Tricks to Make Halloween a Treat

Happy Halloween! Managing type one diabetes (T1D) during a candy-centric holiday doesn’t have to be scary. We’re sharing tips and tricks to safely enjoy your treats.

Plan Ahead

High blood sugars can be a concern with the abundance of candy and adrenaline that Halloween brings.

It helps us to eat a healthy meal at home with protein and fiber to help keep glucose steady before and during Halloween festivities. We’re always trying to find the sweet spot (forgive the pun) that balances indulging in the holiday and being healthy. Ellie usually has a healthy snack before heading out the door so that she isn’t overwhelmed by hunger. Peanut butter on apple slices or crackers can help cut back cravings brought on from sugar-rich treats.

Choose (and use) treats wisely

Dressing as Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce is amazingly fun, and it’s thrilling to enjoy a good scare. But, we know Halloween is all about the candy. How do you manage it?

We’re big on saving treats for later. We divide Ellie’s candy haul into two categories: 1) Treats to enjoy and dose for in small increments and 2) candy that works as a fast-acting carb when Ellie needs to treat a low blood sugar. Large chocolate treats go into the first group (save and dose for later).

You can play it safe by allowing your child to eat candy once everyone is home and can count carbs to dose the correct amount of insulin. After the festivities, kids have sacks brimming with sweets and are so tempted to eat it all at once. (I know I am!) But, as always, moderation is key. When Ellie was newly diagnosed, we had a rule for how many pieces of candy she could eat in a day (as long as her blood glucose wasn’t already high). We stuck to it. I followed it, too, to make sure she didn’t feel left out and to model the approach of moderation and that she can enjoy all foods so long as we consider timing and dose appropriately.

After we’ve separated out the candy that Ellie will dose for and enjoy over time, we take remaining candies like Starburst, Skittles, Sweeties, gummies, etc.  and separate them into servings that contain 15 grams of carbohydrates. Then, we can add them to Ellie’s diabetes kit to have when she experiences a low.

When Ellie’s continuous glucose monitor (CGM) indicates that her level is dropping (her alarm alerts at 80 to help her prevent a low), she can pull out the already prepared candy stash. When she drops to 70, she checks her blood glucose (BG) level 15 minutes after eating 15 grams of carbs.  If her blood sugar isn’t up to 70, she eats another serving of candy (15 grams of carbs) and checks again in 15 minutes. If it’s raised above 70 and going steady, Ellie might grab a protein-rich snack to help sustain her glucose level.

Here are some popular Halloween candy options that come in with around 15 grams of carbs each:

• Skittles (fun-sized)
• Butterfinger (fun-sized)
• M&M (fun-sized bag)
• Milky Way (fun-sized)
• Skittles (fun-sized bag)
• Tootsie Pop
• 3 Tootsie rolls (midgets)
• 8 Whoppers
• 4 Starburst

Source: Diatribe

I’ve also been known to hit the candy aisle at the grocery or drug store the day after Halloween to buy Ellie’s favorite candy (Skittles) conveniently packaged for the holiday. Since I know they’re roughly 15 carbs, I buy them on sale and add them to my stash for treating lows. (I do the same after Valentine’s Day when candy comes in smaller packaging for classroom Valentine exchanges and parties.)

JDRF has a handy guide for Halloween candy carb counts. When you’re sorting candy, you can take a Sharpie and write the carb count directly on the wrapper.

Buy back candy and/or make a donation

Create new traditions

Halloween is a time for all the costumes, cobwebs, carved pumpkins, and campy movies that you love. (Hocus Pocus, anyone?) There are lots of ways to take the focus off sweets and still have fun, I promise.

1. Carve jack-o-lanterns or paint pumpkins.
2. Get cozy for a movie night or game night. You can be as nostalgic or as frightened as you want to be. Temps are dipping below freezing this Halloween, so snuggling under a blanket and watching a movie after passing out candy sounds pretty great. We have a few family-friendly favorites that are sufficiently spooky but don’t cause sleepless nights:

3. Create something—make a Halloween playlist, have a craft night, or bake your own treats! There’s still time to round up a few supplies, use what you have on hand, and cultivate your creativity (which goes hand in hand with Halloween)

When the party is at home, you can control the food, swap candy for healthier (but still festive) fare, make some fun memories, and focus on all the treats Halloween has to offer—dressing up, spending time with family, celebrating the quirky or spooky, and having a ball! Happy Halloween!