10 Healthy, Frugal Halloween Treats

If we use these alternate suggestions for Halloween treats, the less temptation there will be when it comes to leftovers!

10 Healthy, Frugal Halloween Treats
By Sheyna Steiner • Bankrate.com


Halloween enjoys an unrivaled reputation for decadence among the society of children. As such, adults often feel compelled to step in and moderate the fun by injecting a touch of healthfulness and frugality into the little ones' bags of treats.

With reports every year on the declining number of trick-or-treaters, one of the most venerable traditions in the culture risks extinction. This may be due, in small part, to the overzealous application of health to the holiday -- specifically, in the form of bad Halloween treats. Not the arsenic-laced-cookie kind of bad treat, but the kind that bores kids into never wanting to go trick or treating ... ever again.

Disappointing treats run the gamut from toothpaste and dental floss to nuts and raisins. With expectations running high, making your house a good stop on the trick-or-treating circuit can be a tough job -- especially if you're on a budget and committed to promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Frugal treats

Don't worry. Be a Halloween hero and save the waistlines of the next generation (and some money) at the same time with these fun and thrifty Halloween treats.

1. Temporary tattoos
Kids love tattoos like bikers love Harleys. There's an inherent coolness that kids are quick to recognize, maybe because their parents generally hate them, though there are millions of exceptions to that rule these days. Plentiful supplies of safe, kid-appropriate designs can be found on the Web, in party stores or novelty shops. The individually wrapped ones are best, lest your offer be misconstrued by parents to be an attempt at poisoning their offspring.

2. Stickers
In Halloween themes or otherwise, stickers are a safe bet and available everywhere.

3. Colored chalk
Either a whole pack or individual sticks of chalk make amusing gifts. They're as fun as spray paint but without the permanence, noxious fumes or vandalism charges. You could even tell the kids to write nice things about you on the sidewalk in front of your house.

4. Individually wrapped sticks of clay
Find them at art supply stores, craft stores and, of course, the handy-dandy Web.

5. Pennies for wishing
Wrap up pennies in some tissue paper or cellophane or spring for some small organza or muslin bags from a craft store and attach a note with a short message about making wishes, lucky pennies or saving pennies.

6. Pencils, erasers and pencil toppers
Office supply stores, teacher supply stores have loads of themed pencils. Craft stores and toy stores carry pencil toppers or, if you're feeling crafty, pick up some supplies and devise your own.

7. Noisemakers and other party favors
Anything that amplifies kid's natural noisy tendencies is usually good for at least a few minutes of fun. Though old-fashioned Halloween-themed noisemakers are hard to find these days and the reproductions are a bit pricey; kazoos, slide flutes and maracas can all be found at party supply stores. Noisemakers were an inherent part of Halloween celebrations up through the 1960s so you could think of yourself as reviving an old tradition rather than giving out good-for-you treats.

8. Balloon animals
Making a basic balloon animal or object is fairly easy to learn, and there are free instructions all over the Web, or if you're serious about learning the art, there are books, videos and classes. The balloons, called 260s, are inexpensive and readily available from party or craft stores. Though it will take some patience and practice to learn, it's a neat trick that will impress your friends, or at least, your friends' kids.

9. Bubbles and wands
Bottles of bubbles can be found pretty cheaply and in bulk and are mostly available at toy stores, discount stores and the Internet.

10. Chocolate
Come on, you know it's what they want. Plus, dark chocolate is known to be chock full of antioxidants and keeps blood pressure down, which actually makes eating it, in moderation, healthy.

Healthier Dessert Options

Thank you to Holly for this healthier update of a sinful sweet!
(Sorry, no time to make it to photograph or bring free samples this week!)

Fudgy Chocolate Dessert

Ingredients:
1 package (18 -¼ oz) chocolate cake mix
1 can (15 oz.) solid pack pumpkin
3 cup cold fat-free milk
2 package (1.4 oz each) sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
1 package (8 oz.) Fat-free cream cheese
1 carton (8 oz.) reduced-fat whipped topping
¼ cup each fat-free hot fudge and caramel ice cream topping
¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted


Directions

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pumpkin (mixture will be thick). Spread evenly into a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 375 degree for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool complexly on a wire rack.
In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes or until soft-set. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pudding; beat until well blended. Spread over cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Just before serving , spread whipped topping over dessert. Drizzle with fudge and caramel toppings; sprinkle with almonds. Refrigerate leftovers.

