I remember as a kid, we would use pillow cases to gather candy from the neighbors. It was always a contest between my siblings to see who could get the most. My older brothers would come home with queen-sized pillow cases FULL of candy.

Each year since we’ve had kids, for their health (and ours!), we have employed the “switch witch” method of lovingly throwing out candy. This is how it goes down:

1. About two weeks before October 31st, the kids look on Amazon for a toy they’d like.
2. We print out the page and write a note on it to the “switch witch” and pop it in the mail.
3. On Halloween night we go trick-or-treating, the kids get one or two pieces of candy and the rest goes on the table for the witch to pickup.
4. We do the whole Santa/Tooth fairy thing on the overnight (or at 7am if we forget LOL)
5. In the morning, the kids find their toy of choice and NO candy – happiness is had by all!

It’s something we will continue to do and it works really well; everyone is pleased with the outcome.

This year, we did discover a candy company that we feel warrants a look and consideration for your candy-giving activities. They’re called Unreal and you can find them at https://getunreal.com. Most of their products are vegan, which is awesome for us, but ALL of their stuff is organic, fair trade, non-gmo, and has no artificial ingredients or colors.  We have purchased some of their Halloween individually wrapped treats at Whole Foods to pass out on Halloween night.

Aside from the fact that they’re delicious, I really love that they have no artificial colors. Artificial everything is no beuno and we avoid them at all costs. Unreal uses ingredients like beet juice, carrot juice, hibiscus juice, annatto extract, turmeric extract,  and red cabbage juice to color their chocolates without compromising taste.

The kids love trick-or-treating and we feel like it’s a good opportunity to build their self-confidence, practice introducing themselves, and create lifelong memories. I’m thankful to be able to experience the tradition with our kids while considering their health.

Long live Halloween (just without all the artificial junk and animal products)!

Healthy food, happy family-

Jen

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