Happy Healthy Halloween

It’s Mindset Monday and it also happens to be Halloween…I can already see you eyeing your children’s chocolate and candy. Here are some things to keep in mind before you dive in yourself and let your kids go to town.

Obvious sources of sugar are cookies, candies, pop, cakes, pies, muffins, baked goods, brown sugar and molasses. But my guess is that you will be surprised to realize all of the places that sugar seeps into your diet.  Do you think of granola bars, energy drinks, juice, jam, most cereals, flavoured yogurt, ketchup and many other prepared condiments plus pasta and bread as sources of sugar? You should.  All of these foods trigger the release of high amounts of insulin, the only hormone that tells your body to store energy as fat.

Insulin is your FAT STORING hormone.

This may explain why you are holding on to a lot of extra weight around your mid-section and you feel like nothing you do helps you to lose weight and your “Muffin Top”, which should now be called your Insulin Top.

Having too much insulin will also cause you to overeat and consume more calories because it:

1. Blocks signals to your brain from the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin, causing you to eat more
2. Creates a spike in dopamine your feel-good, pleasure hormone in the brain.
3. This hormone spurs addiction and literally makes you become addicted to food!

Sugar is 8 times more addictive than cocaine. 

Now I know what you are thinking…CRAP! Halloween is TODAY!

A girlfriend of mine introduced us to the concept of the ‘Halloween Fairy’ a few years ago when my oldest was going ‘trick-or-treating’ for the first time – it is a brilliant concept.

We go out and enjoy the experience of halloween and when we get home, the kids and my husband and I go through the candy and set aside the worst offenders, which is anything that contains:

• High Fructose corn syrup
• Artificial flavours or sweeteners
• Food dyes ESPECIALLY tartrazine
• Anything that is hydrogenated

It usually leaves them with potato chips and chocolate. Once we have sorted the candy out, the kids place the bowl outside on the step for the Halloween Fairy to take away and leave in it’s place – a gift. They are so excited about the surprise gift they don’t even miss the other candy. Give it a try, you might be surprised how willing your kids are to go along with it.

You are setting a great example for the future, and you aren’t taking away all of their candy, just the most offensive for their little bodies. It is so vitality important to work on reducing your sugar consumption now before you are dealing with the major side effects of unstable blood sugar, insulin issues and major inflammation.

Over time, high insulin also perpetuates your risk of increased belly fat, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, certain types of cancers and even Alzheimer’s disease.  Read labels and limit your intake of these sugary foods dramatically. Your body and brain will thank you for it.

All that being said…I know you’re going to eat some sugar today. So start your Monday by getting yourself up and moving! Do a short flow like this one, pilates or start the day off with a brisk walk. Be sure to get your nutrients in during the day, especially if you know that you will be dipping into the chocolate later in the evening. 

You can also choose to make a sweet treat for your family to enjoy instead of diving into the sugar head first. These babies are in my new Cookbook, The Simplicity Kitchen, coming out this November. Here’s a sneak peak…

Chocolate Fatties

• ½ cup organic virgin coconut oil
• ½ cup natural nut butter
• 2-3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• Splash of vanilla extract (optional)

1. In a large skillet over low heat melt coconut oil and nut butter.
2. Stir in cocoa powder.
3. Stir in honey.
4. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract if using.
5. Pour into a spouted cup to make pouring easier.
6. Pour mixture into silicone candy molds (each mold should hold 1 tablespoon of mixture)
7. Freeze or refrigerate until set.
8. Remove from molds and store in the fridge in an air tight container.
9. Eat one fat bomb to curb the appetite or satisfy your sweet tooth.

Movies to check out:

1. That Sugar Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uaWekLrilY
2. Fed Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCUbvOwwfWM