6 Tips For A Healthier Halloween

By Britni Vincent, RD, LD
October 19, 2025

The holiday season is fast approaching, which means lots of sweets and treats. Halloween can be the ultimate sugar trap. The candy starts showing up long before the big night and often sticks around long after. Sugar on Halloween is even more frightening than the ghosts and monsters walking around.

Just one Fun Size Snickers® contains 9 grams of sugar (2.25 teaspoons), and we all know you're not going to stop at just one. You may want to think twice about grabbing a handful of candy corn every time you walk by the candy corn bowl. Ten measly pieces of candy corn contains 17 grams of sugar (4 teaspoons).

To bypass the sugar trap this Halloween here are some healthy Halloween ideas for you and your family.

6 Tips For A Healthier Halloween:

Tip 1: Skip the candy treats and opt for non-food items

Keeping candy in the house may be too tempting. It's likely that you will eat a piece of Halloween candy even if you have good intentions of only handing them out to kids. Then, before you know it, that one piece leads to many more pieces! Instead of candy, get creative and hand out fun items like pencils with designs, mini bottles of bubbles, coloring books, stickers, Play-Doh®, or glow sticks. This is a much healthier option for you and the kids.

If you do plan to hand out candy on Halloween, try buying it the day of (or as close to it as possible). This helps cut down on the temptation to sneak a few pieces early. Out of sight, out of mind! If you don't end up giving out all the candy, get rid of it right away so it's not calling your name.

Tip 2: Ditch the break room Halloween treats

This time of year, workplaces can be filled with tempting candy bowls and sweet treats in the break room. It’s easy to give in “just this once,” but those small bites can quickly add up. Instead, try taking a short walk to avoid temptation—it’s a great way to boost your energy and avoid mindless snacking.

If you enjoy baking, bring a healthier option like Pumpkin Muffins to share with your coworkers. Or, if you know there will be plenty of sugary snacks around, plan ahead and bring something that truly satisfies you—like some cottage cheese, fruit and nuts —so you’re not reaching for the candy jar.

Tip 3: Fill your kids up on healthy balanced meals and snacks before they go out trick or treating

Before you turn them loose for the evening, make sure your kids eat a balanced dinner with protein, healthy carbohydrates, and healthy fats. They will be much less likely to devour their candy when they have a full stomach and balanced blood sugar. Fall is the perfect season for a delicious bowl of Pot Pie Soup. It's a one-pot, balanced meal with a healthy “comfort food” feel (plus great to make with holiday leftovers come the end of the year!).

In addition to a balanced dinner, encourage a balanced breakfast and lunch earlier in the day. Meals that include protein, healthy fats, and fiber-rich carbohydrates will help keep blood sugar steady — supporting better energy, mood, and reducing the chance of a candy overload that night.

To keep the day festive, try offering some fun and healthy Halloween snacks during snack times. Serving a snack after trick-or-treating (along with the candy) can help slow the blood sugar spike — and your kids may end up eating less candy overall.

Get creative with options like banana ghosts, clementine jack-o’-lanterns, apple teeth or bell pepper monster eyes. These playful snacks are a great way to sneak in some fruits, veggies, and nutrients while keeping things seasonal and fun. They also make perfect healthy Halloween treats to bring to a party!

Banana Ghosts:

Cut the banana in half and stand it upright. Use mini chocolate chips to form the eyes and mouth. Serve this with peanut butter to make it more balanced.

Jack O Lantern Oranges:

Use a black permanent marker to draw a jack o lantern on a mandarin orange. Serve this with a string cheese and nuts to make it a balanced snack.

Apple Monster Teeth:

Cut 2 apple slices (green apples work great!). Spread peanut butter or nut butter on one side of a slice, put peanuts or sunflower seeds on top of the nut butter so they're sticking out (the teeth), spread peanut butter on one side of the other slice and place it on top of the "teeth".

Bell Pepper Monster Eyes

Cut bell peppers into circles (a kitchen shears would work well to do this) to make the "eye", spread cream cheese on top of the bell pepper circles for the "eye ball", cut black olives horizontally and place on top of the cream cheese. 

