This entry is making a repeat performance from last October. Let me know if you’ve found some fun, healthy Halloween treat ideas!

How scary is it that Halloween is only a week away? EEK!

Lucky for us, my son got a kick out of the caterpillar costume he wore a couple years ago. He looks like a caterpillar getting ready to shed his skin, but hey, we’ll go with it. While all his friends are boasting about being firefighters, superheroes, ghosts, and mummies- my son seems proud to be a bright green caterpillar, again. That’s my boy!

After giving in to my husband’s pleas for “cool” candy last year, I decided this year I’m going to be the proud tree-hugger that I am and set out the (NOOOOOOO!) healthy treats. (Key in witch cackle.)

Believe it or not, there are tasty AND healthy options now. Check out Yummy Earth’s organic vitamin C lollipops, Clif Bar’s mini Spooky S’mores, or Annie’s organic bunny fruit snacks. I know, these treats cost a bit more than the sugar-laden bags you find at department stores, but our kids are a worthy investment.

Still need a costume idea? Head to your local consignment shop. It will likely be filled with worn-once costumes for a sweet steal. If you’re pretty crafty, check out ideas for homemade costumes at Family Fun or Kaboose.

Remember that pumpkins make great food for your compost heap after all the ghosts and ghouls have retreated, and same for those scary looking corn stalks.

Find more ideas for giving your children a healthier Halloween at Green Halloween.

Happy Haunting!

I started working out regularly about a year ago. It had been years since I’d stepped into a gym. After I saw of photo of myself from the year before at my 40th birthday celebration, I knew it was time. My love handles had grown into a full-fledged steering wheel.

I expected to tone up and even lose a few pounds. What I didn’t expect was that in less than a year, I would lose three sizes!

Not having been this size since college, I’ve tried to figure out what was happening to my body. I hadn’t changed what I was eating recently, and as you can probably tell from the recipes on this site, I’m a sucker for a sweet.

So what was it? Was I sick? Was I withering away to nothing because of some fatal disease? Would my hair start falling out? Body parts go numb?

And then it hit me the other day as I was reading about Alicia Silverstone’s new cookbook, The Kind Diet. The last time I’d worked out regularly, I was still eating seafood and had not yet broken up with cheese. And the two went together so nicely…tuna melt, anyone?

So if you’re looking to shed a few pounds, consider breaking off your relationship with dairy. You might just avoid the steering wheel!

It’s that month again. The kiosks in the department stores selling the lunch boxes with the pink ribbons. The grocery stores have the specially marked cereal boxes. Heck, even Spongebob goes pink this month. And why? Because marketers know what sells.

Seems that cronie capitalism may have taken another victim- the breast cancer survivor. What began as an honorable attempt to raise money for breast cancer research has ballooned into an outright marketing campaign in which pink has become the new black, and it’s bringing in a lot of green, but not necessarily for the cause it was meant for.

This weekend’s Globe Magazine article, Sick of Pink, explains how we consumers have been duped into believing that anything we purchase with a pink ribbon is supporting breast cancer research, that the manufacturers of these products are taking a loss in order to help a worthy cause.

Not usually the case. A lapse in monitoring corporate behavior and the desire for profit infused within any marketing campaign have led to some shady dealings.

Best bet is to skip the pink lunch box and send the 10 bucks instead.