Halloween Craft - Painting a Teal Pumpkin for the Teal Pumpkin Project

Halloween is upon us and while we race around to pumpkin patches, theme parks, costume shops, we collect more and more candy and junk food. I decided that this year, I was going to try to make a change in my candy basket and my playgroup and try to have a healthier Halloween, and decided to participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project. What I learned was the spooky truth about the food we give out...

Why healthy? Why can't we give out our all-time favorite classic candy "Just this once???"

At one time that hard-earned plastic pumpkin full of junk food was my lifeline for weeks after Halloween. My mom believed in giving us healthy food and limited the junk food but this was the one day where most moms threw caution to the wind, said "just this one time" every year. They let us indulge in however much cramming or rationing we wanted to do with this massive amount of sugary sweets until we ate the very last piece. But ingredients were different in those days.

Fast forward to 2015. The bucket of candy my son came home with very much resembled my own years ago. However, things have vastly changed.

Virtually everything you see in that treat bag has sugar as its very first ingredient!

If you are wondering if there are

pesticides, 

herbicides, 

preservatives, 

food coloring, 

hormones, 

antibiotics, 

and 

ingredients that are not food

hidden in these coveted wrapped treats... 

Well it's Halloween

and the trick

is on you

and everyone you give that treat to.

If you don't see the USDA organic symbol, you are guaranteed most if not all of the above. 

What about Genetically Modified Organisms or GMOs in these candies?

Unless you see the NonGMO Project symbol on most of these treats, it is safe to assume that there are ingredients with DNA that has been altered and have NOT been adequately tested on any animal or human and instead is being tested on our kids.

The Non-GMO Project symbol, Teal Pumpkin Project Logo, USDA Organic logo on our Trick-or-treat challenge.

Food allergies - Is it the food or what people have done to it that is the problem?

Kids are being diagnosed with allergies, autism, cancers other illnesses at alarming rates and on Halloween, we are offering them buckets of toxic poisonous candy under the guise that it is a holiday tradition to have the special treats that we had when we were kids.

'Just this one time' results in millions of this unlabeled, unsafe food being poured into our population and It isn't just ONCE if we are ALL doing it.

The Food Babe gets into a lot more depth about Halloween Candy ingredients here:
How To Stop Poisoning The Neighborhood Children On Halloween

Try to find organic options.
Don't worry! There are companies that do not include these toxic ingredients and they are marked USDA Organic and carry NonGMO Project Seal among other food ratings.

We can find candy and foods that bear the USDA organic symbol at the grocery stores and pharmacies, you can swing by a Target, you can order it online, you can go to a natural organic market, you can score some at Costco.

Still can't find what you like? Ask your favorite candy companies to offer organic options! Why aren't they offering organic foods?!

Give out non-food treats.
You can also give out stickers, money, temporary tattoos, pencils, erasers, toys to everyone including kids who have food allergies and the possibilities are endless.




Non-food treats like this bowl of goodies we picked up at the dollar store are the perfect way to take yourself out of the sugar rush and make sure kids who have food allergies can trick-or-treat at your house.

Planet Playgroup - Our Healthy Halloween Playdate

This October, we decided to share our healthier Halloween ideas at our playgroup's monthly Planet Playdate event.

To some, healthy Halloween would mean NO treats at all! To many with allergies, it does. According to a 2013 study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies among children have increased approximately 50% between 1997 and 2011 and 1 in 13 children with food allergies.

Our Planet Playgroup kiddos got to paint Teal pumpkins for the Teal Pumpkin Project and raise money to help fund research and awareness for Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) on behalf of the 15 million Americans with food allergies, many of whom can't eat the treats we give out.



We were provided samples of USDA Organic and Non-GMO treats like Bitsy's Brain Food, YumEarth, and Love Child Organics that are fantastic choices for a healthier Halloween.

Then we snacked on adorable Organic Bitsy's Brain Food cookies available at Target and Wegmans.

We had YumEarth USDA Organic gummies and lollipops.

The kids enjoyed Love Child Organics Strawberry Peaches Banana pouches which you can buy on Amazon.

I baked my vegan, organic pumpkin muffins for the grown-ups!

We gave out apples and grapes to our kiddos for some whole foods snacks, too.

All of our babies got to try out the very eco-friendly and Award Winning Bambo Nature Premium Baby Diapers.

We may not have cut out ALL the sugar but we avoided chemicals, pesticides, preservatives, food coloring, and GMO ingredients so I assure you, our kids didn't miss a thing. We may have won some moms over from giving out the bad stuff, too!

Make the Change and Spread the Word - How to Throw Your Own Teal Pumpkin Painting Play Date

Gather up some friends either in your playgroup, on Facebook, or Meetup.com...

Tell everyone to bring a pumpkin, an optional donation, and dress for mess. You provide teal paint, paintbrushes, pallets, wipes and anything else you want to decorate with.

Everyone puts their Teal Pumpkin outside to let kids with food allergies know they can get a non-food treat. 

Provide printed information so your friends can learn what the Teal Pumpkin Project is all about.

Here's a sign you can print for your house if you don't paint a pumpkin.

Be sure everyone adds their house to the map so kids can find them.

We also had a donation jar at the event and the little kids raised $13.72!

I bought a FAKE white pumpkin at JoAnn's so I can use it every year, cut my waste, save my money, save my time.

About our Planet Playdates

Our Planet Playdates are eco-friendly learning through play events for babies to preschoolers. This month, for October, the theme was Halloween! Stay tuned for November's playdate where we have a Thanksgiving Snack-fest with and see what it looks like without bees. If you would like to attend one of our events, please join our playgroup on Meetup.com. If you can't make it, we will post it all up on the blog!

We encourage our moms to be healthy, too!!!

Wouldn't it be nice not to have to go to the gym or pay big bucks for a yoga class? Grokker.com gives you access to personalized yoga videos you can work into your routine at home with monthly memberships for less than a single yoga class. 

All of my readers get a 14 Day FREE Trial of Grokker.com online yoga videos with no obligation! 

Also, right now, we are offering an awesome giveaway of all the brands in this post!

Healthy Halloween Prize Pack Giveaway

Brought to you by MommyOnTheMoney.com

Michigan Saving and More & Willy B Mum

We are giving away a BIG prize pack of items for baby, kids, and mom to have a Healthy Halloween! These items were provided by the generous sponsors of each prize on the list. Please feel free to visit their sites, try out their products, and enter the giveaway if you want to win!

There will be ONE Winner for the following Prize for a Total (ARV $358): 

1 year membership to Grokker.com online yoga (RV $118)

1 case Bambo Nature Diapers (RV $85)

1 Bitsy's Brain Food Prize Pack (RV $75 )

1 Love Child Organics Prize Pack (RV $60 )

1 YumEarth Prize Pack (RV $20)

Rules:

The giveaway is open to US residents only who are 18+ years old.
Ends 11/10/2015
GOOD LUCK Everyone!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

* If you are a blogger and want to get in on Planet Playdate giveaways go here: Giveaway Opportunities for Bloggers

**Winner will be chosen randomly, entry verified, and notified via email used to sign in. Failure to respond within 48 hours forfeits the prize. Each prize will be provided by each individual company. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of prize. MommyOnTheMoney.com reserves the right to substitute a cash prize or Amazon.com for the full or any portion of the value of the prize if necessary due to any potential issues that may arise.