A Nutritious and Traditional Snack for Halloween and Day of the Dead {Video}

The weather is chilly, pumpkins sit on front porches and fires are lit up in chimneys. Fall is officially here, and with it the holiday season of excess kicks off with Halloween and, for some of us Latinos, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).  Nutrition is always a huge topic around the holidays and more so around Halloween because of the insane amount of candy our kids are exposed to.

Now, we know we can´t stop our kids from trick-or-treating, but how about if we fuel them up with the “Official Drink of Halloween”–chocolate milk–as a tasty and nutritious snack option?

We’ve mentioned before how much Roxana’s girl and mine love their chocolate milk and how it’s a part of our daily routine. I dread the days I run out of it and I hear the words “Leche, favor mamá” coming out of Camila’s mouth. My husband and I turn to each other in panic because we know a scream or shrill complaint will follow. Ay! The girl knows what she likes!  We know that she recharges with each of the three 8-oz servings of chocolate milk she demands every day, providing her with one-third of the calcium she needs and nine essential nutrients to build strong bones., the same as in white milk, but with a taste she loves.

Apparently, our Mexican ancestors knew a bit about the nutritious value of chocolate milk since chocolate caliente is one of the traditional beverages prepared during the Day of the Dead festivities on Nov. 1st and 2nd.

So, we’re making chocolate milk part of both our Halloween and Dia de los Muertos festivities by enjoying one of the traditional beverages from our Mexican heritage–chocolate caliente! Watch the video below where Roxana and Vanessa teach us how to make nutritious and delicious Mexican hot chocolate, just like our abuelitas did.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj0wkGgw3rM

Here are a few tips to help make trick or treating and Day of the Dead celebrations healthy and fun!

1. Try rationing leftover treats during the days following Halloween. The abundance of sweets in  the house can easily lead to stomach aches from over-indulgence.

2. Fill kids up with a nutritious meal before trick-or-treating to discourage them from overloading on candy. Skip the sugary sodas, sports drinks and fruit drinks that are full of empty calories and swap in chocolate milk for one-third of the calcium kids need in each 8-oz serving. Studies show that kids who drink flavored milk tend to drink fewer sugary sodas, so it’s a positive swap not only for Halloween and Day of the Dead, but all year round!

For more info, yummy chocolate milk recipes for your niños and fun:

• Check out WhyMilk.com or EligeLeche.com for more Halloween recipes, tips and a fun quiz, plus the chance to win a family trip for 4 to Orlando!

• Join us at the Halloween Twitter party hosted by Resourceful Mom on October 25 at 8:00 p.m. EST! Just follow and tweet with the #ChocolateMilk hashtag.

• Become a fan of Milk Mustache Campaign on Facebook or Follow  at @MilkMustache on Twitter

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the National Milk Mustache “got milk?”® Campaign.  We truly do drink chocolate milk, that’s why we accepted the campaign.