Halloween tips from TOPS

Healthy and Halloween are not often used in the same sentence. Halloween is usually seen as a time to get dressed up, gather sugary treats, and enjoy the spookiness of the season.

TOPS Club Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), the nonprofit weight loss support organization, provides tips to stock the kids’ bags with better treats, host a healthy party, and more.

Give Better Trick-or-Treating Goodies

It’s inevitable that kids will receive candy, so parents should take steps to limit sugar consumption. Feeding children a nutritious meal before trick-or-treating will help curb their urge to snack on sweets.

Once the candy is home, adults can let kids pick out their favorite pieces and decide how much to have each day. The remaining candy can be put out of sight, donated to charity, or thrown away. This helps parents from overindulging, too.

Neighbors can promote healthier habits and offer alternatives to candy so kids can enjoy the spooky evening without sacrificing nutrition. Here are some ideas to give to trick-or-treaters:

Skip the sweets and sugar and provide healthier options.

• Animal crackers

• Granola bars

• Snack-size bags of pretzels

• Trail mix

• Graham crackers

• Microwave popcorn

• Sugar-free gum

• Small boxes of raisins

Give treats that encourage playing rather than eating.

• Bouncy balls

• Sidewalk chalk

• Temporary tattoos

• Crayons

• Fun pencils and fancy erasers

• Yo-yos

• Spider rings

• Glow sticks

The Ramona chapter of TOPS meets at Grace Community Church, 1234 Barger Place, at 9 a.m. on Thursdays. Weigh-in is at 8:30 a.m.