Hello my trick or treaters, party monsters and fierce creatures!

Yep, it’s almost here! Halloween, with all the crazy costumes, trick or treating, haunted hayrides and oh yes, HALLOWEEN CANDY! Now, I love me some Halloween holiday action, what I don’t love is what’s called “The Halloween Hangover”.  You know what I’m talking about here. I’m not talking about over imbibing at the dry iced Halloween punch bowl, but over indulging in the candy bowl!

When it comes right down to it, staying sweet AND healthy on Halloween can be tricky! Especially when those chocolate bars are shrunk down to those cute lil bite sized snacks. I mean, one lil candy bar can’t hurt, right? The problem here is we rarely eat just one lil candy bar, do we? Okay sure, the candy may taste good in that moment, but the massive sugar crash, elevated sugar cravings, the self shaming and bloat around your midsection afterwards is not the tasty treat we are going for.

To help navigate Halloween in a healthy way, here are my “Lucky 13” tips to curb your sweet tooth, indulge without going overboard, and recover from a Halloween Hangover!

1. Halloween Dance Party! Begin your day with a cardio workout. Ideally 30-45 minutes of walking or jogging, but I personally love a good solo dance party. Exercising will give you a little wiggle room for some Halloween treats and put you in a great mindset that will help you make healthier choices.

2. Trick or Treat After You Eat! Before you embark on the trick or treating adventure,  prepare a healthy dinner for you and your family. You and your kids will be less likely to eat a bunch of treats along the way if your belly is full in a healthy way.

3. Procrastinate the Purchase! Yep, I said it. Put off purchasing your candy to the day of Halloween to avoid temptation. Buy less than what you think you will need to avoid leftovers and ideally, purchase candy that you DON’T LIKE!

4. Lose the Leftovers! Give the remaining candy away right away or put it in the garbage. Or freeze your leftover candy, at least it’s out of sight! This way you won’t mindlessly munch on it, plus waiting for the candy to defrost gives you extra time to consider if it is what you are really hungry for!

5. Non-Candy Halloween House!  If you really have a hard time with temptation, don’t buy candy at all, instead buy non-candy goodies from the 99 cent store to hand out – like temporary tattoos, toys, stickers, bouncy balls, spider rings, pencils, erasers, or bubbles.

6. Milk it After You Trick or Treat.  After you’ve made the trick or treat rounds, make a cup of warm almond milk  (or other milk alternative) with 1 tsp of cinnamon for yourself and your kids. Cinnamon helps stabilize your blood sugar, speed up your metabolism, suppress your appetite and burn belly fat. And yes, I use cinnamon in everything it works with!

7. Halloween Parties for Fun, Not Food. Halloween parties are usually full of  super cool Halloween decorations,  so take your time checking out the fun decor instead of the treat table. Enjoy the party for your friends and atmosphere! If you do make a trip to the treat table, stick to a plan. Choose a small plate, allow yourself one trip to the spread, sit down and savor your food.

8. Strategize your Candy Splurge! Choose 2-3 small pieces of candy you’ll eat. Then eat them slowly and savor the hell out of them! Then go brush your teeth and forget it.

9. Say Yes to the H2O on Halloween! That’s right, my favorite tip as always is to HYDRATE!  Drinking more water will help curb those cravings, control hunger by helping you feel fuller longer and eliminate toxins too.

10. Question your Craving. Ask yourself before you grab that handful of candy, if that is what your are really hungry for? Are you mindlessly or emotional eating? Is this choice pushing you closer to your goals or further away? And most importantly, how are you going to feel after?

11. Create Your Own Treats. There are so many healthy alternatives to candy bars and processed sugary treats. Indulge in healthy treats like frozen dark chocolate dipped bananas, broken up brown rice cakes mixed with melted dark chocolate & almond butter, dark chocolate dipped apples or a savory sweet popcorn.

12. Candy Binge Bounce Back. So, if all else fails and you do find yourself with a Halloween Hangover, do not fret. We are human, so please don’t let this trigger a self shame spiral that derails you. Just get back on the healthy horse!  Start your day with a large glass of water with lemon and my glorious green smoothie; Eat meals heavy on the greens, sweet vegetables and lean proteins to get your blood sugar back in check.

13. Mind Your Mindless Eating! Start keeping a food journal and get a support system in place. I think the holidays are the perfect time to get some accountability going with a friend or a coach. A food journal is a great way to start. My clients have found that they will make better choices because they don’t want to write down the so called ‘bad’ choices. You become accountable to yourself quick, which is so empowering!

So there you have it, my “Lucky 13” Healthy Halloween tips. Hope these tips help you keep it real sweet this Halloween, and sexy in your pants too.

Let me know how it goes my friends. Leave me a comment below and let me know what your favorite tip is!

Love + BOO!