6 healthy Halloween tips and pumpkin butter cup recipe

Halloween is almost here and is equally exciting for kids and adults! Who doesn’t love a day full of treats and fun? It can be difficult not to be tempted by all the seasonal sweets, cookies and treats we are bombarded with when walking around a supermarket aisle or going for a coffee.

Below are some suggestions from a nutritional therapist's point of view on how to enjoy Halloween and still work towards your health goals - along with a recipe for delicious pumpkin spice butter cups!

1. Halloween is only once per year and it's OK to have some of your favourite treats. A restrictive approach to a diet where you feel like you are depriving yourself can actually hinder your efforts and make it more difficult to stick to a nutritional plan.
2. Make your treat count. Choose your treat, and really take the time to enjoy and savour it! Might that be a pumpkin spice latte or a cute cookie – have it and enjoy it fully! This way, you will be more satisfied and less tempted to go for more treats.
3. Start the day with a balanced breakfast featuring proteins, fibre, and carbohydrates. This will help stabilise blood sugar levels and reduce cravings, helping you not to feel tempted to constantly reach for treats.
4. Halloween season is not only focused on sweets but also on pumpkin.  Pumpkins are a great source of fibre and beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A. Vitamin A is needed to support fast-reproducing cells such as the skin ones, gut lining, and retina. Enjoy pumpkin-based dishes, which are delicious as this vegetable is in season now.
5. Consider also some healthy treats such as organic dark chocolate bars, chocolate-coated nuts, or nut butter-based buttercups. Good quality dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients, making it a great food when enjoyed in moderation.
6. Consider making some of your treats! Homemade cookies are cheaper than shops bought ones, and will have better ingredients and less preservatives. Shop-bought treats can also have bulk sweeteners such as xylitol and sorbitol, which in excessive quantities can cause gastrointestinal upset, and artificial colours which can be associated with hyperactivity in children. Also, butter cups are easy and quick to make, below is a great recipe you can try:

Pumpkin spice butter cups 

12 butter cups

Ingredients:

• 200g dark chocolate
• 50g almond butter
• 50g pumpkin puree 
• 1.5 tbsp maple syrup
• Pumpkin spice to taste
• Sea salt to taste

Method

1. Start making the pumpkin puree by simply steaming pumpkin cubes (a great idea is to reuse whatever pumpkin flesh you have left from pumpkin carving) until soft and then blend them. Let it cool down.
2. Melt the dark chocolate and then spread 1 teaspoon at the bottom of each mini cupcake liners. Make sure to spread the melted chocolate also on the sides of the liner. At this point, you should have used a little bit more than half of the melted chocolate. Once you have done this, store the liners in the fridge for 15 minutes to let the chocolate harden.
3. In a bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, almond butter, maple syrup, pumpkin spice.
4. Take the liners out of the fridge and add 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin mix in each, followed by the remaining melted chocolate. Sprinkle some sea salt on the top and store them in the fridge, ready to be enjoyed in as little as 20 minutes!