Halloween has long been a favorite holiday at Fed and Fit. In fact, we actually look forward to all of the “fringe” holidays, including St. Patrick’s Day and Valentine’s Day. With the season of scary movies and haunted attractions, the chance to dress up in a silly costume, carve jack-o-lanterns, and, of course, indulge in candy, Halloween is especially entertaining.
We pay a little more attention to the sweets we eat now as a group of dietitians who are also required to be gluten-free than we did when we were children and brought pillowcases full of the stuff to school. Don’t get us wrong, we are entirely in favor of “eating the candy” (because, let’s face it, there are times when only a Reese’s will do), but regardless of whether.
Children with dietary limitations and food allergies as a result of illnesses were the target audience for the Teal Pumpkin Project. Halloween can be challenging for young kids, leaving them with the option of skipping trick-or-treating or gathering a lot of sweets that they won’t be able to consume. By setting out a teal pumpkin on your doorstep or printing a sign from the FARE website and providing some non-food options for trick-or-treaters, you can take part in the Teal Pumpkin Project.
Glow sticks, crayons, bubbles, stickers, micro slinkies, rubber bouncy balls, playing cards, spider rings, and other Halloween-themed objects are a few suggestions for non-candy goodies. You can easily find all of these at your neighborhood dollar store for reasonable pricing!
Black Forest – Black forest makes organic gummies, sour heads, fruit chews, and lollipops. These individually wrapped gummy bears are perfect for Halloween! They are all dye-free, made with real fruit juice and cane sugar, and gluten-free. While the ingredients are Top-8 allergen-free, some are processed in a factory where these ingredients are handled, so make sure you read the packaging before purchasing.
Chocolate – Chocolate can be a great option for Halloween candy as it is typically made without dye, is gluten-free, and contains minimal ingredients. Our favorite allergen-friendly brand is Enjoy Life. They currently have Halloween Chocolate Minis that include dark chocolate and rice milk varieties.
Cocomels – Cocomels are dairy-free caramels made with coconut milk, and they recently released a variety made with coconut sugar instead of cane sugar as well. Their products are all gluten-free, plant-based, and organic, but are manufactured on equipment used to process Dairy, Peanut, Tree Nuts and Soy Protein.
Enjoy Life Chocolate Bars – They have just three ingredients – unsweetened chocolate, can sugar, and cocoa butter. Enjoy Life Chocolate Bars are gluten, dairy, nut, and soy-free.
Justin’s Nut Butter Cups – Justin’s nut butter cups are a great alternative to traditional peanut butter cups! For kiddos who can tolerate nuts, they have peanut, cashew, and almond butter cups with dark, milk, and white chocolate. All of their products are organic and made with real cane sugar.
OCHO Organic Candy – Ocho makes organic candy bars with real ingredients. They are certified gluten-free, fair trade, and non-GMO, and they offer two vegan/dairy-free bars. They are currently offering a Variety Pack with their peanut butter, caramel, and coconut bars!
