Halloween. Fall Festival. All Saints’ Day.

Doesn’t matter what we call it. Our kids know it by one name only.

Gobs of Free Candy Day.

I remember my 7th grade Halloween: trick-or-treating with friends, followed by a sleep over. Totally unsupervised, we ate a ton of candy.

That Halloween was epic.

I also remember the holiday when my mom “went healthy” and gave us carob treats instead of milk chocolate. FYI, carob = bletch.

Now, as a parent, I find myself wanting to strike a balance between good health and good times. I don’t want to cross into carob territory, if you know that I mean. I also don’t want to acquiesce to a candy orgy.

Have you looked at the ingredients for Halloween candy? High fructose corn syrup . Sugar . Food coloring. And hydrogenated oils. Nobody should ever be eating hydrogenated oils, which are, essentially, poisons that will kill you over time .

We are not Spartans. I want my kids to be part of American cultural traditions. I am a proponent of good old-fashioned fun.

So, we’ve worked out a compromise.

After a night of trick-or-treating, my kids have free reign to eat their candies for 30 minutes, or so. The trading is furious. The consumption is near nauseating.

The next day, I give each of my kids a plastic sandwich bag, into which the child may load favorite candies, to keep and eat at leisure.

Then I pay $20 in exchange for the remainder of each child’s candy.

Because what do kids like even more than candy? Cold, hard, cash. It is an easy swap.

Yeah, it is a little pricey, especially with four kids. I want to make the trade attractive to my kids, so that they won’t miss the candy. I look at it as an investment in my kids’ health.

Lastly, I donate or throw away the exchanged candy because, you know, if that candy stays in the house, who is going to eat it? Me. I have no will power around chocolate and sugar.

With this barter system, my kids fully enjoy Halloween. I have peace of mind that my kids are not gorging on pounds of toxic candy. And my own waistline remains unchanged.

Its a win-win-win situation, I think.

The no recipe closing:

Only give out candy that you would serve your own kids. Here are a few suggestions:

Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops

Trader Joe’s lollipops

Endangered Species fair trade chocolate bars

Divine Chocolate fair trade chocolate coins

Glee gum

Annie’s Fruit Snacks

If you haven’t taken the pledge to be a Fit Mom with Fit Kids, do so now and spread the word!  We haven’t reached our 10,000 mark yet but we are on our way!  Sign up on the right side of the page.  Also, SUBSCRIBE! We need your help to reverse the trend of obesity in America.  It starts with YOU Fit Mom!  We can do it!

Lori Rivas, organic homeschooling mama to 4 great kids

Photo credits:

Photo by Weslie and Chelsey Totten

kid eating bag of candy image from: http://www.kalebnation.com/blog/tag/nom-nom/
candy pile image from:http://www.healthkicker.com/715732535/fighting-the-urge-to-eat-more-halloween-candy/
Peanuts Great Pumpkin image from: http://www.robertxgillis.com/?cat=40

Sweet Salmon Salad

4 oz grilled Salmon
3 cups fresh organic Spinach
3 oz organic red peppers (grill if you wish)
7 oz mushrooms sliced
3 tbsp dried sweetened cranberries
3 tbsp raspberry vinaigrette fat free

Mix all ingredients and enjoy!

This recipe is from the Fit Moms Fit Kids Club meal plan that you get FREE when you take the pledge to be a healthy mom raising healthy kids!!!  Take the pledge today!

Encouraging your child to create great fitness habits simply starts with you. Children look to you for their cue, so I want to inspire you to be great so you can lead by example. To get you started, I am going to share with you what I believe are the 3 parts for creating long term health and fitness success; Supportive Nutrition, Exercise and Rest; and how to do it “On Purpose.” Getting fit on purpose will train you to maximize your health and fitness efforts and activate your potential. It will help you develop a strong mind body connection that is powerful. It‘s what makes your hard work stick. Having had the opportunity to work and even travel with clients on strict fitness regimes has allowed me to create a unique blend of fitness savvy results for my clients and now I am excited to share them with you.