Nutrition facts:

1 Piece=200 calories, 5 g fat (2 saturated), 2 mg cholesterol, 376 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber,
5 g protein, Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, ½ fat.

These two recipes were contributed by Katherine. Feel free to make one and bring it in. Anyone, anyone? :)

Diabetic Cake(Lemon Cake)

1 box Lemon cake mix
1 can diet 7up or sprite
1 container lite coolwhip
1 box sugar free lemon pudding

Mix together cake mix and can of pop bake as directed on box.
When cake is cooled mix coolwhip and lemon pudding together and put on top of cake.
Now how easy is that!!!!


Magic Dessert

1 small package each sugar free vanilla and chocolate pudding.
2 sleeves fat-free saltine crackers.
1 8 oz container lite cool whip.

Mix half the cool whip with each flavor of pudding. Layer in a 9 x 13 pan.
Alternate the following:
Crackers
pudding
crackers
pudding.

Chill for 6 hours.

On Weight Watchers this makes 10 servings. Each serving is 3 points each.

I like to move it, move it!

Top Ten Ways to Make Exercise Fun
From Mark Stibich, Ph.D. for about.com


Exercise is one of the pillars of longevity. The benefits of exercise are many: heart health, weight management, better sleep, improved mood, more energy and many more. The biggest benefit? Reducing your risk of chronic illnesses. Through exercise, you’ll stay healthy longer, age well and feel great.


Add a Friend
Find someone to be your exercise buddy. Don’t choose just anyone: Pick someone who is full of energy, fun and who you look forward to spending time with. That way, you’ll want to exercise just to be with your friend.

Group Fitness
Group classes are a way to meet new people, have an instructor to keep your form and effort good and be motivated to go each time. Shop around for your class: Find an instructor who has both knowledge and enthusiasm. You can gauge the social tone an instructor creates by watching if anyone talks to him or her before or after the class and if the other participants talks to each other.

Play Something
We use the word “play” in front of sports because they are fun. You “play” tennis, golf, soccer, softball or any other sport. Find a sport that you used to “play” when younger and take it up again. Choose a team sport when possible to add some socialization.

Audio Books and Podcasts
Get yourself a tiny music player and download some audio books or podcasts. Hundreds of free podcasts are available covering any topic you can imagine. Audio books can also be easily downloaded. This way, when you think about exercising, you can be looking forward to “reading” the next chapter in your novel.

New Shoes
Go exercise-fashion shopping. Start with your shoes. Go to a good running or fitness store and have a salesperson help you find the perfect shoe. Each type of shoe supports you foot differently, so you need to make sure you have the right shoe for you. Bring in your old running or exercise shoes; the wear marks will tell the salesperson how you run. After the luster wears off your shoes, go back for some new shorts, shirts or other accessories.

Chart Your Stats
Thousands of people obsessively chart the stats of their favorite baseball, basketball or football players and teams. Do the same for yourself. Create a wall chart and log your exercise activity, vital statistics (weight, measurements, best times, maximum lifts, etc.). Chart every detail of your exercise routine for a month. You’ll feel great as the information gets up on the wall.

Mix It Up
Don’t do the exact same exercise routine every day; mix it up. If you always run on the treadmill, run outside on a nice day. Take a week off your lifting routine and do a Pilates class instead. As soon as you feel your exercise routine becoming a rut, find something else to do.

Measure, Don’t Weigh
The scale can be the worst factor when it comes to motivation. You may be working hard, but your weight just stays the same. Part of the reason may be that you are adding muscle while losing fat. Another reason is that it just takes time and changes in your diet to lose substantial weight. So stop looking at the scale every day; instead, take some measurements. The tape measure will show change well before the scale does. Measure your chest, upper arms, stomach, waist, upper thighs and calves. Be sure to measure in the same place each time. Add those measurements to your wall chart and watch the progress.

TV, Videos and Music
Many people find that a bit of distraction helps get them through a workout. Get a tiny music player and load it up with inspirational music (change the music weekly to give you some surprises). Watch TV shows while on the treadmill or put in your favorite movie and watch 1/2 of it each time you exercise. That way, you’ll be able to watch one or two movies a week. You can do the same with TV shows; record your shows or rent a series and watch while exercising. You’ll look forward to your exercise just to find out what happens next in the show.

Relax
At the end of exercise (after you “cool down”), give yourself 5 minutes of relaxation. Just lie down on your back and let your body sink into the floor. Close your eyes. Relax. Feel the effects of exercise in your body. Look forward to the deep relaxation that can come after physical activity. You may find that you start exercising just to experience this feeling.

