Halloween is just around the corner. I hope that you’re all stocked up with you favourite candies! Wait what! Just kidding!
I have a love-hate relationship with Halloween. I love seeing all the cute little kids dressed up, but hate the junk associated with it. Personally, if I had it my way, I would give apples to all the kids that came to my door. Yeah, I know, I am that mom! But I have some pretty good reasons.
If I only had a penny for every time a client told me that they completely sabotaged their diet because of Halloween! Seriously, though, grown adults going through their kid’s candies like fiends. Funny, but not so funny!
Candy is readily available everywhere all year around, but suddenly because it’s packaged in cute little packages, it’s ok to indulge for the week leading up to it, and then sneaking them in until all the candy is gone from your house. I know you know that four of those cute little-wrapped chocolate bars is equivalent to more than a full chocolate bar!:)
Hey, I’m not judging, it’s nostalgic and it’s definitely hard to stick to eating clean when you’re surrounded by your favourite childhood candies.
Although candy does nothing for me now, I definitely remember being a kid and binging out on my Halloween candy. I wish someone had stopped me! You see I was an overweight, insecure girl, who really didn’t need to be binging on candy and feeling absolutely horrible about myself after it. I wonder how many other girls out there feel the exact same way I did back then?
So how do I handle Halloween now that I am a mom to 6-year-old Julian, who certainly does not live in a bubble? We do a trade. This began when he was old enough to trick or treat and be curious about it.
The deal is, he dressed up and goes trick or treating with his friends, but at the end of it, he only gets to keep a few pieces of candy that are the least harmful – meaning most natural – this generally ends up being chocolate and maybe a few gummy treats. Then he gets to trade the bag of candy with something else he wants: a toy, a book, an outing somewhere, all within reason of course.
I have not heard a complaint about it once, and I have a stubborn kid! In fact this year he is excited for the trade in! Will he always agree to the bargain, who knows? Will he oblige when he is older, maybe not? But hey, it works for now.
So, what do we do with the candy he trades in? We chuck it! It’s crap guys, not food! Artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, preservatives. It’s bad for us, makes us feel lousy and makes kids act crazy! I mean how many of you hate trying to get your kids who are wired on sugar to bed on Halloween night? or trying to get them up for school the next day? No parent does!
The great thing about this trade is that it means no candy is left over in your house. So you don’t have to exercise willpower and everyone is healthier.
Since one of the best ways to stay away from junk is to stay nourished, here’s a yummy Halloween Smoothie you can make:
Pumpkin Pie Energy Protein Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 frozen banana (I peel and freeze ripe bananas to keep them handy for smoothies)
- ½ cup coconut or almond milk (ideally homemade)
- ¼ tsp organic ground cinnamon
- Pinch of ground nutmeg, pinch of ground ginger, pinch sea salt
- ⅓ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup ice cubes
- Natural or Vanilla Protein Powder of Choice (ideally not conventional whey! I use Sun Warrior Vegan Protein)
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If it’s too thick for your liking (I like thick smoothies), add a splash of water and blend a little longer.
Enjoy!
Happy Halloween!
~Daniela
PS -Just a friendly tip: If you don’t have kids and you give out candy, skip giving out the crappy stuff, buy natural gummies and lollipops, chocolates, or even play-doh and then give away what you have left over:)
