I always loved the beginning of October since it was the start of all the good holidays with many days off from school. Halloween was a favorite day for me because I loved all the build up to it. I am a timid soul, but even I loved the skeletons, jack-o'-lanterns and black cat cutouts that decorated the windows and doors of my childhood.
My favorite part was getting together all the treats that we would give out to the ghosts and witches who came to visit that night. When I was a kid it was perfectly normal to cook up your own treats to give to the trick or treaters. Life was safer then.
Early Halloween afternoon, my mother, sister, and myself would gather in the kitchen and start popping popcorn. We would do this for hours. As each batch was ready we would fill little plastic bags with the popcorn and tie them off at the top. This is what we offered each playmate when they knocked on our door. Popcorn was the tradition in my house. I could hand you a story and tell you that my mom thought that popcorn was healthier than candy but that wouldn't be the truth. The truth was that the popcorn was cheaper. It was also made with plenty of butter and salt. There goes the health theory.
These days, most parents are concerned with the health aspects of what their kids are eating on Halloween, and rightly so. The closest thing to a healthy Halloween treat I ever got were candied apples. You remember them, a thick rock hard covering of some sort of sugar concoction over an apple? Apples and other fruits are a good idea but what kid really wants an orange thrown into his Halloween bag? Fruit? Mom makes them eat that at home as an after school snack. They want something yummy, sweet, gooey, and not healthy.
There are a few sweet treats around that mom's shouldn't worry about letting their children eat. Most candies are low in fat but not so low in sugar or calories. Popcorn is a pretty good idea, minus the butter and salt of course. There are even recipes for healthy Halloween treats for the adventuresome people out there. There are many healthy treats that can be given to children during this holiday, but please, don't tell them that.
Making sure your children's treats are healthy is just one of the many things to remember. Safety should always come first during Halloween.
In the meantime, I'm going into the kitchen right now and make something delicious for that goblin who lives under my bed. Hey, Halloween comes once a year. Even monsters need a treat once in a while.
