Spooky Witch Fingers

Wanna be the scary neighborthis Halloween? How about homemade spooky fingers instead of sugary candy forTrick-or-Treat? LOL

Spooky Witch Fingers

•              1 cup butter, softened

•              1 cup confectioners' sugar

•              1 egg

•              1 teaspoon almond extract

•              1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•              2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

•              1 teaspoon baking powder

•              1 teaspoon salt

•              3/4 cup whole almonds

•              Raspberry jelly

Combine the butter, sugar,egg, almond extract, rand vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat together withan electric mixer; gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt,continually beating; refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F(165 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.

Remove dough from refrigeratorin small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of waxedpaper. Use the waxed paper to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie.Press one almond into one end of each cookie to give the appearance of a longfingernail. Squeeze cookie near the tip and again near the center of each togive the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharpknife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Arrangethe shaped cookies on the baking sheets.

Bake in the preheated ovenuntil the cookies are slightly golden in color, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the almond from the endof each cookie; squeeze a small amount of red jelly into the cavity; replacethe almond to cause the jelly to ooze out around the tip of the cookie. 

Source: based on recipe from AllRecipes 

Safe Tips for Halloween Face Paint, If You Must....

We are not advocates of face paint for kids. If you really must, for Halloween purposes, try organic versions. The FDA recommends these simple steps to keep safe:

1. Follow all Halloween face paint directions carefully, including warnings against using around the eyes.
2. Don't decorate your face with products, paints and colorings that aren't intended for your skin.
3. If your Halloween face paint has a very bad smell, this could be a sign that it is contaminated. Throw it away and use another one.
4. Before using new Halloween costume makeup, perform a simple patch test, particularly if you or your child is prone to allergic reactions, a few days before Halloween.
5. Read ingredient lists and don't buy any product that has non-approved colors. The FDA lists coloring agents approved for use in cosmetics.
6. Don't use products with fluorescent colors (D&C Orange No. 5, No. 10, and No. 11; D&C Red No. 21, No. 22, No. 27 and No. 28; and D&C Yellow No. 7) near the eyes.
7. Don't use luminescent (glow-in-the-dark) colors (zinc sulfide) near your eyes.
8. Wash thoroughly (and follow label instructions) once trick-or-treating or the party is over; don't go to sleep with Halloween costume makeup on your skin.
9. Before using older products, check it against these two May 2009 recall notices for Fun Express children's face paints.
10. If you have a bad reaction to Halloween face paint, report the incident to the FDA, so that other consumers can be protected.

Source: FDA and Daily Green

The Best and Worst Halloween Treats

My Health News Daily came up with a list of the best and worst most common Halloween candies, in terms of nutrition. Take a look:

The best
1. Jolly Ranchers: Three of these hard candies have 70 calories, no fat and 11 grams of sugar. It's hard to do much better than that.
2. Blow Pops: This 18-gram candy-gum combo has 60 calories, no fat and 13 grams of sugar.

3. Gobstoppers: Nine pieces of this everlasting treat have 60 calories, no fat and 14 grams of sugar.
4. Pixy Stix: There are 60 calories, 0 grams of fat and 15 grams of sugar in seven straws of this fruit-flavored candy.
5. Candy corn: Nineteen pieces of this ultimate Halloween candy has 140 calories, no fat and 32 grams of sugar.

The worst
1. Mr. Goodbar: A 49-gram Mr. Goodbar will cost you 250 calories, 17 grams of fat (including seven grams of saturated fat) and 23 grams of sugar.
2. NutRageous: Another nutty candy, a 51-gram NutRageous bar, will run you 260 calories, 16 grams of fat (including five grams of saturated fat) and 22 grams of sugar.
3. Snickers: Maybe a Snickers bar really should be a meal on its own. A 59-gram bar has 280 calories, 14 grams of fat — (including five grams of saturated fat) and 30 grams of sugar.
4. Baby Ruth: A 60-gram bar has 280 calories, 14 grams of fat (including 8 grams of saturated fat). It also has 33 grams of sugar, the second-highest sugar total among the candies examined, better only than a 60-gram 3 Musketeers candy bar that has 40 grams of sugar (though a 3 Musketeers bar has only eight grams of total fat).
5. Mounds: The only candy on our "Worst 5" list to not have peanuts, a 49-gram bar of this coconut treat has 230 calories, 13 grams of fat and 21 grams of sugar. It also has 10 grams of saturated fat, the most of any of the 37 surveyed candies.

