Simple Hacks for a Healthier Halloween

Balancing the fun with wellness

With Halloween right around the corner, many parents are concerned about sugar overload, energy crashes, and upset tummies. But with a few intentional tweaks — including some from the Glucose Goddess approach and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) dietary wisdom — you can help your children (and yourself!) enjoy the treats without derailing health or energy.

Keep Blood Sugars Stable with the Glucose Goddess Hacks

If you’ve chatted with Dr. Erika for any length of time you will probably have heard this name. “Glucose Goddess” is Jessie Inchauspé’s brand and method, all about using simple “glucose hacks” to reduce blood sugar spikes. These aren’t about eliminating treats, but about how and when you eat them, what you pair them with, and small lifestyle habits that help mitigate the downsides of sugar. You can explore more on her site here: Glucose Goddess

Here are some of her well-known hacks that are easy for adults and children alike:

Eat food in a specific order (vegetables/fiber → protein & fat → starchy/sugary foods)
Include a vegetable starter (or fibre-rich “starter”) before the rest of the meal
Move after eating — even 10-15 minutes of light activity can help blunt glucose spikes

Learn more about these HERE

Infusing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Wisdom

Beyond the biochemistry and glucose science, TCM offers a lens for thinking about digestion, energy balance, and how we respond to seasonal changes and excesses (like sweets). Here are some TCM-informed ideas you might weave in.

Key TCM Principles Relevant for Halloween & Sugar

Warm, cooked foods vs raw / cold TCM emphasizes warm and cooked foods, as they are easier to digest and easier for our bodies to extract nutrients from. Raw, cold, or overly sweet foods can tax the digestive system. So adding warmth before the onslaught of sugar can help keep sensitive tummies stable.
Avoid phlegm inducing foods In TCM, excessive sugar, dairy, or overly cold/raw foods are said to contribute to “dampness” or phlegm in the body — which can show up as sluggishness, congestion, brain fog or erratic thought patterns, loose stool, skin issues, and more. Moderating sugar (or regulating those glucose levels as mentioned earlier) helps prevent this damp/phlegm build up.
Balance of flavors & temperatures Foods are categorized in TCM not just by nutrition but by their energetic qualities (hot/warm, cool/cold; bitter, sweet, sour, pungent, etc.). At Halloween, sweet treats dominate — introducing balancing flavors (a little sour, bitter, or pungent) or “warming” spices can help modulate effects. For example: adding some “pumpkin spice” (cinnamon, ginger, and/or nutmeg) to drinks, smoothies, or other foods; or simply adding a good squeeze of lemon juice into a glass of water.
Support Spleen Qi In TCM, the “spleen” (not the anatomical spleen, but its functional equivalent) is a key organ for digestion, energy, nutrient transformation, and keeping food turned into fuel to prevent improper digestion. Strengthen the spleen with warm soups, squash, root vegetables, and cooked grains like rice. This would be one to think about in the days and weeks leading up to Halloween as opposed to on the night. A strong “spleen” going into a period of binging on sweets will not only help with tummy troubles, but it’ll also help keep the immune system strong.

Putting It All Together: A Healthier Halloween Plan

Using those hacks and a bit of TCM wisdom, here are some concrete ways to apply them on or around Halloween.

Strategy	What to Do	Why It Helps
In October	Focus on nourishing meals that include cooked/steamed veggies. Add cinnamon or ginger where you can.	Foods easy on digestion help the body absorb nutrients which can lead to building a stronger immunity.
Pre-treat buffer	Before trick-or-treating or before the first candy, give your kids a well-balanced snack or mini-meal: include vegetables or fibre, some protein (nuts, yogurt, eggs), and healthy fats.	This primes the body as the fibre slows digestion, so that when sugar comes, the spike is less dramatic.
After-treat movement	After candy (the trick-or-treat walk is null at this point) or after the big Halloween haul, have kids walk, jump rope, dance, play outside, or do a series of 10 squats.	Using muscles helps move glucose into cells, blunting spikes.
Smart treat strategy going forward	Instead of letting them graze on sweets all evening, designate a “sweet time” after a good meal. Let them pick a few favorites rather than a large amount. Mix sweets with something more savoury, sour, and/or fibrous.	Helps avoid continuous sugar load and energy crashes.
Stay Hydrated	Enjoy lemon-water or ginger tea before, durning, and after treats.	Staying hydrated can curb cravings. Lemon and ginger keep digestion flowing and can help prevent upset stomachs. These also tend to slow glucose release

Why This Matters: Beyond Just Candy

Stabilizing glucose helps avoid the “crazy sugar high → crash” cycle: irritability, fatigue, mood swings, etc.
Better digestion and less inflammation from over-sweets means fewer tummy aches, better immunity (which is especially useful in autumn).
Promotes long-term healthy relationships to food. If kids learn around treat-times how to balance, pair, pace — those are habits they carry forward.
From the TCM point of view: by avoiding overloading the spleen/digestive fire, you support vitality, resistance to illness, better energy, and smoother transitions with seasons.

Final Thoughts

Halloween doesn’t have to be a free-for-all of sugar, but it also doesn’t have to be a time of rigid sugar restriction. With a few planning steps, you can preserve the magic, the fun, and the treats — while helping your child feel better, smoother, more stable, and minimizing the crashes and guilt.