Good food: Muhammara

This is the first in the healthy recipe posts. If anyone else has a recipe they have tested out that's good for us and tasty, please share with me and I will get it posted online for you. (If you want to bring a sample to share, even better!)

(Free samples available at Emily's desk all day 10/18/07)



Muhammara

This is a Middle-Eastern dip that is extremely addictive. The main flavors are roasted red peppers, walnuts and cumin, an unlikely combo that proves really delicious. Serve with veggies and homemade pita chips mentioned below, as a sandwich spread, or even thinned out with a little water as a pasta sauce. If you're strapped for time, you can substitute roasted red peppers in a jar, drained well. If you use the pomegranate molasses* rather than honey, this is vegan as well.

*Pomegranate molasses can be found at a Middle Eastern grocer, if you're lucky enough to have access to one. Alternatively, recipezaar.com tells you how to make your own. Or try ordering it online at ethnicgrocer.com.

ingredients:

6 large red peppers, roasted and peeled
2/3 c. breadcrumbs
1/3 c. chopped walnuts
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 T. lemon juice
2 t. pomegranate molasses (or honey)
1 t. ground cumin
½ t. red pepper flakes
¾ c. extra virgin olive oil

Toss all ingredients except for olive oil in a food processor. Blend until combined. With food processor running, drizzle in olive oil until the mixture is smooth. Makes approximately 2½ cups.

Pita Chips

These are so much better than store bought! Cheaper, too. I like to use whole-wheat pita bread for a little extra health kick.

ingredients
1 package pocket pita bread
non-stick cooking spray
variety of spices ( I like the combo of garlic powder, dill and paprika, but you can use whatever you like)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Split each pita, inserting a knife into the pocket to get the two sides apart. Cut each half circle into three triangles. Spread the pieces rough side up on cookie sheets and spray lightly with cooking spray. Sprinkle on spices and bake for 15 minutes or until crisp.

************************************************************
Superfoods!



Hmmm, sounds weird. Why should I try some Muhammara?

Red bell peppers are a Superfood for your immunity because just one serving (1 medium pepper) is a top source of vitamin C (providing over 450% of the Daily Value), an excellent source of vitamin A (providing over 90% of the Daily Value), and one of the few vegetable sources of vitamin E -- nutrients that help support the immune system. Red bell peppers are one of only a few foods that naturally have this powerful combination of nutrients. Vitamin C has been shown to enhance white blood cell function. Some studies have also linked high intake of vitamin C to shorter duration and milder severity of cold symptoms by bolstering immune cells and lowering levels of histamine – a chemical responsible for congestion and stuffiness. While vitamin C receives most of the attention for its role in fighting colds, vitamin A is the unsung hero of immune function. Some researchers even call vitamin A the “anti-infective” vitamin because it helps support the body’s first line of immune defense: the maintenance of skin and mucosal cells lining the airways, urinary and digestive tracts. Vitamin A also plays an important role in the development of white blood cells, such as lymphocytes, which research shows are important in defending the body against viruses and bacteria. Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that studies show may shield immune cells from free radicals and may boost the production of immune boosting white blood cells.

Check out more superfoods here.

9-5 Dieting: How to Avoid Office Pitfalls

9-5 Dieting: How to Avoid Office Pitfalls
by Susan Woodward for MSN Health & Fitness


Know this scenario? You're on a diet plan and your mind is switched to empowered. Then a coworker has an office shindig to celebrate a birthday, or the birth of a baby. You cave… and indulge in a piece of really nasty, but oh so sweet, grocery-store sheet cake.

And that's just one of the dieting traps set to ensnare the working woman.

How are you supposed to make it through a day so removed from the safety of your carefully stocked home refrigerator? How do you avoid the pick-me-up chips and candy in those darn vending machines?

O.K., nothing has the potential to blow your diet like the realities of your 9-5 world. But get a grip – understanding your foe is the key to overcoming it. Let's revisit the simple truths we busy women need to hear again and again to keep control over our eating habits.

Don't not eat

"The thing I notice most about women who work all day is they're in 'go' mode," says Julia Trick, N.D., director of nutrition at The Greenhouse, a destination spa for women in Texas. "They just don't stop to eat."

Food is essential for regulating blood sugar levels. Go without and you're more likely to overeat and/or fall prey to the ubiquity of vending machines and drive-thrus when hunger finally catches up. Plus your job performance will suffer from the strain on your mental capabilities.

