It’s that time of year again when you see young children walking down the street with their guardians, proudly sporting their spookiest ensemble in hopes of ‘trick or treating’ locals out of colourful, individually wrapped sweet treats. Not only that, but bowls of candy seem to be appearing everywhere you look, from the break room at work to the front porch of your own homes, and variety packs of your favourite sweets and chocolates are lining every shop.
Despite Halloween being a time of joy for the old and young alike, it can be a time of apprehension for the diet-conscious, with even the most miniature versions of our favourite sweet treats setting us back an alarming number of calories. However, what if we told you there was a way (or two!) to enjoy your favourite treats without being conscious of packing on the pounds?
Now, you may think that there is more of a chance of Dracula himself knocking on your door to come to All Hallows Eve than a diet-friendly Halloween. But fear not! As we’ve created this article detailing how to celebrate the spooky season without any worry about your diet.
From low-calorie Halloween treats to autumnal-themed diet shakes, keep reading for our top suggestions for enjoying Halloween without a guilty conscience!
Don’t Allow Yourself To Get Too Hungry
When you’re being mindful of the food you eat, it can be tempting to try and skip meals or save calories so that you can indulge in your favourite sweet treats. However great an idea you may think this is, it is essential that you refrain from restricting yourself from eating, as depriving yourself of food will only make you hungrier, which can make you more inclined to binge as the day goes on.
Instead, ensure that you eat a tasty, well-balanced meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, keeping you full throughout the day and reducing the risk of candy temptation. If you can, we recommend including some of the most satiating foods in your meals, as they will keep you fuller for longer and help you eat fewer calories overall. Some of the most fulfilling foods are as follows:
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- Boiled Potatoes
- Eggs
- Porridge
- Fish
- Soups
- Meat
- Greek Yogurt
- Vegetables
- Cottage Cheese
- Legumes
- Fruit
- Quinoa
- Nuts
- Popcorn
Alternatively, if you don’t fancy any of the foods on the above list, you could consider satisfying yourself with autumnal-themed diet shakes from Shake That Weight.
From caramel to chocolate orange, they retail a variety of flavours designed to mimic your favourite Halloween sweet treats without any guilt! For more information about a meal replacement diet or to browse their range of autumnal flavours, consider visiting their website today and see how their innovative diet shakes could help curb your cravings this Halloween season.
Give Out Toys Instead Of Candy
Another option for celebrating the spooky season without the risk of worrying about your diet is by giving out non-food-related items to trick-or-treaters. Not only does it minimise the risk of reaching for the candy yourself, but it helps your household accommodate the witches, vampires, and ghouls that turn up at your door with allergies or intolerances.
Food allergens lurk around every corner during Halloween. With one in fifty children in the UK suffering from a nut allergy, supermarkets don’t necessarily make it easy to find suitable alternatives when they are piled to the rafters with bag after bag of Halloween candy. Especially if you’re a busy parent or have a full work schedule, the last thing you want to be doing is standing in the middle of a shopping aisle desperately reading the small print on each bag of KitKats and Twix’s – so save yourself the hassle and give out toys instead of candy.
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Now we’re not suggesting that you run into your nearest toy store and start filling a trolley; this would be ludicrously expensive! Instead, browse through online marketplaces like Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay and look through what small toys, party favours, and decorating products that are available. Here’s a list to get you started:
- Halloween-themed stickers
- Skeleton key chains
- Sticky hands
- Slime
- Stamps
- Glowsticks
- Slap bracelets
- Plastic stencils
Try To Avoid Getting Bored
Understandably, Halloween isn’t a holiday everyone enjoys, so when the festivities come around, you might be one of the few reluctant people to celebrate it. Whether you don’t have children of your own to celebrate the holiday with or are annoyed by the mischievous youths playing ‘trick or treat’ pranks, it is easy to get bored when partaking in activities you don’t enjoy.
While this is understandable, boredom can trigger emotional eating, leading to more significant problems like an expanding waistline, less focus on healthy foods, and overall dissatisfaction with your body image. Avoid munching mindlessly on Halloween candy by keeping yourself occupied by making plans with friends or family.
You could consider going for a meal, watching a horror movie at the cinema, arranging a Halloween potluck, taking your children/grandchildren to a Halloween party at the local community centre, or taking your young relatives trick or treating. Keeping yourself busy will help you avoid turning to food to make you feel better and help you stick to your diet plans.
Give Out Candy That You Don’t Like
One of the best ways to refrain from dipping into the ‘trick or treaters’ bowl is by filling it with candy you don’t like. Suppose your favourite kind of chocolate contains peanuts. The last thing you want to do, if you’re trying to stop yourself from indulging, is to fill your cupboards with a variety of peanut-filled candy like Snickers, Reece’s etc.
If you were to do this, you’d only be fuelling your temptation to eat the candy more, making it harder for you to stay on track with your healthy-eating goals and feel guilty after consuming it. However, this is not saying that you can’t buy any Halloween candy that is appealing to you, but it might be easier to limit your candy consumption by purchasing one bag of sweet treats you enjoy.
Give Out Healthy Alternatives
Halloween is a time for indulging in sweet treats and pumpkin-flavoured confectionery; due to this reputation, avoiding the extensive selection of sugary and fatty treats stocked in supermarkets can be challenging. But, before you run out to the nearest shop and stock up on various boxes of sweet treats, there are several ways to enjoy a healthier Halloween.
If you’re hosting a Halloween party at your house, you could consider whipping up some healthy Halloween-themed snacks or treats using online recipes.
On the other hand, if you’re not throwing a party yet intend to give treats out to trick or treaters instead of candy, you could consider giving the children that come by granola bars, boxes or dried fruit like raisins or cranberries, apple slices or nuts.
Not only will handing out or supplying healthy alternatives minimise the risk of your overindulging since there’s no temptation within your home, but it also sets an excellent example for the people that come by your home and provides an alternative for those like yourself that want to enjoy the festivities of Halloween without worrying about the extra calories.
