Healthy Treats? No Big Trick

In less than a week, tens of millions of children will put on costumes and go trick-or-treating in search of candy and other goodies.

At a time when childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions, Halloween poses some special challenges. Doling out handfuls of high-calorie snacks can seem inappropriate. But dropping baby carrots into trick-or-treaters' bags doesn't seem quite right, especially if you want to avoid having your house wrapped in toilet paper.

"I always want to keep Halloween fun," notes registered dietitian Elisa Zied, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and the mother of two young children. "I eat the candy, too. I just don't eat a lot of it."

Here are some giveaway ideas that kids will consider a treat rather than a trick but that also deliver slightly more nutrition than the rest of the stuff they're likely to collect. By offering them, you may even wind up introducing kids to snacks they'll choose themselves later on.

Introduce dark chocolate. Most kids already love milk chocolate, but fewer have acquired the taste for this darker and less-sweet flavor. Rich in antioxidants, dark chocolate also contains the healthy fat stearic acid and iron, of which most children need more. Studies suggest that stearic acid may not only be good for the heart, but also could help to control blood pressure. One option is a Hersheys Dark Chocolate Kiss, which has 25 calories, about a gram of fat and no trans fat. Or have a single piece of Dove dark chocolate, which has 42 calories, about two grams of fat and zero trans fat.

Think small . Portion control can help limit calories. Food companies are providing small, individually packaged portions of popular foods, including Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs, downsized servings of Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins, Honey Maid Cinnamon graham crackers, Planters Peanut Butter Cookies, Kraft Cheese Nips and Ritz Snack Mix. All have three grams or less of fat (although not all are trans-fat-free). Snyder's one-ounce pretzel bags are a sugar-free, no-fat option that clocks in at 110 calories.