Doing it On Purpose

Everything started to come together for me personally, when I slowed down and started doing things with purpose. For example, if my goal was to have rock hard abs for summer, I would do things to support my goal. I started by training my core, but first by purposing my mind to be focused. I would draw my belly button to my spine and crunch one vertebrae at a time. I would focus on all the muscles of my core that I wanted to be engaged, not on what I am cooking my kids for dinner. Get it? It’s simple. Just get your mind focused and that is doing things on purpose. In time I realized that you can do everything like this, not just exercise. I experienced that the results are incredible. Your life will be less stressful. You will end your day with peace, a sense of accomplishment and gratitude instead of raiding the pantry for a glass of wine or like I would do chocolate! Now get ready☺

Part 1, Meal Planning

Learning how to easily plan your families’ meals for the week and understanding what nutrients should go into each meal will set you and your families eating habits on a solid foundation for life. Today I am going to briefly discuss what nutrients are in each meal, inspire you to create healthy recipes that you can build as a fun weekly activity with your child, give you an easy to use meal log and help you build your own grocery list.

Getting Started

We are all very busy these days but taking time to plan your meals for the week encourages you to stay on track in spite of a hectic schedule. Research and my clients results support that eating often, every 2 to 3 hours, is the best way to keep your metabolism fired up and burning fat, keep a good attitude and have enough energy to keep up with your busy kids. My easy to use grocery list and meal planning log will make it easy for you to start identifying what nutrients should go into each meal and which ones are good for you. On my list you will find only the most nutritious and low sugar choices. My meal planning log will help you understand the right portions of food and how to combine your food. Each meal should have protein, fiber and good fat. Starchy complex carbs, like brown rice and beans are to only be eaten for breakfast and lunch. One of my secrets is to eat starchy carbs and fruits before lunch so you can be sure to burn off the sugar before the end of the day. Remember any sugar that your body doesn’t burn for energy that day will be stored as fat. Planning healthy meals is a combination of the right foods, food combinations, portions, and times to eat. It’s all laid out in order on your meal log along with the right foods on your grocery list. So get busy planning. The results are worth it.

Tips for Staying Motivated:

#1 Download my Meal Plan Log and grocery list. I made it simple to use all you have to do is take your grocery list to create your meal log. “List to Log”

#2 Build your grocery shopping list after you do your meal planning for the week, that way you only buy what’s on your list

#3 Do not shop when you are hungry

#4 Create a fun healthy recipe that you and your child can make and eat together

#5 Plan on Purpose and Be Consistent

If you like this article please click the share this button and share on facebook or twitter. You can follow us on twitter @fitmomsunited and join our facebook page.  If you haven’t already joined us in taking the pledge to be a part of the thousands of moms committed to the Fit Moms Fit Kids revolution to take back the health of our families, please Take The Pledge Today and get your 21 Day Fitness Program FREE (includes meal plan & 12 week workout plan)!

Healthy, Tasty Mid Morning Meal

Peanut Butter & Apple Pizza

Makes 6 pizzas

Ingredients:
1 Large organic green apple
6 Tbsp  all-natural peanut butter
Coconut flakes
Graham crackers – crushed
Dried cranberries

Preparation:
Wash and cut apple into 6 rounds
Spread 1 Tbsp of peanut butter on each slice of apple
Lightly sprinkle coconut flakes, crushed graham cracker, and a few dried cranberries on each apple, ENJOY!

Thank you all for reading. Please look throughout the month for more healthy fun recipes and tips to keep you motivated. I am looking forward to getting you to think outside the box and off the couch next month with my second step to building long term fitness success, my personal favorite, EXERCISE!

Nikki Steven, Founder of Method Motivation, Founder of Mealology, Founder and Program Developer of the Children's Fitness Foundation

Breakfast Burrito With Berries

¼ avocado
25 oz (about 2.5 teaspoons) grated low fat mozzarella
1/3 cup egg whites
¼ cup fresh organic strawberries
1 low carb taco sized wheat tortilla
1 slice turkey bacon (extra lean)

Scramble eggs and add
cheese. Cook turkey bacon separately. Put eggs, and
bacon and avocado inside warmed tortilla.. Serve
with organic strawberries on the side.