Vampire Peanut Butter: Healthy Halloween Party Treats for Diabetes, Hypoglycemia, and Sugar Allergies

Healthy Halloween Party Treats for Hypoglycemia and Diabetes and Sugar Allergies

Enjoy Yummy Frankenstein Muffins, Vampire Peanut Butter, and Slime Punch. Try these delicious low-sugar Halloween treats this Halloween. Great if you have hypoglycemia, diabetes, or children sensitive to sugar.

Enjoy your Halloween this year with some wholesome treats that are better for your hypoglycemia, diabetes, or food allergies. These great low sugar and fun Halloween party treat ideas are also great for children that are sensitive to high sugar foods.

Pumpkin Seeds
Save the pumpkin seeds from your carved Halloween pumpkin. Lightly cover them in cinnamon and toast them briefly in the oven for a protein-packed delicious Halloween treat.

Low Sugar Halloween Cookies
Want to enjoy some spooky ghost or vampire cookies but cannot eat the sugary cookies slathered in sugary icing from the local grocery store? If you have time, you can make your own delicious cookies by baking up an oatmeal cookie recipe with half the sugar and whole wheat flower instead of regular flour. Instead of covering the cookies with tons of sugary icing, you can use a little bit of honey and a light dab of orange sprinkles on each cookie. If you do not have time to bake your own cookies, ask the local bakery to make you a batch of low sugar cookies in the shapes of ghastly ghouls and bats.

Frankenstein Muffins
Add green food coloring to your favorite whole wheat muffin recipe. Get ghoulish Halloween decorations from the grocery store to add a spooky Halloween touch. Enjoy your Frankenstein muffins without worrying about your diabetes or hypoglycemia.

Poisoned Apple Slices with Vampire Peanut Butter
Slice delicious green apples onto a party tray. Add red food coloring to a bowl of peanut butter. Offer up the apple slices with the vampire peanut butter for a freaky and yummy treat.

Halloween Finger Pudding
Make up a batch of your favorite low sugar pudding. Buy a bag of eyes and fake fingers from the local dollar store. Mix in the eyeballs and fingers in the pudding. Make sure the pieces are large enough to see and do not present a choking hazard if any small children are present.

Severed Head Salsa
Offer a bowl of mild salsa with whole grain chips. In the middle of the salsa, place a plastic doll head (cleaned well). This is a great Halloween treat if you have hypoglycemia or diabetes.

Worm and Spider Jello
Make a bowl of low sugar Jello. As the Jello sets, add in gummy spiders and worms. Many candy stores also offer low sugar gummy worms. Stay away from the sugary super sour gummy worms, as those often have more sugar than the regular batch.

Halloween Slime Punch
Mix a bowl of Crystal Lite and soda water. Add green food coloring. For added grossness, peel a cup of grapes and add them to the punch bowl for eyeballs.

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25 Easy to Fix and Cheap Healthy Snacks on the Go

25 Easy to Fix and Cheap Healthy Snacks on the Go 

So between my husband's no-salt diet and my blood sugar issues, it can sometimes be difficult to find easy snacks to fix for work. For the most part, any processed snacks are out, as well as bagged cookies, chips, and even "health" food items that really have more chemicals in them than a newly mopped bathroom.

In any case, here is a quick list of 25 cheap snacks that you can quickly fix. You can prep them ahead of time in snack-size containers or baggies, or have a big container of them and simply scoop them into a bowl. These are also good snacks for kids on the go. There are options here for most allergies. 

So read the list, print it out, and post it on your fridge. I plan on doing that right after I write this. Hubby of mine needs to stay away from the snack machines! So here are some ideas in no particular order:

1.Carrot Sticks

Get a full bag of carrots and then peel, wash, and slice them into sticks. Kids like mini versions that are straw-thin.

2. Celery Sticks

3. Sliced Peppers

Wash peppers, take out seeds. Then cut into small strips. Play with the colors for a rainbow of flavor!

4. Cherry Tomatos

5. Homemade Trail Mix

Buy cans of your favorite nuts, a big box of raisins, and then a bag of dried fruit. I use peanuts (because they are super cheap). Mix in a huge container. For fun I will sometimes crumble a chocolate bar or add in cereal. For a nut-free version, stick to raisins, nut-free cereal, and dried fruit. A gluten-free version can be nuts and dried fruit.

6. Dried Fruit

I love dried pineapples and raisins.

7. Quick PB&J sandwich on the go

8. Cheese cubes

9. Boiled eggs

10. Yogurt

11. Yogurt and nuts (have the nuts in a separate bag)

12. Sliced cucumbers

13. Olives

14. Pickles (homemade or store bought)

15. Oil popped popcorn (homemade)

16. Slice yellow squash with dressing (get individual dressing cups or keep it in a container)

17. Broccoli stalks with dressing

18. Banana or sliced apples

19. Nuts or sunflower seeds

20. Oranges and other fruits

21. Sliced watermelon or cantaloupe

22. Quick egg salad

Boil two eggs and some peas. After peeling eggs, mash. Add a tablespoon of dressing, peas, pepper, and paprika. For extra flavor add in cut peppers or onions. Fresh herbs are a great addition.

