The diet-friendly Halloween Game Plan

Tricks & Treats For A Healthier Halloween

By Joanne Eglash
eDiets Contributor

Ah, Halloween. Row upon row of brightly packaged, sweet and caloric candies call us from the store shelves. Hypnotized, you plot: "I'll buy two bags of chocolate-covered, caramel-filled mini bars, one for the trick-or-treaters and one just for me."

Halt! Before you succumb to such evils, dip your hand into our special eDiets Bag of Treats (no tricks!). Here's your diet-friendly Halloween Game Plan:

Purchase something different for trick-or-treaters this year. Having gorged already on candies galore, the kids will appreciate treats such as stickers, mini yo-yos, miniature granola bars, tiny boxes of raisins or fancy pens. And you'll appreciate having a house that's temptation-free.

For a creative outlet, forget about baking and decorating Halloween cookies. Instead, indulge your creative self by creating the wildest, craziest costume that you can dream up. Consider inviting a few friends over to share your special Halloween magic.

Have a face-decorating contest! Invite all generations, from Grandma (teach her how to draw daisies on her cheeks with wash-off face paints!) to your 3-year-old niece (who will go wild with permission to paint her hands with her version of a kitty!). Wind up the evening with treats for everyone, from sugar-free, carb-free candy bars for dieters to animal crackers and cocoa to drink for the toddlers (sugar-free cocoa is great for everyone!).

Make sure to shop for treats that you can enjoy without guilt on this special night. My favorites include:

Beverages: the Fruit2O bottled waters from VeryFine Products (www.veryfine.com). All of these drinks are sugar free, caffeine free, contain zero calories and contain no carbohydrate. They also have a natural tang of fruit flavor. My favorite flavor: natural cherry.

Candies: Whether you're counting carbs or calories, it's safe to indulge in the new zero-calorie, zero-carbohydrate Starbucks after-coffee mints in an array of flavors such as vanilla (my favorite) or cinnamon. Counting carbohydrates on a diet such as Atkins? Treat yourself this Halloween with my favorite low-carb delights: Labrada Nutrition's CarbWatchers Gourmet Sugar-Free Chocolate bars. These bars come in flavors such as Vanilla Creme and Hazelnut Crisp. They not only are sugar-free, but also contain less than 2 grams of net impact carbohydrate per serving (3 servings per bar).

Another great choice is the Atkins Endulge Wafer Crisp bars. They are sugar-free, contain 4 grams of net crabs and are deliciously crunchy. These bars come in flavors such as Peanut Butter and Chocolate.

Ice Cream: If you're counting calories, savor a sugar-free Fudgsicle or Skinny Cow low-fat ice cream sandwich. Following Atkins or another low-carbohydrate food plan? Indulge in an Atkins ice cream cup! At 4 grams of net carbs and 130 calories, this is a treat that both calorie-counters and carb-counters can enjoy. If you really want to feel like you're having the ultimate treat, try the vanilla Atkins ice-cream cup with zero-carbohydrate, sugar-free syrup (the perfect treat for any dieter with a sweet tooth)! My favorite syrups: Atkins sugar-free vanilla and caramel syrups and Da Vinci Gourmet pancake (we're talking serious maple flavor here) and peanut butter sugar-free, zero carbohydrate syrups.

Crunch n' Munch Foods: Counting calories? We're talkin' air-popped popcorn sprinkled with garlic salt, cut-up raw veggies sprinkled with Mrs. Dash or Molly McButter and cut-up fresh fruits (tip: try an assortment of fall apples cut up and sprinkled with Equal and cinnamon). Counting your carbohydrate intake? Fry up some bacon until it's extra crisp, munch on a handful of fried pork rinds or try the classically crunchy Atkins Crunchers in flavors like sour cream and onion.

Congratulations! You've conquered the ghosts and goblins of Halloweens past!

Why do it alone? eDiets health and fitness experts will customize one of our 24 meal plans to match your needs and preferences. Our online Community groups, mentors and motivational gurus can make adopting a healthy lifestyle so much easier. Do something good for your body, visit eDiets and fill out a free personal profile to learn more.

Joanne Eglash has worked as a journalist for more than15 years, specializing in health, fitness, diet/nutrition, lifestyles, careers and relationships. Among the publications and Web sites for which she has written are Shape magazine, Fit Pregnancy magazine, Working Mother magazine, KidsHealth.org, ePregnancy magazine, Every Baby magazine, Entrepreneur.com, the San Jose Mercury News, the Christian Science Monitor, Netsurfer Digest and more. She is the author of How to Write A .com Business Plan: The Internet Entrepreneur's Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Business Plans and Financing Options (McGraw-Hill, 2000).