4 Tips for a Healthier Halloween

Halloween is a scary time of year….for nutrition professionals trying to teach people healthier eating habits. All that Halloween candy is typically the start of the fall from healthy eating habits into “holiday season eating habits”, which at this point now goes from Halloween till New Years. That basically means 2 solid months of treats and cheats- a surefire way to sabotage any healthy eating plan. And while there is no such thing as healthy Halloween candy, there are some tricks to help you navigate this time of year.

Eating fun, “sometimes” foods is an enjoyable part of life, and I don’t usually recommend never eating certain foods. I know, you may now think you are lost on the internet. Isn’t this a nutrition website? Yes, but recommending to people to not eat any of their kids’ Halloween candy, and then it happens, is essentially setting them up for feelings of guilt and shame that they didn’t ‘have enough willpower’. I don’t really believe in willpower- I DO believe in the power of choices and being informed to know the consequences of those choices, but I don’t work in guilt and shame. I work with reality.

However, a couple of mini candybars can be a very slippery slope that then sets us up for habits that are hard to break.

And that’s the thing- most of us know about sugar’s addictive and negative affects on our health, and yet….we keep grabbing those mini Snickers bars. So here are a few tricks to get you through.

Choose Your Favorite:

Pick 1-3 candies that you know you will enjoy, and commit to only treating yourself to those. If you are going to eat a fun ‘sometimes’ food, make it FUN. Don’t just eat all the candy in front of you simply because it’s there. I mean, does anyone REALLY enjoy eating Mary Janes or Tootsie Rolls? NO. Pick your candy and savor it.

Eat Your Protein:

If you know you’ll be indulging in your kid’s candy after trick or treating (if it’s happening in your area), eat a high protein, whole foods dinner before you go. Additionally, if you end up indulging in some treats for a few days after Halloween, focus on eating a clean, high protein, whole foods, unrefined diet for those days. Protein stabilizes blood sugar and contributes to feeling satiated, helping us to avoid being faced with a bucket full of candy when our blood sugar is crashed and we are starving. Set yourself up for success by giving your body what it needs.

Create a Goal, and Ditch the Guilt

Instead of dreading Halloween because you know you are going to eat Halloween candy, decide how many pieces you will have and for how many days. Enjoy it while you are eating it, and try not to let guilt sneak in. If you have a plan for how many pieces you’ll have, try to stick with it- but don’t beat yourself up. The negative feelings aren’t going to do you any good anyway.

Buy “Better” Versions of Halloween Candy:

Just to repeat, there is no such thing as healthy Halloween candy. It is still candy. But, you can buy options that have fewer offending ingredients that can cause issues for a lot of people like gluten, dyes, or high fructose corn syrup. A great store for holiday candy treats is Natural Candy Store. This is a family owned business that sells all sorts of candy with all diet types in mind. You can search for candy that’s vegan, organic, allergy-friendly, gluten-free, dye-free, Non-GMO, Fair Trade, or Kosher. You can even “shop by diet” and select items you don’t want in your search results, such as “no corn ingredients,” “no soy ingredients,” or “no corn syrup.” You can order online here.

This Halloween looks a lot different this year, but the usual challenges are still the same. Try some of these tricks (and treats!) to make your Halloween healthy and happy.

Feeling a little lost with how to manage healthy choices around the upcoming holidays? We offer one -on-one virtual packages to help support your health goals. To get started, book your FREE one - on -one consultation here.

This information is for educational and informational purposes only and solely as a self-help tool for your own use. I am not providing medical, psychological, or nutrition therapy advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your own medical practitioner. Always seek the advice of your own medical practitioner and/or mental health provider about your specific health situation. For my full Disclaimer, please go to https://www.sourceandsproutnutrition.com/disclaimer