Halloween Keto Tricks and Treats: How to Stay Keto this Halloween

Eat a Keto Meal Before the Party

Arriving at a bash ravished isn't uncommon. But, unfortunately, your grumbling tummy and increased potential for cravings set you up to make decisions that you'll likely regret later.

Prepare a light meal filled with healthy fats and proteins to quell cravings and aid in satiety, so you arrive semi-satiated and better in control of your food choices as well as the amounts you choose to consume.

Light and tasty meals in a bowl, like our Muy Keto Taco Bowl, Keto Cobb Salad Bowl, or an Amazingly Keto Acai Bowl are excellent pre-party meals that are easy to prepare ahead and enjoy at will—especially before exposure to a landmine of dietary triggers ensues.

Bring a Halloween Keto Treat

Bringing a dish to a party is considerate to the host, but it also provides at least one recipe that you can eat without concern about excess carbs and sugars.

Fortunately, there are many recipes to make and share with friends and loved ones that are sure to cast a love spell on all who enjoy them. Here are some of our fantastic keto recipes perfect for bringing to any upcoming celebration:

Konscious Keto Halloween Recipes:

Pumpkin Cupcakes as keto Halloween treats are a favorite of kids and adults alike. Line a party tray with these colorful cakes to cap off the night’s festivities.

Keto Pumpkin Pie: Don’t wait to trot out the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving; it’s a fantastic party dessert that’s nostalgic, comforting, and filled with satiating fiber! You can easily bake the pies ahead and have them ready on the day of the party with minimal effort.

Keto Activate Holiday Fudge: A dense, chocolatey fudge confection is an excellent item to make, package, and parcel out to eager trick-or-treaters or share with the kids you have over for a ghoulish haunted house party in the backyard.

Keto Apple Spiced Donuts: Bobbing for apples is not the ideal for socially-distanced partying in 2021. But you can add a touch of apple cider to your decadent spread by making a plush platter of tasty apple spiced donuts.

Keto Cookies: Bake a fabulous tray of delicious chocolate chip cookies loaded with chocolate chunks, nuts, or other enrichments, to stun friends and family alike with how amazing keto baked goods taste! Hey, you may have some new keto converts asking about how to start cutting the carbs in their diet before the end of the evening.

Although not thematic, unless you jazz them up with orange and brown sprinkles, fat bombs are a fantastic sweet treat to share with friends, no matter the design. Try our Ultimate Chocolate PB Cheesecake Fat Bombs, Super Creamy Strawberry Fat Bomb, or Keto Cheesecake Fat Bombs for a delicious and nutritious dessert that is sure to please a crowd.

One-Drink Rule

Keto-friendly libations exist, but even with that, it's best to stick to one drink. Limiting alcohol curbs calories and prevents increased hunger—promoting the diminished inhibitions that often lead to overeating and excess drinking.

Plus, liquid calories add up incredibly quickly—easily creating a caloric surplus with a few mojitos and mildly grazing the abundant spread of non-keto-friendly hor d'oeuvres.

Fortunately, there are many mixed drinks to enjoy this holiday without the unwanted sugars and carbs. Here are some spooktacular selections:

• "Rosemary's Baby" Keto Cocktail: This blood-red beverage is sophisticated and fits the mood of the evening with it’s bright and bold crimson hue. The coupling of fresh rosemary sprigs, orange peel, blackberries, and bourbon is a dynamic drink option for any ghoulish celebration.

• Candy-flavored drinks are possible with the aid of flavorful sugar-free syrups like those made by Torani or Skinny Syrups. Try a Jolly Rancher beverage using Torani’s watermelon syrup. Or concoct a Twix-inspired beverage for a childhood classic treat in a glass.

