All Hallows’ Eve is supposed to be fun—and scary. But not because of all the artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives found in typical Halloween treats.

For decades, one of the scariest things about Halloween was all the scarily unhealthy candies out there. Why? Too much sugar can make a trick-or-treater more susceptible to colds and the flu due to compromised immune systems. Not to mention, high sugar consumption has also been linked to other health concerns such as obesity and diabetes.

What’s a self-respecting trick-or-treater to do in the face of such temptation? Since the goal of most kids is to get the maximum amount of candy they can, help them to enjoy the holiday without it being all about the sugary loot.

Easy Tricks for Halloween Nutrition

• Eat a Real Meal First

  Serve a healthy and filling meal before trick-or-treating begins. Kids will be less likely to binge on candy with a full stomach. Serve a warm, comforting food such as chili, soup, or stew before heading out for the evening.

• Put a Limit on the Haul

  To cut down on excess amounts of candy, limit the number of houses your child visits. Consider reducing the size of the bag your child can use for trick-or-treating. Once it’s full, put it out of reach at home.

• Munch in Moderation

  Set a limit to how many treats the kids can enjoy, and always make sure they eat only a small amount along with something healthy—like an apple. Have them eat the fruit first, so they’ll be less hungry for the treat.

• Offer Healthy Options

  If you’re hosting a Halloween party, don’t put out bowls of candy—that’s too tempting. Instead fill decorative trays with these healthier options: individually wrapped packages of granola bars, dried fruit, fruit leather, fruit ropes, string cheese, whole-grain pretzels, baked chips, and nuts. Roasted pumpkin seeds offer something crunchy to nibble on, and popcorn balls made with nut butter and sweetened with honey, maple syrup, or raisins are a tasty—and still sweet—offering. For something to drink, serve individual-sized boxes of fruit juice with no added sugar.

• Get Creative

  When trick-or-treaters come knocking, offer them non-food items. Fun suggestions include sparkly pencils and erasers, Halloween-themed bookmarks, sugar-free gum sweetened with stevia, inexpensive costume jewelry, stickers, funny glasses, pages from coloring books, mini magnifying glasses, toothbrushes, jump ropes, and balls.

• Consider Transmission-Free Meals

  If you’re worried about transmitting viruses, germs, or allergens to guests, the CDC recommends avoiding a buffet-like meal and asking guests to bring their own holiday snack instead. This limits sharing, enables you to cook only what you want, and also prevents the spread of harmful bacteria or ingredients.

• Remember the ABCs for a Healthy Halloween

  With all the busy-ness of Halloween, it can be hard to remember all the nutritional and safety tips on this list. To make it easier, here are three ways to keep your wits about you.

  • Avoid Sugar-Filled Candy

    Offer non-candy treats, such as Halloween-themed pencils and eras-ers. Give trick-or-treaters a reason to be physically active by handing out sidewalk chalk, jump ropes or hackie sacks.

  • Believe in All-Natural Treats

    If you must deliver the goodies, buy all-natural treats, such as or-ganic lollipops or pre-packed fruits and veggies.Your local organic or natural food store has plenty of options. If it is chocolate you crave, consider organic dark chocolates. After all, dark chocolate has many health benefits.

  • Cultivate Mindfulness

    Use the occasion to cultivate a healthier and more mindful attitude. While mindfulness will allow you to think more about what your family is eating, it will also help you think more consciously about preventing germ transmission.

Many foods are great for naturally improving one's mood. Check out this list of mood-boosting recipes.

Once you’re beyond school age, snacks often get a bad rap. They’re considered appetite spoilers and diet busters, or just plain unhealthy. Fortunately, as long as snacks are well planned, that not-so-great connotation couldn’t be further from the truth. A well-chosen snack can help meet nutrient needs, prevent overeating, and even help encourage healthy eating habits.

