and their delicious contents.

These crafts are from the book Martha Stewart’s Handmade Holiday Crafts.

For more party ideas follow us at facebook.com/greenhalloween or Twitter @greenhalloween

Did you have a good time at our last party? Did you learn about new ways to have a healthy Halloween? Wish you could share and discuss more ideas? Well, you are in luck! We having another awesome twitter party filled with friends, facts, and free-giveaways.

RSVP here for the Green Halloween & Veritey Twitter Party!

Date: Tuesday October 22, 2013
Time: 9pm EST / 6pm PST
Hosts: @GreenHalloween, @Veritey, @Kiwimagazine, @GMOInside, and @PlumOrganics
Hashtag: #greenhalloween

Leave us your twitter handle and your email (we can’t notify you of what you won unless we can send you an email!) in the reply thread here so that we can let you know if you are a prize winner. You must reply before 9pm on October 22nd to be eligible. Only RSVP once, we’ll be able to see your name even if  you can’t see it in the comments.

And, to be eligible for more Green Halloween giveaways, sign up for our healthy living newsletter here. We’re giving away prizes everyday in October.

For more twitter party details follow us at facebook.com/veritey or Twitter @Veritey AND facebook.com/greenhalloween or Twitter @greenhalloween

By RSVPing, contestant are also signing up for the Veritey newsletter.

We held recently a twitter party to share healthy Halloween tips. In case you missed it (don’t worry, there were quite a few folks who had to put their little goblins to bed!)  we’ve compiled a list of the best #greenhalloween tricks and treats. Thanks to all our wonderful party-goers for their great suggestions!

What to do on Halloween Day / Night

• Have your child eat a full meal before going out.
• Make sure your child eats two rainbows of produce two weeks before and after Halloween. Learn more at Today I Ate a Rainbow.
• Trade candy for Legos or other toys.
• Bring candy to work the next day (the office my suffer from a sugar high, but the candy is bound to disappear quickly).
• Pack your own healthy treats for your child to have while walking from house to house. Later, donate the candy s/he acquired.
• Try reverse Trick or Treating. Instead of taking junky candy, go to your neighbors and give them a fair trade gift. Help empower workers.

Tips for Parties/ Decorations / Costumes

• Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found 10 out of 10 Halloween makeup kits tested contain lead! Stay safe and make your own face paint.
• Who says piñatas have to be full of candy? Fill that baby up with little prizes!
• Grow your own pumpkins! Can you get it to be this big?
• “Disposable?” More like reusable! Wash your plastic cutlery to use for all your parties. Or, try bamboo picnic ware.
• Need some fun, eco-party inspiration? Try a Healthy Child Party Kit.

• Bare Apple Chips
• Boo! Chocolate Banana ghosts are so good it’s scary.
• Glee Gum
• Unreal Candy
• Plum Organics
• Stickers
• Nature’s Path Toaster Pasteries
• Yummy Earth Candy
• Fair Trade Your Halloween Kit! It comes with Equal Exchange mini chocolates and informational cards!
• Surf Sweets
• LÄRABARs
• Hair bows and hair bands. Extra points of you make these yourself.
• Honest Tea - stay hydrated while going around the neighborhood.
• Annie’s snacks – one party-goer came prepared with all her favorites!
• And of course, the tried and true CutterWelderMaestro

For more healthy tips follow us on Facebook facebook.com/greenhalloween or Twitter @greenhalloween

Confession: I have a major sweet tooth. Salty snacks such as chips or pretzels don’t cut it for me. Baked treats like cookies, cake, and brownies are my weakness. Which is one of the reasons I love Halloween. But of course, many of those store bought sweet treat come with a lot of JUNK. That is why I love Wholesome Sweeteners; their products make indulging that much sweeter!

Wholesome Sweeteners is a provider of sustainable and ethically sweeteners: sugars (raw, cane, brown, palm sugar), agave, honey, and other products. Formed in 2001, the company strongly believes that the farmers who grow these crops deserve a fair price for their hard work. Wholesome Sweeteners works with many co-ops and small farms. In addition to a fair price, farmers receive a premium, a monetary bonus to help develop and better their community. This could be used to clean the water supply, grow a vegetable garden, or start a radio station. Check out the effects that Wholesome Sweeteners in Paraguay, Malawi, Brazil, and Mexico. You can also learn about the impact of fair trade in this video.

Wholesome Sweeteners is also committed to producing its products in a sustainable manner. For example, in Paraguay, the used cane sugar is transformed into bagasse, a fuel for the boilers that power the surrounding sugar mills. Not fossil fuels are ever used to produce their sugars! In addition, Wholesome Sweeteners is non-GMO verified. The company is currently testing packaging made of plant resin for future use. In the meantime, the sugar products are packed in #4 LDPE recyclable pouches and produced in a Silver LEED certified facility that is powered by wind. The cartons are made from 100% recycled fiber with 35% post-consumer content. 35% of that fiber is from paper that is put in their daily recycling bins. Also, Wholesome Sweeteners syrups are packed in BPA-Free #1 PETE plastic bottles. PETE plastic is the most common plastic to recycle and is readily taken by most United States recycling facilities.

So try using Wholesome Sweeteners when you bake (or grill, or mold, or broil) for your next Halloween party. Check out a few of their Halloween and fall recipes here.

Wholesome Sweeteners is making the world a sweeter place, one spoonful at a time!

For more info on Wholesome Sweeteners and their full line of products, go to wholesomesweeteners.com. Check them out at facebook.com/Wholesomesweeteners and Twitter @WholesomeSweet!