Kim Kirchherr, MS, RD, LDN, CDE

October brings crisp fall days, changing leaves, and fun fall parties and treats.  Change up your menus and Halloween routine to be fun, festive, and feel good about the choices you make, too. Here are some of my favorite fall finds:

Seasonal menu swaps.

Use fruits and vegetables to make meal planning simple.  Try apples for a snack on their own or with peanut butter, squash as a side dish or soup, and dried fruit in salads or mixed into whole grain cereal for an easy snack.

Decorate beyond the plate.

Hard shell squash lasts for quite some time – buy extra when it is on sale and display it on the table for a pretty and future edible centerpiece.  Pick up a few pumpkins – both to decorate for Halloween but also to use for dishes like risotto, muffins, and soup.  Roast the seeds for a great tasting snack or to toss into salads in place of croutons.

Serve up sensational snacks at your next party.

Baked apples (wash, core, sprinkle with cinnamon and microwave until soft), trail mix, popcorn sprinkled with savory herbs and spices, hot chocolate or apple cider – these are all great fall flavors that are better for you, taste good, and don’t take a lot of kitchen skill to pull off successfully.  Serve dishes with fun names, like harvest salads, spooky side dishes (try scary carrots, witch finger whole grain breadsticks, etc – get creative!  Make a vegetable monster party game – cut up a variety of fruits and vegetables and give each child a plate with the challenge to build a monster.  Take pictures and post the album to your facebook or pinterest page before kids eat their treats – and remember the light ranch for dipping!  If time allows, roast some veggies ahead like broccoli, cauliflower and pepper strips – this makes their flavor more appealing to kids – and adds a fun dimension to their monster building.

Treats for your tricksters.

When it comes to trick or treating, traditional favorites can fit in – fun size candy bars fit easily into a balanced meal plan as a small treat – and use them as a great teaching tool to talk about portion control.  Just be sure to limit how many everyone in the house eats per day to keep it all in perspective.  Want some ideas for sensible and still fun treats?  Here are some of my personal favorites (be sure to help small kids with age appropriate selections) :

  • Playdough
  • Pencils
  • Spider rings
  • Stickers
  • Mints
  • Dried fruit  - individual bags/boxes of raisins or cranberries
  • Mini bags of pretzels
  • Fun size candy bars
  • Individually wrapped chocolates
  • Cocoa packet
  • Suckers
  • Apples for bobbing