The worst meal to skip is breakfast. "Breakfast is absolutely number one," says Dana Carpender, author of several popular books, including 500 Low-Carb Recipes. "And the first thing down your throat has to be protein."

Organize your own snacks

Contrary to popular belief, snacking is not evil. (See blood sugar information in the section above.)

Sugar-free chocolate bars, baked cheese snacks, and seeds and nuts (very filling) make great healthy snacks, offers Carpender. Keep a stash in your drawer for quick fixes.

Use office appliances

Look around your office break room. If it has a fridge and a microwave, your opportunities for sticking to your diet plan just skyrocketed.

Carpender, with her feverish and inventive kitchen energy, suggests bringing to work sugar-free yogurt, string cheese, deviled eggs, quiche, cold shrimp and dip, canned protein shakes, raw vegetables and stuffed celery sticks. A microwave allows for tasty leftovers, or frozen hot wings and fish fillets.

Whatever your diet permits, the point is brown bagging rules!

Advocate for change

Soda machines can be stocked with water and V8 juice; low-fat and low-carb snacks are available for vending machines; and meal delivery companies service offices with specialized foods. Get some fellow workers on your side and you may be able to inspire a small food revolution.

"A lot of change that happens, even in the corporate world, starts at a grassroots level," says Trick.

Just say no

With all this advice, summoning the will power to defeat diet-breaking indulgences at work just got easier.

But if your suggestion for sugar-free cheesecake over sheet cake doesn't fly, and the temptations at the next office soiree are too much, there's a final option open to you.

Says Carpender, "There are certain things you simply have to walk away from."

Susan Woodward lives in Olympia, Washington. She writes on topics that include health and indigenous cultures, and she works with the non-profit international health organization Amazon Promise. Her writing has appeared in The Los Angeles Times.

Eat Right Without Thinking

Eat Right Without Thinking
20 secrets to eat what you love and still get the body you want.
By Holly McCord & Virginia Leoni Moles, Men's Health


As new college kids ditch home life for campus life, many of them face the dreaded freshman 15. But the sudden weight gain could affect any of us, as we pack away our bathing suits and begin purchasing heavier sweaters and sweatshirts that can potentially hide bulging bellies underneath.

When summer ends, we eat more, because we can get away with it. We're not as likely to bare our midsections and no longer will we strut ourstuff on the beach. That means more nights of ordering out pizza, and over-doing dessert.

To prevent fall weight gain, adopt some of the following smart habits. These 20 simple tactics—if you stick to them regularly—will help you get more of the stuff you need into your diet while eliminating the stuff you don't. The best part? Before long you'll be dining like a nutrition expert, without even thinking about it.

At breakfast, put coffee in your milk instead of milk in your coffee.

Fill your mug to the rim with skim milk first thing in the morning. Drink it down until all that's left is the amount you'd normally add to your coffee; then pour your java on top. You just took in 25 percent of the vitamin D you need every day, and 30 percent of the calcium.

Take your vitamins every morning.

Study by study, evidence is mounting that a standard multivitamin fills enough of the gaps in your diet to make a real difference. For example, a recent study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute in Seattle showed that people who took a multivitamin supplement and 200 I.U. of vitamin E for 10 years were half as likely to get colon cancer.

Drink two glasses of water before every meal.

This will do two things: keep you hydrated and make you eat a little less. A Dutch study showed that drinking two glasses of water can make you feel less hungry, possibly reducing your food intake and aiding weight loss.

Always order your pizza with double tomato sauce and light cheese.

Men who eat a lot of tomato products tend to have less prostate cancer—probably because tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene, a type of carotenoid that's believed to cut your risk of cancer. If you double the sauce on your pizza, you get double the lycopene. Reducing the mozzarella by just one-third (you won't miss it) will save you 20 grams of fat. That's as much as in a McDonald's Quarter-Pounder.

Always order your sandwiches with double tomato slices.

Another chance for a healthy dose of lycopene.

Pile onions on everything.

Research has revealed that onions are so healthful—they're a top source of heart savers called flavonoids—that it's practically your duty to eat them lavishly on hot dogs, pizza, burgers, and sandwiches. And speaking of junk food...

Whenever you eat fast food, drink two glasses of water afterward.

Big Macs, subs, fries, and pepperoni pizza are all loaded with fat and sodium, which can be hellish for your heart. You can't do much about the fat once you've eaten it, but you can flush away some of the excess sodium by drinking plenty of fluid afterward, says Tina Ruggiero, R.D., a New York City dietitian.

