How to have a frightfully good Halloween
Guys and ghouls get ready to don some gloriously gruesome get-up because Halloween is here! Whether you're throwing a Halloween party or planning on going trick-or-treating, there's likely to be lots of sweets and chocolate around, and you don't have to miss out on all that because you have diabetes. But it's important to be mindful around this time of year and try to eat a healthy, balanced diet. If you're throwing a spooky spectacular, we have a bag of tricks to help you host a perfectly awful party.
Dust off your broomstick, get carving those pumpkins and read on for our advice on how to prepare yourself for a ghoulish get-together.
Halloween hints
Try not to eat all the treats while out and about
If you go trick-or-treating, you could have carrier bags full of sweets by the time you get to the end of the street. If you are a parent or carer, encourage children to save eating sweets until they get home, as this will make it easier to keep track of how much they've had.
When you get home, you could share the sweets with your friends. Then you can decide how much you're going to have, and how much insulin you need. Having sweets with a meal can help to reduce the impact on blood sugar levels. Speak to your healthcare team about how to manage your diabetes during Halloween.
Checking blood sugar levels
If you're eating sweets that you wouldn't usually, it's important to check and keep track of your blood sugar levels. This will help you spot any highs and lows and treat them. It will also allow you to learn how the different foods affect your diabetes, whilst still enjoying Halloween.
Food
It's important that you still make sure you're enjoying a healthy, balanced diet around Halloween. Wholegrain starchy carbohydrates (like granary bread, wholemeal pasta, or brown rice) are great for giving you long-lasting energy for all your Halloween fun.
We're sharing some of our favourite Halloween recipes from sinisterly sweet centrepieces to spine-chilling snacks, there's a creepy dish for every course.
Homemade popcorn
As a healthy alternative to trick or treat sweets, why not hand out bags of this tasty homemade popcorn? Ours is lower in sugar and salt than many shop-bought options. And you can tailor it to your taste by adding nutmeg or cinnamon for a seasonal twist.
Mini filo pumpkin pies
Spiced pumpkin is piled into filo baskets and topped with pumpkin seeds and orange zest. There's nothing frightening about these mini filo pumpkin pies.
Ogre's eyeballs
These bite-size mini ogre's eyeballs are a perfect appetizer to serve at your Halloween party. They're quick to make, and you can use minced fish for the meatballs instead of minced turkey if you prefer.
Witchetty grubs in swamp juice
Potato gnocchi dotted with poppy seeds make convincing wichetty grubs to pass around as a tasty canape at your party.
Bleeding heart Halloween cake
Beetroot-based chocolate sponge piled with fruit, with a low-fat cream cheese frosting. This bleeding heart Halloween cake makes a gruesome centrepiece.
Halloween biscuits
And finally, why not spice up Halloween with these biscuits? These have less sugar than traditional northern Parkin biscuits but are full of flavours of ginger and cinnamon. You can cut them into any ghoulishly scary shapes you choose.
Be prepared
Extra activity and different foods can affect your blood sugar levels in different ways. If your Halloween plans involve a lot of running around or trick-or-treating, it's best to be prepared. Check your blood sugar levels and make sure you've got something to treat a hypo. It's quite likely that you'll already have a hypo remedy on hand with all those sweets collected - but remember some sweets and chocolate aren't that great for hypos as they don't work quickly enough. Remember, after treating a hypo, you may need a follow-on snack like a cereal bar or a piece of fruit,
Avoid diabetic sweets
Try to avoid diabetic sweets or chocolate. These foods will affect your blood sugar levels and might upset your stomach.
Extra tips for parties
To make sure your diabetes doesn't give you a fright this Halloween:
- Enjoy a good meal before a party, this will set you up with lots of energy. Wholegrain starchy carbohydrates are great for long-lasting energy.
- Try to find out when you will be eating - if it's a lot later than usual you might need to take some snacks containing carbohydrates with you.
- It can be difficult at parties, but avoid sugary drinks. You might want to take your own sugar free drinks just in case
- Be mindful about portion sizes and choose mini chocolate bars or small bags of sweets.
Keeping yourself safe - advice for children
Have fun at Halloween but make sure you keep yourself safe too.
- Tell your friends about your diabetes and make sure the adults with you know about it too, especially what to do if you have a hypo.
- Don't go trick-or-treating on your own.
- If you aren't sure about making changes to your insulin, ask an adult who knows or your diabetes team.
- Think about who you're trick-or-treating, some people might find it annoying or even quite frightening.
