The month of October is a special time for our family. We have three October birthdays, and Mike and I married on Halloween. We always enjoy celebrating the last holiday of October and our anniversary with great festive Halloween fun. In past years, we always started our evening with a carb laden and sugar laced meal. Then we would go trick or treating for a short time. While eating tons of candy, we would then head to our church Harvest Festival, where we would eat carnival-type foods as a second dinner. That was the old Stallman family. This Halloween the new Stallman family is getting healthier and we knew this year would have to been different. We met as a family weeks before and talked about fears and expectations of Halloween. We reassured all family members around their fears and resolved to do Halloween healthier this year. Then, as a Mom I got to work. I spoke to Dr. Hyman’s nutrition director, Lizzy Swick and got on the Internet and did some research. I planned and shopped for the big day. Once we tapped into our creativity as a family, the meal planning was not as hard as I thought it would be. It was still as fun as in years past and for the first time, the kids had a say in the menu. Mia even thought of a fantastic combination of strawberries and lemons to create a snow cone "syrup." Believe me it tasted a lot better than eating the Frankenstein-like, chemically laden syrups of years past. I wasn't going to let my little goblins down on Halloween. Planning was key because I also knew that any amount of processed sugary treats would probably turn us into craving vampires (okay not literally but you get the picture). To satisfy the temptation for candy and sweets, I made a bag for each of my goblins with non-food trinkets. I also added a few 10- Day Detox Diet compliant treats such as a cocoa bliss packet, cashew butter, xylitol gum and a couple of pieces of dark chocolate which was very pure and contained no additives, genetically modified soy or extra sweeteners. This satisfied their sweet tooth and made them feel like they weren't missing out on the junk. To not disappoint the kids, we started the night off with a themed menu just like in years past but healthier fare: Vampire Killer Greens (dark leafy greens with loads of garlic), "Bloodied" Fingers (organic nitrate free hot dogs cut into finger shapes in tomato sauce), Veggie Skeleton platter with "ranch" dip, and organic turkey sausages with peppers and onions. Our dessert was strawberry lemon snow cones.This was definitely our most delicious and filling Halloween dinners ever!! The final result was fantastic and more than Mike and I ever expected. The most unexpected and amazing treat was the kids volunteering to help prepare the Harvest Festival throughout the day! They were giving of themselves to the community, and we were proud parents. The most rewarding part of this Halloween was hearing everyone talk about their experiences. Here is what they said: Michael Sr.: “I felt better than last year without all of that sugar in me. I enjoyed helping out and having fun and didn’t feel like I was in a sugar haze eating garbage. The meal was great, it had Halloween flare just like every other year.” Mia: “I was proud that we found a solution to eating the sugary snow cones. My bag of goodies was like getting a stocking on Christmas morning with little gifts, I really loved it. I didn’t feel like I missed anything at all and I felt proud I got through it.” Savannah: “I didn’t miss the church food at all. I really like the hot dogs mom made. I loved having a piece of chocolate it was so good.” Kristin: “I like how we weren’t focused on food. The focus was on celebration and family. It was the best Halloween ever and I didn’t miss the candy at all!!”