Halloween Healthy Eating
First & foremost it is important that children enjoy Halloween.
Halloween for most parents = loads of junk and sugar! Every parent’s nightmare! Instead of denying kids the treats, parents can make the Halloween season a learning opportunity about healthy eating. Learn to emphasize the good foods and allowing a space for goodies at times like Halloween.
The most important thing is not what they do on one day; it’s what they do every day of the year. So keep it in perspective.
Healthy eating is about balance and encouraging good eating habits now so your child can eat better throughout their life.
So with regard to Halloween………………………
Eat before you trick-or-treat.Serve your child a nutritious meal or snack before going trick-or-treating so they won’t dig into their bag of sweets before they get home.
Bia Kid has recently launched the “We Love Soup” range – tasty nutritious Chicken & Vegetable and Garden Vegetable varieties. With 2 ½ portions of mixed vegetables in each pot, a bowl of this warming soup will make an ideal start to trick-or-treat events.
Bia Kid meals also make a convenient but healthy start to the evening. Try our newly launched Chicken & Vegetable Pasta Bake to see them on their way.
Set limits.Set limits on how many sweets can be eaten each day over the holiday period and how long the treats can stay in the house. Parents are in charge of what kids eat..They are what you feed them!
Think beyond traditional treats.Offer kids non-sweet alternatives like boxes of raisins, cheese crackers, pumpkin scones, pumpkin & sweet potato soup, baked apples, plain biscuits, bread sticks or cheese & fruit kebabs.
What’s in season……..
Pumpkins- when you carve out your Halloween pumpkin. Don’t waste the flesh!
Bake it skin on and scoop out the warm flesh and mash with a little butter and honey! Roast it, puree it, make a soup…………………..you can even make pumpkin scones!
Vitamin A-& antioxidants, vitamin C, fibre, potassium and some iron
It is actually a member of the cucumber family!
Pumpkin seeds Roast the seeds for a crunchy alternative to nuts.
protein, B vitamins, iron, magnesium, zinc, fibre, omega 3 fatty acids, potassium
Kale for your colcannon- or cheat for the kids and puree some garlic and onion into the mash. Use a whisk to make it really light. A rich source of vitamin C, folic acid and has more calcium and iron than most vegetables and is a good source of fibre with lots of B vitamins. Leave some under a fairy tree or fort. Don’t forget to leave a spoon with it.
Nuts-careful with friends as nut allergies are more common now! With all those peanuts you could put them in the food processor and make your own peanut butter
Raisins. In the barmbrack. Raisins contain potassium, dietary fibre and iron.
Eating and cooking apples-there are over 100 varieties grown commercially. Bake them, stew them, play bobbing with them, dip them in toffee or chocolate for an extra special treat
One medium apple with skin contains almost 4 grams of dietary fiber. Apples contain a wide variety or vitamins and minerals: potassium, calcium, phosporus, magnesium, iron and selenium from the mineral family and Vitamins A, C, Folate
and Vitamin E
Bia Kid Recipe for Pumpkin Soup
One large pumpkin
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Carrots (Peeled & Chopped)
1 Large Onion (Chopped)
1 Clove of Garlic (Chopped)
1 litre of Vegetable Stock (Home Made or “Marigold” Organic Swiss Vegetable Boullion)
For the pumpkin, either use the flesh cut out from a pumpkin “face” or after removing the seeds from the pumpkin, cut it into slices and roast in the over for 30 minutes to enhance the flavour. Then simply scoop out the soft flesh.
Heat the oil. Sauté the onion and garlic for one minute.
Add the rest of vegetables and fry gently for 10 mins.
Add the stock and bring to the boil.
Then reduce and simmer for 15 mins.
Blend in a processor or with a hand held blender until very smooth.
(This soup will keep for 3 days in a fridge)