23. Quick tuna salad in tomato

Mix tuna with a tablesoon of dressing. Add in fresh herbs, touch of lemon. Slice tomato in half. Scoop out seeds and fill with tuna. 

24. Instant Salad

Lettuce leaves and chopped veggies in a container. Add in extras like raisins, cheese, or bacon bits. Add a tablespoon of dressing. Close container and shake the container. 

25. Cheese and no-salt crackers

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The Hypoglycemia and Diabetes Trap: What You Didn't Know About Your Blood Sugar

Healthy Tips About the Food, Blood Sugar, and Mind Connection

When you think about blood sugar, you usually think about diabetes or hypoglycemia and watching your diet so you don't get overweight. But did you know that your blood sugar levels have a direct connection to your mood and mind? As someone who personally has had to deal with hypoglycemia for over a decade, I understand how difficult it can be to manage diet and lifestyle. 

When you do not manage your blood sugar levels, you might find that you become forgetful, lethargic, angry, depressed, moody, or shaky. Your mood swings might follow your eating patterns of the day, your exercise and activity patterns, or even your sleep habits. Feel like you are spinning out of control but you do not know why? I can understand. When I was in college my mood swings were erratic and I had a number of health professionals give me advice that made my hypoglycemia worse. Now I have learned to listen to my body and my hypoglycemia is under control and so is my life! Follow these tips to help manage your life and blood sugar.

Good Eating Habits
This might be a no-brainer, but how many of us really pay attention to what we are eating? If you have blood sugar problems, your healthiest option is to sit down with a licensed dietician and discuss what eating habits are best for your body. Not everyone has a cookie-cutter solution. For example, I feel best when I have a small meal of eggs in a wrap and some almond milk or a protein-packed smoothie. Breakfast is an important meal if you have hypoglycemia since your blood sugar plummets overnight leading to irritation, shakiness, and even depression if you do not address it immediately with a good breakfast (and that doesn't mean coffee and a doughnut!). 

Read the Food Labels You might think that the low calorie whole wheat banana muffin that you picked up at the grocery store is high in fiber and low in carbohydrates, but look at the ingredients and you might find that the muffin has an ingredient list a mile long and includes high fructose corn syrup and preservatives that make the muffin no healthier than a chocolate eclair. What does that mean for your body? If you eat the muffin and have blood sugar issues like diabetes or hypoglycemia you might find that your blood sugar will spike. Depending on your medical condition, this can lead to a dangerous spike that requires medical attention or can lead to a drastic drop that leaves you confused and disoriented. As the blood sugar roller coaster begins, your mood swings along with it, leaving you angry, irritated, melancholy, and just not a pleasant person to be around. All because of a muffin! 

When I was in college I ate a diet of Ramen noodles, sticky buns from the snack machine, and a caffeine sugar-packed soda called Surge. Not only was I irritable every few hours as my body attempted to process massive amounts of sugar and caffeine, I also passed out between classes as my blood sugar crashed. I was unable to keep my eyes open and just slept for hours, waking up shaky and hungry, which meant more carbohydrates and caffeine. And the cycle continued all through college. It took several years before I met a dietician who helped put me on a better path, and that included reading labels and avoiding anything with carbohydrates greater than 15 grams a serving. I also had to learn how to read the servings, since some packaging will split up a product into several servings to make the nutritional information look better. For example, a bottle of juice cocktail may actually have three servings with 25 grams of sugar each. If you drink the entire bottle, like most of us would, then you are actually ingesting 75 grams of sugar! Someone get me some water instead. 

Sleep
Your sleep patterns affect your blood sugar because the longer you are awake the more energy your body needs, or thinks it needs. If you are a night owl like me, you might find that nighttime munchies hit around ten or twelve at night. Instead of munching on some Cheetos and dip or a pizza, find a healthier option like organic yogurt with nuts or a banana with peanut butter. This gives you a nice combination of carbohydrates and protein to last you throughout the night. If you have insomnia or sleep too much, this might be an indication that something is out of whack. Visit your doctor immediately to manage your sleep patterns. You might find that something as simple as turning off the TV at night will help you get restful sleep. 

Cook Your Food Finally, learn how to cook your own food. You can remain the master of your blood sugar by cooking your food from home. You don't need to create fanciful meals. In fact, the simpler meals like salmon with a salad or chicken tacos with homemade salsa are often the healthiest because they involve less sugary ingredients. Bring homemade snacks like homemade peanut butter granola bars and a bottle of water or a protein shake with you when you are on the go to avoid stopping at the snack machine or gas station. Pack your own lunch. A grilled chicken breast in a low carbohydrate wrap with lettuce and some cut up celery sticks is both filling and good for you and will prevent you from hitting that afternoon slump at work. You might even find that your job performance improves when you are in a better mood! 

Wrap-Up Take care of your hypoglycemia and diabetes by managing your diet and sleep patterns. You can reduce irritability, lethargy, depression, and even anger by managing your food intake. By controlling what you eat you can help your body overcome the mood swings brought about by a blood sugar roller coaster. Eat better and enjoy your life.

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