  Plus, you can use the vast line of Torani sugar-free syrups to create a myriad of other candy-inspired concoctions like the following:

• Mallow Cup: S’mores, Chocolate

• Almond Joy: Chocolate, Macadamia, Coconut

• Mounds: Chocolate, Coconut

• Peppermint Patty or Junior Mints: Chocolate, Peppermint

• Bit of Honey: Belgium Cookie, sugar-free honey (e.g., Organic Harmless Hunny by Pyure or Nature's Hollow, Sugar-Free Honey Substitute, etc.)

• Milky Way: Chocolate, S’mores

Skip Peer Pressure

FOMO and peer pressure can combine to pose a powerful temptation to any reveler. But you don't have to fall victim to your best friend's traditional tiramisu or your coveted childhood candy bar—under the dubious guise of just eating the 'minis.'

Although it's essential to relax and enjoy the importance of connecting with our given and chosen tribes during the holiday, particular care is required to avoid some dietary landmines we can anticipate and workaround before we even enter the socially-distanced spookfest.

Here are a few tips to help you politely sidestep possible peer pressure on Halloween:

• Get clear on why you chose to eliminate carbs in your diet and remove any stressful feelings you may have around sharing that if asked why you won't scarf down the usual fare from years passed.

• Share how well you feel since starting the ketogenic diet, noting tangible benefits and progress that help others understand why eating as you do is so essential to your well-being. Those who genuinely care for you will respect your newfound choices and support your journey.

• Win over friends and influence foodies by making and sharing some of your most irresistible keto recipes.

  First, let them taste the dishes and ask you what it is; then, you can reveal that they're enjoying low-carb recipes and loving them!

Socialize More, Eat Less

Be proud of your keto lifestyle and share how it's helped you if tempted to down a few beers with a couple slices of pizza. Adopting a different approach in social settings can provide significant returns—and losses on the scale when Halloween binging is averted.

Try some of these tips to engage more deeply with others at this year’s monster mash and maintain your dietary commitments to cut the carbs by doing the following:

• Volunteer to help the host in the kitchen or check on other partygoers to take your mind off of thoughtless eating.

• Practice self awareness and think before you reach for a particular treat. Are you feeling hungry, bored, or anxious? When’s the last time you had a glass of water? Could you be thirsty rather than hungry?

  Taking time to check in with yourself before and during a social event can prevent mindless eating and drinking and help you enjoy the day without experiencing mounds of regret the morning after.

• Many are culturally socialized to eat everything on their plate from childhood—a directive usually tied to the guilt-inducing mentioning of those without. However, it’s important to remove guilt from the food equation and return to an instinctual and natural appetite not damaged by chronic overeating or social conditioning.

  Strive to eat to about 80% satiety and then stop. Remember, you are free to eat when hungry and never need to feel deprived, so there’s no need to chase calories or overeat to avoid some impending famine.

• Remember the purpose of a party, mingling and connecting with others. Work the room, reconnect with old acquaintances or make new friends. Make food the icing on the event rather than the main course.

• Sip water during the event to stay hydrated, which is always advised while eating a low-carb, high-fat diet, and you’re less likely to confuse dehydration with hunger—often leading to overeating.

• Slow down! Chew your food slowly and enjoy each bite; you’ll eat less naturally and feel fantastic.

Bring a Keto Dish

No matter how much the times have changed: it's customary to show up to a party with a gift in hand. Cover several bases by bringing some delicious keto dishes to any celebration to ensure you have food options you can trust to support metabolic ketosis and satisfy a sweet or savory seasonal craving while contributing to the evening's creative spread.

Explore Store-bought Snacks, and Skip the Tricky Treats

Making an entrée may be unrealistic for you due to skill level or time constraints, but you can still bring a bevy of keto-friendly fare to the season’s festivities. Here are some sweet and savory options to consider toting to this year’s celebrations:

Sweet

• ChocZero Limited Halloween Edition Candy: You might want to grab a few bags of the brand’s milk or dark chocolate candy if you can locate them in-stock online or in stores; they’re often sold out.

• Smart Sweets: This creative brand offers a fantastic line of sugar-free gummy candies with a variety of fruit flavors from watermelon to peach; they even offer a phenomenal Swedish fish dupe that rivals the original.

