Have a Healthier Halloween
October 22, 2008
COLUMBIA, SC – October 22, 2008 – Halloween can bring out the sweet-toothed monster in all of us! Consider these tips to keep your ghosts and goblins a little healthier along the way….
1. Feed ‘em First – make sure your kids are fueled up before they go trick-or-treating with a healthy snack or meal, so they don’t dip into their treats.
2. Pillow Cases are for Pillows – give the kids smaller treat bags like recycled grocery bags so they won’t bring home too many sweets, and keep the pillow cases and trash bags at home!
3. Surprise ‘em with Health, not Horror – Be the healthy house on the block by offering treats like pre-packaged snack-sized dried fruit, pretzels, or baby carrots.
4. Give ‘em Treasures for Treats – Hand out boxes of crayons, stickers, colored pencils, erasers, Halloween tattoos (the removable kind!), or rubber spiders!
5. Patrol Those Treats – After inspecting all treats to make sure they’re safe, remind the kids to eat their treats in moderation, so they last longer (wink, wink). Store the bag in a high but public place so you won’t be tempted to snack on the candy either!
Find more heart-healthy tips from the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation’s Alliance for a Healthier Generation at www.healthiergeneration.org
Family Fitness
Have a Fit-Family Fall
The fall is a great time of year to reclaim your fitness and there are so many ways to do it! There are fruits to be picked, leaves to be raked, gardens to be tended and walks to be had, so get out there and fall into fit!
1. Walk the Sidelines – If you’re spending your weekends cheering the kids on at their games, walk the perimeter of the field as you watch and keep cheering, it’s a great way to work up a sweat and expend energy!
2. Pick lots of Fruit – Local farms are flourishing with apples abound, so plan a fall afternoon outing with the kids and pick some fresh apples, which are full of dietary fiber and an easy snack, any time! Eating fruit and vegetables may reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad kind).
3. Leaves, Leaves Everywhere! – whether they’re piling up in your yard or glowing on trees in your nearby park, fall is the best time to get outside with your kids to take a walk and admire the changing colors of the leaves – and to rake ‘em up! Make sure you’ve got a couple of rakes so the whole family can pitch in!
4. Fall for Fall Veggies – This is the time of year when the fall harvest is full of yummy seasonal veggies like butternut squash and pumpkin! Try incorporating some of these into your meals. Both have Vitamin C, Vitamin A and other nutrients that are good for you.
Find more heart-healthy tips from the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation’s Alliance for a Healthier Generation at www.healthiergeneration.org.
