Halloween snacks for kids don’t have to be just cookies and candy. Actually, they really shouldn’t! The American Heart Association says daily added sugar intake for kids ages 2-18 should not exceed 25 grams.
In addition to long-term health implications for a diet high in sugar, there are other reasons, too. “Sugar consumption … may adversely impact child cognition,” Juliana Cohen, assistant professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, wrote in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. This means that three Fun Size Snickers — easily an entire day’s worth of sugar — could send your little lightweight to school with a sugar hangover the next day!
Whether you’re looking for classroom treats or easy, no-bake recipes to try at home with your toddler this Halloween, healthy snacks for kids can be a priority. Try these fun treat ideas to fill your kids up with instead of those candy bars.
Healthy, fun snacks for kids' parties
Easy, healthy snacks: kids’ recipes
Have fun with your kids while preparing these cute and silly treats together.
- Dark chocolate covered apples
Swap caramel and candy apples for this recipe from mother-daughter food blog Crowded Kitchen. Slice apples into cross-sections or wedges and insert lollipop sticks. Let your kids dip the slices into melted dark chocolate, and decorate with toppings like chopped pistachios, almonds, or coconut. Refrigerate on a parchment paper-lined tray until solid.
- Ghost fruit kabobs
Stack jumbo marshmallows and your child’s favorite bite-sized fruits on a skewer, then use a black food coloring marker to draw ghostly faces on the marshmallows. Visit design shop onesimpleparty.com for inspiration.
- Halloween fruit bat
Take two plums — leave one whole for the bat’s body and cut the other into halves. Use a round cookie cutter to shape the plum halves into bat wings, and cut two small triangles from the ends for ears. Attach the ears and wings using toothpicks, insert two candy googly eyes, and use a heart sprinkle, cut in half, for fangs. See how it’s done on kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com.
A note about gathering
As you gather with friends, please honor CDC guidelines. Though capacity limits are not specified, it is the host’s responsibility to ensure that the event space allows guests to remain at least six feet apart when indoors, and that outdoor spaces allow guests to avoid sustained close contact. Wearing masks is also recommended.
Have a happy, healthy, and safe Halloween!