Source: msnbc

Adorable Halloween

OMG...take a look at these adorable shoes. Perfect for Halloween!
And what about this Pumpkin set.... fantastic!

Source: HandKnitHugs, and Etsy store

The Many Faces of a Pumpkin

Pumpkin is one of the most versatile vegetable. It can be used for delicious sweet and savory foods, is really low in calorie (20 cal per 100 g) and loaded with beta-carotene and potassium.You can also eat the seeds.
Dry pumpkin seeds make a very tasty and healthy snack. They are used in the treatment of many illnesses such as kidney, prostate and gallbladder problems. They also help remove tapeworm and roundworm from intestines when infested. Pumpkin seeds are high in protein, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, copper and essential fatty acids. 
Pumpkin seed oil is made from Styrian pumpkin. These pumpkins have a yellow/green skin and yellow/orange flesh inside. Their seeds are dark green and have no shell. The oil made from these seeds is reputed for its healthy benefits. Fresh oil contains more than 60% unsaturated fatty acids.(29 % of mono unsaturated and 51 % of poly unsaturated fatty acids). Its benefits include regulating cholesterol levels and aiding in the prevention and treatment of bladder and prostate problems.

Choosing pumpkin is not difficult, the best ones are firm and smooth.
Pumpkin keeps well when uncut and placed in a cool and dry area, it can be kept for up to three months.


We love when tradition meets creativity. Click below for a couple of amazing (and healthy) pumpkin recipes:
Pumpkin and Yellow Pepper Soup with Smoked Paprika
Pumpkin Mousse Pie
Pumpkin/Butternut Squash Cookies

They are available only in the Fall in early Winter, a great reason to make the most of it during the season! What's more, you can carve it for fun and decoration!

Best Pumpkin Carving Techniques

1. Select a fresh pumpkin in a shape that pleases you. Some folks prefer their pumpkins low and round, while others like them tall and oval-shaped.

2. Draw a circle or hexagon on top of the pumpkin in preparation for making an opening large enough for your hand to reach through.

 

3. Cut through the stem end of the pumpkin along your outline with a sharp knife or pumpkin-carving tool. Use a back-and-forth slicing motion to cut through the thick, tough skin.

 

4.Remove the stem end, which will act as a cap, making sure you scrape off any seeds or pulp.
5.Use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp from inside the pumpkin. Hold the spoon by its bowl to get extra leverage while scooping.

 

6.Draw a pattern for the face on the clean pumpkin with a felt-tip pen, or scribe the lines into the skin using a pencil. Be sure to make the eyes, nose and mouth large enough; you'll have a hard time cutting out tiny features when you're using a big knife blade to saw through tough skin.

 

7.Follow your pattern as you cut all the way through the pumpkin.
8.Push the cut-out features gently from the inside of the pumpkin and discard the pieces.

 

9.Place a votive candle inside the pumpkin to create an eerie glow.

Source: ehow

Problems with Artificial Food Dyes

Halloween is just a week away, when unfortunately most kids eat a lot of cheap candy with loads of sugar and artificial dyes. Milton Stokes, M.P.H., R.D., wrote in the November/December issue of EatingWell Magazine about the potential health risks of synthetic food dyes.

• Preliminary evidence suggests that many children have a slight sensitivity to food dyes—and a smaller percentage are very sensitive. “We see reactions in sensitive individuals that include core ADHD symptoms, like difficulty sitting in a chair and interrupting conversations,” says David Schab, M.D., M.P.H., assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and co-author of a 2004 meta-analysis that found food dyes promote hyperactive behavior in already hyperactive children.

• A U.S. study published in Science found that when children who scored high on a scale measuring hyperactivity consumed a food-dye blend they performed worse on tests that measured their ability to recall images than when they drank a placebo. 

