Don't be afraid of a healthy Halloween!

It's nearly Halloween and while you might want to spook other people when you're out trick or treating, you don't want to scare yourself if you are leading an unhealthy lifestyle. Instead, why don't you add to the festive holiday fun with a healthy Halloween rather than an unhealthy horror story if you're not looking after yourself or leading the lifestyle that you should be.

If it is less about things going bump in the night and more about you having all the bumps, then this Halloween it might be time to face your worst nightmares head on and accept where you need to make changes to your life. Do you need to quit a killer habit? Are you late night snacking like a vampire? Does your level of activity resemble that of the walking dead? Dust away the cobwebs of your life and don't be afraid of a healthy Halloween.

Zombies don't drive

Kids are dressed up and maybe you too. Everybody looks the part ready to go out into the neighborhood for some trick or treat fun. If you're about to grab the car keys to drive around then stop. It's not only good to get out into your community on foot because of the social interaction but walking around can burn off some of the sugary treats and encourage youngsters to be healthy and understand how important it is to get somewhere under their own steam. Make sure costumes are walking-friendly.

Do you need the makeup?

If a picture paints a thousand words, your face can certainly paint the picture of your lifestyle. While nothing beats a full medical check, of course, taking a look at the pallor of your skin and how you look can let you know if you are looking healthy and in the pink. If you don't need the ghost white makeup because you look pale and drawn already then ask yourself if you're getting enough sleep, exercise and fresh air. Do you have monster bags under your eyes or do you look bright eyed and alive?

Non-scary snacks

Along with some healthy pumpkin soup, you can create buffet snacks for parties or family get-togethers using healthy ingredients created in gruesome Halloween designs. Create entrails from noodles and chopped tomatoes, or witch fingers from baked aubergine or parsnip strips with red pepper stuck to the ends with a healthy dip for the fingernails, or what about using guacamole as a cauldron with cut out spooky-shaped raw vegetable dippers. Add a wooden spoon for effect and some table decorations. Keep your diet in check too if you end up having parties and dinners over the holidays.

Fight the sugar attack

On an average Halloween it's easy to add on thousands of extra calories with all the sugary candy that comes your way. You can combat this with some healthy snacks such as raisins, liquorice or perhaps forgo eating treats altogether. Halloween stickers or an inexpensive holiday related treat that you can't eat can at least help other trick or treaters keep the candy consumption down, including your own.

Halloween help

To stop youngsters eating too much, run a competition to see who ends up with the most candy at the end of the night. You could take this one step further and see if kids will donate at least some of their treats to a good cause. Perhaps the candy can be added to a jar for a fundraising guess the number of candies, or you could donate some bags of sweet treats instead.

Mark this Halloween with some healthy snacks, treats and a good look at how you are leading your life in the land of the living.