When neighborhood goblins come seeking Halloween treats this year, trick them into some good tasting but low-sugar snacks.
Or better yet, throw a neighborhood party where candy is dandy-but only part of the fun.
Enlist some of the other neighbors-sometimes those without small children are equally eager to be part of the holiday fun-and arrange a progressive party that is both safe and healthful.
”A progressive party gives the element of surprise,” said Lisa Tracy, author of ”Kidfood: How to Get Your Kids to Eat Right Right from the Start-and Like It” (Dell, $8.95), which goes on sale this month. ”There is mystery. The kids will wonder what they will find at the next house.
”You might consider a haunted house motif. Or a treasure hunt, giving clues to the next house,” Tracy said in a telephone interview from her home near Philadelphia.
”And the treats don`t have to be sugary,” she said, noting that the food can be low in sugar but still taste great.
For safety reasons, parents often don`t like their children to receive homemade treats from other homes on Halloween, Tracy said, ”but you can make the treats for a party. Sweetened breads are good, or oatmeal cookies sweetened with fruit juice.”
”For older kids, try a mix of unsalted peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds and carob. Smaller kids like spoon-sized Shredded Wheat and raisins.”
”Or,” she added, ”you could give magnets, erasers or a single crayon or marker.”
Costumes also important
Treats aside, the most important element for children likely is the costumes. So you might want to make Stop One a party where the kids make all or part of their costumes.
Stop Two could be the games center. Here the kids can try traditional sports like bobbing for apples. ”Or, if you don`t want to mess with the water, string the apples from the ceiling so that they are head height,”
Tracy advises. Or, check out some Halloween storybooks from the library, or try a Halloween video. ”There are some that aren`t so bad,” she said.
Try homemade cookies
At Stop Three, you may want to give in to their sweet tooths a bit and allow them to doctor up some homemade cookies. ”Dye some cream cheese for a simple icing, and add raisins for the eyes and mouth,” Tracy said.
Or supply a bowl of apples and oranges and let the budding craftsmen skewer the fruit with gum drops to make mostly-healthful fruit jack-o-lanterns.
And Stop Four could be the end of the treasure hunt, with small toys and healthful homemade treats.
If your children do the traditional Halloween walk from door to door, what are they likely to find in their treat bags this year?
”Individually wrapped candy and bubble gum,” said Jack Novak, a Jewel Food buyer. ”People generally buy the high count bags, ones with 200 individually wrapped bubble gum or 100 wrapped malted milk bars.”
”And then there are the little `fun size` candy bars,” he said.
Although candy is still the biggest seller on Halloween, there is a trend to give out ”natural-type snacks, such as small boxes of raisins,” Novak said.
”At least this is what I see from what my kids bring home from Halloween.”
If you want to give out more healthful snacks, consider packaged granola bars, fruit snack items or yogurt-covered raisins, said Dianne Maffia, consumer affairs manager for Jewel Food.
Also, boxed juices make a good Halloween treat. ”They come three to a package, so take them apart to make three treats.”
And don`t throw away the grocery bag: ”An all-white plastic grocery bag makes a good treat carrier and helps make the child more visible on the streets,” Maffia said.
What does a parent do if, despite all good intentions, a child comes home on Halloween Eve with a huge bagful of high-sugar treats? Tracy has thought this out, too:
”You could tell them that they can eat all that they want right now, then throw the rest away. Or, let them have three pieces when they get home, then save the rest. The soft candies freeze well-and the bother of later defrosting them slows down the snacking,” she said.
”Of course, you can just sort through the candy while the kids aren`t around and throw away what you don`t want them to have,” Tracy said. ”But that only works through age 5 when they know better.”
To help you plan a healthful Halloween, here are some low-sugar treats you can whip up for the kids. The following maple pumpkin madeleines, mini-Cheddar and -corn muffins and raisin-peanut gorp were developed by Susie Goldstein in The Tribune test kitchen:
MAPLE PUMPKIN MADELEINES
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 12 to 15 minutes per batch
Yield: 2 1/2 dozen
These moist, bite-sized treats are sweetened with maple syrup and get an extra jolt from a little maple flavoring.
3 large eggs
1/2 cup pure maple or maple-flavored syrup
1/4 teaspoon maple flavored extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon each: baking soda, ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon confectioners` sugar
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour madeleine tins.
2. Whisk eggs until light and foamy in large bowl. Whisk in maple syrup, extract and pumpkin. Stir in oil.
3. Sift dry ingredients. Stir into pumpkin mixture. Fill madeleine tins by tablespoonsful. Bake until puffed and firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from tin. Cool on wire racks. Dust with confectioners` sugar if desired.
MINI CHEDDAR AND CORN MUFFINS
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 10 to 12 minutes per batch
Yield: 4 dozen mini muffins
Packed with tangy Cheddar cheese and cream-style corn, these muffins make a fine low-sugar snack.
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 can (8 3/4-ounces) cream-style canned corn
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded, set aside 1 cup for garnish
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease mini muffin tins.
2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
3. Stir in liquid ingredients. Pour into muffin tins. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
4. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
GOOD FOR YOU GOBLIN GORP
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Yield: 5 cups
Yogurt-covered raisins in pretty pastel colors add to the fun of this healthful snack.
1 cup each: golden raisins, dark raisins, carob chips, roasted peanuts and yogurt-covered raisins or nuts
1. Combine all ingredients in bowl.
FRUIT `N` FUN CIDER WITH FRESH FRUIT KEBOBS
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
The kids can help create their fruit filled swizzle stick.
1 quart fresh apple cider
1 stick cinnamon
1 apple, cored, cut in eighths
1 orange, cut in eighths
1 can (8 ounces) pineapple slices
1 large firm banana, cut in 8 slices
8 dried apricots
8 wooden skewers
1. Heat apple cider and cinnamon stick to simmer in 1 1/2 quart saucepan. 2. Put 1 piece of each fruit onto wooden skewers. Ladle hot cider into mugs. Garnish with fruit skewers.
SLICE AND SMILE HONEY COOKIES
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 8 to 10 minutes per batch
Yield: 2 1/2 dozen
These pumpkin-shaped cookies delight children, especially when topped with an orange frosting and dried currants.
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Orange frosting, recipe follows
1. Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer. Beat in honey and egg until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients.
2. Scrape dough onto waxed paper and roll into 2-inch wide oval-shaped cylinder. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Heat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheets. Slice dough into 1/4-inch thick slices. Set aside 4 slices.
4. Put each slice on greased cookie sheet. Divide remaining slices into 1/2-inch small stems. Attach to top of each slice. Shape should resemble a pumpkin.
5. Bake until light golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and cool on wire rack. Top with orange frosting and dried currants.
ORANGE FROSTING
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Yield: About 1 cup
Use this colorful topping for icing pumpkin-shaped cookies.
2 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
4 teaspoons honey
2 drops yellow food coloring
1 drop red food coloring
1/4 cup dried currants
1. Beat cream cheese until fluffy in mixer bowl. Beat in orange juice concentrate and honey. Add food coloring to make a vivid orange. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
2. Spread on cooled cookies. To make a face, use 2 currants for eyes and 5 for mouth.
