Halloween sure works up a lot of sweat! Whether it be handing out treats, hosting a Halloween bash, or trick-or-treating, you’ll definitely be looking for something to quench your thirst by the end of the night. This Halloween, Honest Tea encourages you to try one of their products instead of an unhealthy soda or sugary sports drink. Their brand is committed to providing you with the highest quality beverages while keeping their practices sustainable and eco-friendly.

Honest Tea was founded in 1998 by Seth Goldman and his former professor, Barry Nalebuff, who bonded over their love of tea and their preference for drinks with less sugar.  The two then set out to concoct a beverage with three requirements, real tea, real taste, and honest production. Since then, Honest Tea has grown into a nationally recognized brand with a full line of healthy and tasty drinks such as teas, juices, sports drinks, kids drinks, as well as carbonated beverages available all across the country.

Real tea, real taste, and honesty provide the framework for Honest Tea’s philosophy on making their products. They are honest in all aspects of production. Honest Tea wants you to know that they work hard to provide you with the simplest and tastiest beverages possible. All of their products contain natural ingredients and proudly display the Fair Trade Certified seal as well as the USDA Certified Organic logo. Even the bottle is made from PET plastic, which is recyclable, won’t leach into groundwater, and uses less resources to manufacture and ship/ Oh yeah, and they just redesigned the bottle to use 22% less plastic too ! The tea brewed is real, whole leaf tea, causing it to contain higher levels of antioxidants, which promote healthy living, than most teas available as well as an device that will determining if you need a water softener.

Honest Tea stands as a model for corporate social responsibility and knows that giving back to the community is essential for a successful organization. Their Drink Pouch Collection Program encourages children and parents to collect and send in empty drink pouches to be recycled into unique products like bags, or even furniture. Honest Tea also proudly sponsors The Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure, The Arbor Day Foundation, and Bethesda Green. The company strives to openly produce healthy, eco-friendly, and sustainable products while encouraging consumers to rethink how and what they consume. So this Halloween, instead of washing your sugary candy down with sugary drinks, grab one of any number of Honest Tea beverages. They taste great, are healthy, and you’ll feel good about supporting a brand that prides itself on being a steward for sustainability.

By Peter Piscia

For more info on Honest Tea and their full line of products, go to HonestTea.com. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/HonestTea and Twitter @HonestTea!

For more treat alternatives  follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greenhalloween or Twitter @greenhalloween

As school is back in session, there are a lot more reading assignments to do. Your little scholar might have to trudge through a few different novels, textbooks, and workbooks. It’s tough stuff! What better way to help them through it than by having a little book-themed fun with a Halloween twist? These scary origami bookmarks are a roar! You can make a whole family of paper creatures. Use scrap paper, old newspapers, or magazines to make this more eco-friendly

Find the instruction here at the blog CT Baker in the Acres. She gives great pictures of the step-by-step process.

Check out this list of inspiring “green reads.” However, The Secret Garden will always be the book that inspired by love of nature.

So this weekend, dig through some scrap paper, fold up a new friend, and plop down with some of that school reading.

For more creepy crafts  follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greenhalloween or Twitter @greenhalloween

Who says Halloween is all about the candy? We at Green Halloween want to share a little of nature’s candy with you. This is a fun way to introduce vitamin packed fruits into your child’s diet.

Frankenkiwi

Use a vegetable peeler to take off this skin, leave a little for the little guy’s hair. Dig out seeds for the mouth, eyes, and head bolts. An oval cutter gives the eyes some depth. What a monster!

Screaming Bananas & Clementine Pumpkins

These treats are super simple!

Ghosts – Simply peel the bananas and slice in half. Add a chocolate chip (point down) into the banana as a mouth. Break off chocolate tips to use as the eyes. Or, melt chocolate and drizzle on the facial features.

Pumpkins – Peel the clementines then add a celery stalk as the stem.

Ghost Berries

Cover the srawberries with your favorite natural yogurt brand. Plain with a dash of honey or a vanilla flavor will complement the berries. Drizzle chocolate eyes and enjoy!

These ideas come from Little Inspiration and Tinkerbean

For more healthy snack ideas this Halloween follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greenhalloween or Twitter @greenhalloween

So it seems like a gust of cold air blew through the neighborhood this evening. The temperature is well below 60°. It’s quite a shock after weeks sweating in the 90° heat. Of course, October 31st will likely be chilly and it’s important to be prepared.

This costume, which comes from Fiskars designer Lisa Storms, is a great solution. The costume uses a long-sleeve shirt, but a sweatshirt could easily be substituted. You can also sewing scraps from around the house.

So, grab that old stained shirt and get started!

This owl costume is simply a brown shirt with rows of fabric ovals sewn beginning at the bottom. Trace the ovals and cut them out. Then sew the pieces on with a needle and thread. Fabric glue or safety pins will also get the job done.

For the hat:

Turn a knit cap inside out. Cut off a semi-circle from the top, then sew the large remaining hat piece back together. Circles and a triangle glued to the hat complete the cute face.

Viola! An owl with a cheap and eco-friendly coat of feathers.

I would say, now we might finally know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, but this is Green Halloween! Give your owl Yummy Earth Lollipops instead!

For more ways to stay warm this Halloween follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/greenhalloween or Twitter @greenhalloween

Halloween is a great time to teach your kids about agriculture and botany. Where exactly did that pumpkin you bought for your jack-o‘-lantern come from? How much work does it take for one to grow?

Well it took competitive pumpkin grower Matt Radach of Camano Island, WA 119 days to grow his prize-winning gourd. Radach documented his process in this awesome time-lapse video below. His pumpkin came in 6^th place at the Washington State Fair at 636lbs. I wonder what Radach plans on doing with that beauty? It would make one big pie…

A pumpkin is a great fruit to learn about, as it is low in calories, fat, and sodium, yet high in fiber. They are also a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, iron, and potassium. For a fun pumpkin treat, try our pumpkin smoothie recipe.

For more fun pumpkin facts, check out this “gordgeous” History Channel video on everything you ever wanted to know about the pumpkin. And if your preteen wants to get inside the head of a teen pumpkin grower, have them rifle through the pages of the novel Squashed.

Thank you Radach for giving us a video to make the growing process more transparent. Call us when you decide what to do with that pumpkin.