• A 2007 British study found that children who consumed a mixture of common synthetic dyes displayed hyperactive behavior within an hour of consumption. (These children had not been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.)

• The three most widely used culprits—Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Red 40—contain compounds, including benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl, that research has also linked with cancer.

There are several alternatives that kids will love just as much such as organic candies, cupcakes, chocolates, cookies, etc

Source: EatingWell 

Organic Lollipops and Gummy Bears for Halloween Treat

Organic Treat or Treat! Check out these lollipops free of chemicals, pesticides and dyes. The bag contains 8 flavors: grape, strawberry, blueberry, cherry, sour apple, pomegranate, watermelon and mango. Ingredients include organic evaporated cane juice, organic tapioca syrup, non-gmo citric acid, organic & natural flavors and flavors. By Yummy Earth

Gummy Bears are a favorite! This one is USDA organic certified. Ingredients include organic rice syrup, organic cane sugar, gelatin, organic carrot juice, organic aronia juice, organic black currant, organic curcuma, natural flavor, citric acid, ascorbic acid, organic sunflower oil.

Also by Yummy Earth

Crawler Costume

Here is another costume option for crawling babies....adorable!

By BrandsonSale

Halloween Stroller

If you have a baby who can’t quite walk from house to house, these handmade stroller costumes will do it in style! And you won’t believe the variety of stroller costumes!

By Mapletree 2000

Scary Fun Nail Polish

Just in time for Halloween, this cool nail polish for kids will add color to their costumes. While we are "kinda" against nail polish for kids, this one is non toxic, and fun for parties! Hopscotch Kids is free of toluene, dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, acetone, FD&C, coal tar and lake colors – so it’s ok for kids, and good for the Earth.

By Hopscotch Kids

Halloween candy: The good, the not so bad, and the stuff that rots teeth

All Halloween candy is not created equal. That's why every kid knocks on a front-door hoping to get a Snickers or a Pixie Stick, or whatever their favorite treat might be. Some candy is more delicious, no doubt.

But also some candy is worse for children's teeth than others, according to Dr. Douglas Young, professor of dental practice at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.

Dr. Young thinks that even around Halloween parents should consider what's going into their kids' mouths--especially since over 50 percent of children between the ages of 12 and 15 have at least one untreated cavity. To prevent cavities, Young advises parents to control the quantity and frequency of your kids' candy consumption as well as the actual types of treats.

Here's a rundown of what the latest research confirms is "really bad," "better," and "best" for little teeth.

1. REALLY BAD
Chewy or sticky candy

Examples: caramel, taffy, gummy candy

"These types of candy can stick to the teeth long after kids are done eating them," says Dr. Young. "Bacteria in the mouth feed off the sugar in these candies and produce acid, which in turn can cause cavities and other mouth problems."

Hard candy

Examples: lollipops, suckers

"Similar to sticky candy, these types of candies take extended amounts of time to dissolve, thus the mouth is exposed to sugar for a long period of time," says Dr. Young.

Sour candies

Examples: lemon drops, sour straws

"Higher acid content in sour candy makes the mouth more acidic and breaks down the tooth enamel quickly," says Dr. Young. "This highly acidic environment leads to a much greater risk for tooth damage."

2. BETTER
Chocolate

Example: chocolate bar

"Various studies have shown that chocolate is less harmful for teeth than other sugary foods because of a natural anti-bacterial compound in the cocoa bean which 'cancels out' some of the harmful effects of sugar in the mouth," Young says.

3. BEST
Candy or gum containing xylitol

Example: Xclear candy, Trident gum

"Xylitol is a naturally-based sugar that actually helps prevent cavities," Dr. Young says. "Bacteria in your mouth are unable to ferment xylitol, thus harmful acids are not produced. Xylitol candy, mints and gum are available at most health food stores, online and through your dentist. But please note that Xylitol is not safe for pets."

One more piece of advice from Dr. Young: The best time to eat candy is after a meal because the mouth's saliva is already working to move food (and sugar) out of the mouth. Moms should try to make Halloween candy a dessert treat for kids, rather than a snack between meals.

Read More: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=50362