• Lily’s Chocolate Bars: These decadent chocolate bars come in a variety of flavors including Salted Caramel and Coconut Dark Chocolate.

• Lily’s Peanut Butter Cups and Chocolate Covered Nuts: Lily’s has done it again and satisfied our sweet cravings with nostalgic candy favorites- with a keto-friendly makeover, of course.

• Zollipops Halloween Edition: These kid created and mom-approved lollies—also called “The Clean Teeth Pops”—are the perfect post-meal snack as they’re sweetened with xylitol, known to support tooth health.

Savory

• Catalina Crunch (Cheddar Keto Crunch Snack Mix): You may know Catalina Crunch because of their sweet keto offerings, but the line includes a suite of savory selections perfect for any spooky keto spread.

  You can set out a variety of savory bowls of keto trail mix from the line in cheddar, creamy ranch, spicy kick or traditional—YUM!

• Whisps: Crunchy, fatty, salty foods are ideal for a party setting; they’re indulgent and satiating. Pair Whisps with your favorite keto dip recipes for a fantastic and light keto snack without concern of compromising ketosis.

  Enjoy these crispy keto crackers in a wide variety of combinations that compliment their flavorful offerings like: asiago & pepper jack, barbecue, nacho, garlic herb, tangy ranch, or savory and slightly sweet tomato basil.

• Wilde Chips are an ideal alternative to the spudded variety of crisps. And these chips are super thin, crispy, and reminiscent in texture to potato chips, minus all the carbs

• Bubba’s Keto Nut Mix: Adding a delicious nut mix to your Halloween spread offers a serving of satiating protein and fat, and it’s a perfect option for your plant-based friends in need of a vegetarian or vegan option.

• Snack House: Snacks like flaming hot Cheetos have reached the level of obsession for many, but the carb count on those crunchy delights are likely the most frightening sight at the party.

  Opt for a low-carb alternative like that offered by Snack House, coming in at an impressive 3 net carbs per serving.

Bring Low-carb Nuts & Snacks

Eating a small keto meal before a fête is always a good idea. Plus, it's wise to keep snack packs filled with healthy nuts, seeds, or dried low-glycemic fruits around to grab in a pinch.

Plus, there are many other portable keto snacks that you can stash in your bag or even a tiny pocket. Here are some of our favorite finds:

• Babybel cheese snacks are perfect for carrying discreetly and popping out to eat at any time. Plus, Babybel offers a variety of flavors to pair with some low-carb crackers or cucumber slices.

• Chomp's mini jerky is a slim and savory snack you can easily slide in your purse and enjoy without drawing extra attention while in mixed company.

• Schoolyard Snacks offers a lovely line of keto-friendly cereals and produces low-carb cheese puffs and other savory snacks in sleek and portable packaging with a festive flair, as well.

Takeaway

Allow the festive goons, goblins, and characters to do the spooking this Halloween. Your diet is no place for feverish fright or unnecessary anxiety over how to navigate a night out—or in—with friends or family.

The aid of some sugar-free store-bought options or making a few simple yet delicious low-carb recipes to bring with can remove worries over what to eat and return attention to the most important part of the day’s festivities: expressing creativity, connecting with loved ones, and enjoying a bit of respite in an otherwise uncertain time.

Resources

• Forman, E. M., & Butryn, M. L. (2016). Session 4: Labels, Planning, and Calorie Accounting. Effective Weight Loss, 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1093/med:psych/9780190232023.003.0005

• Cooper, B. L. (2014). The best of Halloween: 50 Halloween favorites / mostly ghostly: More horror for Halloween / these ghoulish things: Horror hits for Halloween. Popular Music and Society, 38(4), 542–544. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2014.980606

• Too much sugar and acid to be healthy. (2019). Dental Abstracts, 64(6), 402–403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2019.08.026

• Hartel, R. W., & Hartel, A. K. (2014). Sugar-Free Candy. Candy Bites, 69–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9383-9_18