By Wendy

With Halloween at the end of the month, it’s time to start stocking up on Halloween candy to give the kids that come by the house. With all the different candies out there to choose from, how do you find the healthiest options? Here are 5 healthy Halloween treat alternatives:

1- LÄRABAR bars: these bars have a delicious blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts and spices. Each flavor contains no more than nine ingredients, so you know that they keep it simple. Apple Pie provides 1 full serving of fruit and 5 grams of fiber. Not too sweet, and spiced with cinnamon and raisins, Apple Pie also has almonds, walnuts and natural chewy goodness.

2- Organic Dark Chocolate Bug Bites: Each of these squares contains a fun and educational insect trading card. They have 70% cocoa content and is certified organic, vegan, gluten-free, and kosher. Another great thing about this chocolate is sourced from ethically traded cacao farms, which ensures fair trade, responsible labor practices and sustainable farming.

3- Unreal 54: similar to chocolate covered peanuts, these sweets delights contain no corn syrup, no partially hydrogenated oils, no artificial ingredients, no genetically modified organisms (GMOs), no preservatives, and a low glycemic index.

4- Surf Sweets Gummy Bears: I’m a huge fan of gummy bears, so it’s great to find a healthier version of these sweet little gummy bears. Surf Sweets Gummy Bears are made with organic fruit juice and organic sweeteners. Also contains 100% vitamin C per serving. No corn syrups of GMOs.

5- Equal Exchange Organic & Fairly Traded Dark Chocolate Minis: Equal Exchange minis are made with cacao from the farmer co-operatives CONACADO, in the Dominican Republic, and CACVRA, in Peru, and the fairly traded organic sugar comes from co-operatives in Paraguay.  These delicious, bite-sized Fair Trade chocolates are the way to go! Made of 555% cocoa content, they are also vegan, soy- and gluten-free.

So stock up on some of these delicious treats! And if you don’t happen to give them all away on Halloween, they make great treats for lunch boxes and mid-day pick me ups. What’s your favorite treat?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

You won’t be surprised to know that I’ve been asked more than once, “What have your got against candy?”

Nothing, in and of itself. In fact, I’m a big fan of companies such as St. Claires, Pure Fun and Sjaaks that do it right. They make candy that is organic, ethically sourced and yummy.

I’m not against companies that make conventional candy, I promise, but I am against some of their practices and ingredients. I mean, candy is meant to be enjoyed, but it’s a little hard to take pleasure in it when you know that the chocolate you’re eating may have been grown by child slaves or that the ingredients used may cause short and long-term damage to those who consume it. The fact is, I don’t I want to see conventional candy companies go out of business – I just want to see them change their ways.

But it will also come as no surprise that change in the right direction won’t happen without you and I – The Consumer – demanding that the products we buy are both people and Earth-friendly.

So this Halloween, if candy’s your thing, make your voice heard by voting for candy we can all enjoy without a single worry, except how on Earth we’ll eat it in moderation.

See our candy page for more information and be sure to let us know about candy companies doing the right thing.