Nonetheless, kids still dress up, go to parties, make the rounds at malls and other community activities AND they gather the ever famous tried and true goodies of properly packaged, store bought kid friendly consumables keeping the Halloween tradition of nausea, upset stomach, irritability and anxiousness alive, AND kicking the butts of parents for days, if not weeks.
Well, given what we know about GMO's and refined sugars, I'm thinking the true villain at Halloween is not the possibility of a creepy neighbor. It's the bargains we buy because we don't want to spend a fortune on candy, pretzels, chips or granola bars that we're just going to give away. While I can understand wanting to spend our money wisely, I must ask this: What is it really costing us as a society to feed our kids so cheaply? And are our kids the only ones eating this stuff?
The immediate reaction to eating these treats may seem minimal; however, over several years, the effects are cumulative leading to systemic inflammation, dis-ease and dis-orders that are far more costly than if we'd taken the time to invest in items that nourished and provided long term value i.e. modeling thoughtfulness, intention and love.
So, without further ado AND safety in mind, I offer these suggestions for a Holistic Halloween:
1) keeping 'it' non-denominational, hand out Halloween booklets that explain the origins and practices
2) hand out FUN goodies like coloring pages, stickers, toys, pencils, crayons
3) if you have kids, let them be creative and make Gold Stars or Best Costume stickers to give out with a recipe for a wholesome, healthy snack i.e. Frankensmiles: quarter & core apples. Cut wedge from skin side. Coat w/ lemon juice. Place a thin layer of almond butter & with thinly sliced almonds for the teeth
4) if you're having a party or taking a treat to a party, have lots of fruit, veggies, nut butters, hummus, guacamole or make your own granola bars i.e.:
These banana chocolate bars incorporate banana chips and dark chocolate pieces for a healthful snack that can be made in less than 30 minutes!
SERVINGS
Makes approximately 20 1-oz bars
INGREDIENTS
1 tsp. butter
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups cashews, coarsely chopped
1 cup unsweetened banana chips, chopped
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups puffed brown rice or kamut cereal
1 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup Fair Trade dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
PREPARATION
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spread the almonds and cashews on a cookie sheet and toast them in the oven for 6-8 minutes, or until they start to brown a bit. Remove from oven and let cool.
2. In the meantime, grease a 9 x 13 baking dish with the butter and set aside. Now, mix the oats, rice cereal, banana chips and chocolate chunks in a big bowl. Add the nuts once they’ve cooled.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the syrups, salt and vanilla extract over medium-high heat, stirring to avoid burning. Once the syrups come to a light boil, continue to cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes until the syrup begins to thicken, then pour it over the oats and nuts. Mix everything together so that the syrup evenly coats everything in the bowl. Your chocolate chunks may melt at this point, but that doesn’t matter – it’ll just spread the chocolate-y love throughout.
4. While it’s still warm, pour the contents of the bowl into your prepared baking dish. Using a rubber spatula, pat everything down so it’s nice and compacted. Let cool to room temperature. You can also put them in the fridge for a bit since this will make cutting easier.
5. Cut them into square or rectangles as you please.
5) and if buying candy remains on your must-do list, then consider Fair Trade dark chocolates from your health food store. During this time of year, it's fairly easy to find them bite sized packages.
With all do respect, times are changing and while some traditions are worth honoring, there are some that would benefit from a tweak or two.
Here's to a Happy (& Holistic ) Halloween!