When the waitress asks what you want to drink, always say iced tea.

The more we learn about tea, the more healthful it looks. A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that a serving of black tea had more antioxidants—crucial to your body's defense against heart disease, cancer, and even wrinkles—than a serving of broccoli or carrots.

Have an afternoon snack every day at 3 o'clock.

A nutritional boost between lunch and dinner wards off fatigue and keeps you from overindulging later, says Keith Ayoob, Ed.D., R.D., director of the nutrition clinic at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Rose F. Kennedy Center. Just don't scarf down a candy bar. Try yogurt and fruit, crackers and cheese, or eat an egg (hard-boiled), an apple, and a thirst-quencher like bottled water. All of these foods will give you long-lasting energy.

Always leave the skin on your fruit.

If you peel apples or pears, you're throwing away heavy-duty nutrients and fiber. Same goes for potatoes. Go ahead and peel oranges, but leave as much of the fibrous white skin under the rind as you care to eat—it's loaded with flavonoids. Ditto for the white stem that runs up the middle.

Put a bottle of water in the office freezer every night before you leave work.

You already know that you should drink eight glasses of water a day, but how are you supposed to do it? Fill a half-gallon bottle in the morning, and make sure you've downed it all by the time you go home. If you like your water cold and you have access to a refrigerator, fill the bottle partially the night before and stick it in the freezer. Next morning, fill it the rest of the way. You'll have ice-cold water all day.

Whenever you buy grapefruit, go for red instead of white.

Remember lycopene, that stuff in tomatoes that may fight prostate cancer? It's what makes tomatoes red. And it's responsible for the color in ruby red grapefruit. (Watermelon and guava also have some.)

Eat salmon every Wednesday.

Actually, the day doesn't matter; the important thing is to have it once a week. Salmon is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, a type of fat most experts say we don't get enough of. Omega-3s seem to keep the heart from going into failure from arrhythmia—men who eat fish once a week have fewer heart attacks—and they may even ward off depression. A weekly serving of salmon should supply the amount of omega-3 fats you need.

Always wash your meat.

Here's an easy way to cut the fat content of your secret chili recipe: As soon as you finish browning the ground beef, pour it into a dish covered with a double thickness of paper towels. Then put another paper towel on top and blot the grease. If you want to remove even more fat, dump the beef into a colander and rinse it with hot (but not boiling) water. The water will wash away fat and cholesterol. Using these methods together can cut 50 percent of the meat's fat content.

Whenever you have salad, keep the dressing on the side.

Here's the drill: Dip your fork in the dressing first, then spear a piece of lettuce, then eat it. Sound dumb? In fact, it's one of the smartest habits you can have. Four tablespoons of, say, honey-mustard dressing can have 60 grams of fat—nearly an entire day's worth for an average guy.

Whenever you eat broccoli, put a little margarine, olive oil, or cheese sauce on it.

This is our kind of nutrition advice. Broccoli is a rich source of beta-carotene—one of the major antioxidants your body needs. But beta-carotene is fat-soluble, which means it has to hitch a ride on fat molecules to make the trip through your intestinal wall. Without a little fat in the mix, your body won't absorb nearly as much beta-carotene.

Always have seconds on vegetables.

If we had to pick one food that represents the best insurance for long-term good health, vegetables would be it. Your daily goal: Three servings minimum. A serving, by the way, is ½ cup. Think of a tennis ball—it's about half a cup in volume.

Do a fat analysis before every meal.

It's tempting to go fat-free at breakfast and lunch so you can indulge in a high-fat dinner. Wrong. Studies show that, for several hours after you eat a meal with 50 to 80 grams of fat, your blood vessels are less elastic and your blood-clotting factors rise dramatically. William Castelli, M.D., director of the Framingham Cardiovascular Institute, says, "The immediate cause of most heart attacks is the last fatty meal." Spread your fat intake over the whole day.

Always eat (a little) dessert.

Here's why: Sweets such as cookies and low-fat ice-cream bars signal your brain that the meal is over. Without them, you might not feel satiated - which might leave you prowling the kitchen all night for something to satisfy your sugar jones.

Eat a bowl of dry cereal every night before you go to bed.

A low-fat, low-calorie carbohydrate snack eaten 30 minutes before bed will help make you sleepy, says Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The nutrition bonus? Cereal is one of the easiest ways to reduce your fiber deficit. (Most men eat only half the 25 to 35 grams of fiber they need daily.) So pick a cereal that has at least 5 grams of fiber per serving.
Provided by Men's Health