Thank you to my good friend Natalia for sharing this picture. Hope everyone had a fantastic spooky night!

Here is the recipe from today's CTV segment.

Jack O Lantern Soup

Ingredients
2 tbsp canola oil
1 leek
1/2 sweet onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tbsp of cumin
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1/3 cup of evaporated 1% milk
parmesan cheese (optional)

Steps
1) Chop leek, garlic and onion into a medium dice
2) Sauté leek, garlic and onion on medium heat with oil until soft (about 5 minutes)
3) Add in spices and cook for another minute
4) Add in pumpkin, lemon juice and chicken stock, increase heat to a slight boil, then bring to a simmer and cover for 10 minutes
5) After 10 minutes, remove lid and add in evaporated milk slowly while stirring.
6) Keep on medium low heat from 5 more minutes
7) Remove from heat, add to serving bowls and sprinkle on a small amount of parmesan cheese (optional)

Makes 4 servings

It's only a few days away! Soon your little monsters will be out on the town collecting treats from house to house. This is a fun tradition for all but to the health aware parent is there anything that can be done to prevent the late night candy binge for your little kiddies?

Here are a couple of tips that will help you a long:

1) Don't let them skip meals: If your little tyke skips meals during the day of Halloween, they will be more likely to over eat snacks in the evening. Make sure they have their regular breakfast, lunch, dinner and healthy snacks.

2) Be the candy checker: With younger ones, it is important to make sure there are no dangerous treats in their bags anyways. Go through and remove any inappropriate candies (such as heavy chews they may choke on if they are really little). Next have your child help you divide the candy into small bags with the candies of their choosing so they can take one each day to school. Now you have helped portion things out but they still get the treats they want.

There are other little tricks you can try with your treat loving kiddies but these are a good start. Remember that it is a holiday and there will be a bit more indulging; just try to keep it reasonable.