Green Your Halloween

Green Your Halloween!
No tricks, just Treats


( From The Green Guide )

For children, Halloween is one of the most thrilling days of the year-chock full of goblins, ghouls, witches, and all manner of sweet confections. But by the time the masks come off, the over-indulgences of the day may well have taken a toll on your kids-and on Mother Earth. This year, why not take a few small steps toward ensuring a healthier, greener Halloween for all?

Organic Halloween Treats

Consider taking the environmentally friendly step of offering organic treats to the fearsome creatures that come knocking at your door. Rest assured, certified organic products won't leave your pocketbook as empty as a ghost town. Most are available now at natural foods supermarkets or may be ordered (or sourced) online. And never fear: they all come safely wrapped.

Chocolate.Several bite-sized options have king-sized kid appeal:

Bug Bites: small organic squares from Endangered Species Chocolates in milk or dark chocolate. Each square contains one of 48 different endangered species trading cards, and 10 percent of profits go to animal and conservation causes.

Fair Trade sells organic, individually wrapped dark chocolate from Equal Exchange. You'll get 42 pieces to a bag.

Rapunzel offers small ladybugs, complete with legs that contain hazelnut truffles. (Caution: some kids are allergic to nuts, so check before handing them out.)

Cookies. Barbara's Bakery offers carry bags of organic animal cookies, in chocolate chip, oatmeal wheat-free, vanilla, and vanilla-fruit-juice-sweetened. The website offers online purchasing.

Popcorn. Hand out individual microwave popcorn packs from Newman's Own Organics Pop's Corn.

Hard Candies. Organic Candy Company sells bags of organic Sour Fruits Hard Candies in cherry, lemon, pineapple, and orange. The website offers online purchasing.

Lollipops: Pure Fun is a new company that has created a superb-tasting line of organic hard candy. Try a variety of flavors with this colorful mix of lemon, green apple, watermelon, goji berry, tangerine, and pomegranate lollipops. Contains approximately 36 lollipops. Individual flavors also available separately. You can also order Pure Fun Organic Fruit Lollipops Mix in a bulk, two pound size. Approximately 70 individually-wrapped pieces per pound.

Also keep these options in mind:

Organic Raisins. Earthbound Farm sells their organic Thompson Seedless Raisins in handy snack packs, just right for kids. Pavich Raisins are available in individual small boxes but are not sealed.

Honey Sticks. Very little organic honey is currently available, but Stash Tea, a maker of organic teas, makes delicious, naturally-flavored honey sticks. The website offers an online store.

Fruit: The Real Thing, if only for around the house. There is nothing better than this season's local organic apple even if your face is painted green and your hair stands two feet above your head. Also, dried fruits are always a winner.