When the goal is to eat healthy or lose weight, one of the biggest battles can be against hunger. Long periods of time between meals, skipped meals, and poor food choices can all lead to frequent hunger pangs. While hunger is a healthy signal the body uses to notify us it’s time to refuel, when you’re too hungry it may be easier to make poor food choices (both of the food itself and of portion size).

A recent study at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab showed that hungry grocery shoppers bought more high-calorie foods than non-hungry shoppers. In addition, eating when especially hungry may lead to portion distortion—you may be more inclined to eat out of a container versus dishing out an appropriate serving. Research shows we tend to eat more when food is in larger containers.

Best Times for Snacking

Even if we set out with the best intentions, life can get in the way. Say you had lunch around noon, it’s now pushing 6 o’clock, and you’re rushing to get dinner on the table. If your stomach is growling, are you more likely to wash, peel, and slice some carrot sticks or dive into a bag of potato chips?

To help prevent ravenous binging on an assortment of less-than-healthy foods, try to go no longer than three to four hours between eating during waking hours. For example, if breakfast is around 7:30 a.m., a 10:30 snack followed by lunch around 1 o’clock can help start the day off right. A snack around 4:00 can help prevent that late-afternoon energy crash as well as pre-dinner gorging. Eating moderate meals and small snacks throughout the day helps many people maintain a healthy weight. However there are some who find intermittent fasting (or a series of regular meals followed by periods of skipped meals) more beneficial. The idea is to do what works for you.

Snacking: It’s Not Just When to Eat, But What

A healthy snack is one that helps us feel satisfied until the next meal. Nutritious snacks shouldn’t tempt us to take a nap, nor should they leave us feeling hungry again soon after eating. It’s all about the right types of foods and in the proper portion sizes.

The body tends to quickly digest snacks made up of simple carbohydrates, meaning you may wind up hungry within an hour or so after eating. Simple carbs include sugary foods and drinks such as candy, soda, pastries, cakes, and cookies, as well as fruit eaten by itself. On the other hand, snacks with fiber, protein, and healthy fats take longer for the body to digest and can be more satisfying and filling for longer periods of time.

Portion Size for Healthy Snacks

When it comes to portion size, keep in mind snacks aren’t extra meals, they’re more like mini meals. A snack should be roughly one-quarter to one-third the size of a meal, depending on an individual’s typical meal size. Shoot for roughly 200 calories (though it’s perfectly okay for some snacks to run a little under or over). Ideally, caloric intake of snacks will average out over time.

Snacks can also help people meet nutrient needs. With just three meals a day, it can be challenging to get all of the micronutrient and food group recommendations every day. For example, depending on an individual’s specific needs (based on age, gender, and amount of daily activity) he or she would need to eat roughly one cup of veggies, almost a cup of fruit, and a full cup of milk or yogurt plus the recommended grains, protein, and healthy fats at every meal, every day. Well-created snacks can help fill in nutrient gaps that may occur when only eating just three main meals a day—especially considering fresh fruit and cheese are the two most commonly chosen snack foods.

Now that we’ve got the importance of regular snacking under our belts, it’s time to move on to creative, satisfying, tasty, healthy snacks. When prepping or purchasing snacks, remember to include either a good source of fiber or protein (or better yet, both) to feel fuller for longer. In addition, healthy carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables can help keep energy stores up. By combining both types of foods, you can enjoy a snack that will both energize and satisfy.

Healthy Fiber Sources

• Popcorn
• Whole grain crackers
• Whole grain bread
• Whole grain cereal
• Fresh fruits
• Dried fruits
• Fresh vegetables
• Hummus

Healthy Protein Sources

• Nuts
• Nut butters
• Cheese
• Yogurt, especially Greek
• Milk
• Hummus
• Cottage cheese
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Edamame

Healthy Carbohydrate Sources

• Popcorn
• Whole grain crackers
• Whole grain bread
• Whole grain cereal
• Fresh fruits
• Dried fruits