Tip 4: Make A Plan For the Leftover Candy

If you don't want all that extra candy around for you and your kids here are some alternative ideas.

To prevent you and your children from overeating candy, find a Halloween candy buy-back program. This is when a dentist buys back your children's sugary treats in exchange for coupons, toothbrushes, and sometimes even cash.

Another option is to allow your kids to trade in their candy for a gift card of their choice. This doesn't mean that you can eat the candy they “sell” you—just get rid of it!

Switch Witch: Sometime in October the Switch Witch doll decides to visit your house, act mischievous, play hide-and-go-seek until her favorite night of the year-- Halloween. At bedtime on Halloween, or a couple nights later, children leave their sweet treats with the witch and she makes the switch trading their treats for a special gift. 

Science Experiments!

Instead of eating all that leftover Halloween candy, put it to good use with some fun, hands-on science! These simple candy experiments are a great way to spark curiosity, get creative, and make use of all that sugar in a smarter (and way more entertaining) way.

Make Your Own Potion: Gather a selection of glass jars or cups full of water, drop candies of different colors in each or mix and match to create the craziest (or grossest depending on the viewpoint) “potions.” Once done all potions go straight down the drain as drinking them is definitely not recommended.

Vinegar Erosion: For candies like SweeTARTS or Smarties this vinegar drop is amazing to watch. Simply place the unwrapped candies in a bowl and pour white vinegar over the top to watch the “erosion” take place.

Sink or Float: Grab some leftover candy (as many different kinds as possible!) and let your kiddos test their hypothesis on which will sink and which will float.Fill a large bowl with water for each child so everyone can experiment without any candy conflicts. Give each child their own set of candies to test, along with a piece of paper to record their predictions and results. 

If you do end up saving some leftover candy, serve the candy with a balanced meal or snack. Better yet, after a meal or snack. Having the candy with a meal or snack with protein, fiber and fat will slow down the absorption of the sugar and reduce the blood sugar effect from it. Having it after a meal or snack will reduce the blood sugar effect even more.

Tip 5: Avoid the guilt and cravings

You are always just one meal or snack away from eating real food. So maybe you end up indulging in the candy on Halloween… enjoy it in the moment. Rather than feeling guilty, just think of it as a bump in the road and a learning experience where you can start fresh the next time you eat. Guilt doesn't serve us and sometimes it can fuel more cravings and feelings of shame. 

Tip 6: Plan Your Day After Halloween Meals & Snacks

Instead of getting upset with yourself, choose a balanced breakfast the next morning and be sure to plan out the rest of your meals and snack that day to help fight off any sugar cravings. Same goes for your kids— serve them a real food breakfast the next morning and they will be less affected by the candy the night before.

Here’s a day after Halloween menu from sun up to sun down to keep your family steady and ready to help counteract all that sugar the night before:

• Breakfast: Breakfast Burritos, perfect for busy mornings and so delicious.

• Lunch: Chili with a dollop of full-fat sour cream (our Pumpkin Chili is another great option if you like pumpkin as much as we do!).

• Snack: Chia Pudding, a satisfying snack to prevent those afternoon and evening cravings

• Dinner: Shepherd’s Pie, you can’t go wrong with this dish the whole family will love 

Have a plan; don't let Halloween be an excuse to get away from your healthy habits!

Choose creative, non-food goodies to hand out if you’re planning for trick-or-treaters or if you're giving out candy, buy it the day of. Skip the break room temptations, or bring a healthier treat to share — your co-workers will thank you! Feed the kiddos a hearty, balanced dinner before the festivities, and decide ahead of time what to do with all that candy afterwards. If you decide to enjoy a little sugar, no guilt — just get back to your real-food way of eating at your next meal or snack, and have a plan ready for those cravings. Happy Halloween!

For more information on healthy habits and holidays, check out these resources:

• Read: Healthy Holiday Recipes

• Listen: How To Reframe Rewards – Ask a Nutritionist

• Join: 28-Day Sugar Challenge