Healthier Halloween

Happy Halloween!

We started the morning with Paleo Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes. Yum!

But, I am going to let you in on a little secret, they are lower in sugar than traditional pancakes and I am going to share my top tips for keeping sugar low and nutrients higher.

For those new to my blog, my son is considered recovered from autism and a large part of his healing journey was improving his gut. He had dysbiosis and craved sugar, carbs, and basically a lot of unhealthy stuff.

Along the way, I realized the more pure and healthy I could keep his diet, the better his gut functioned and also his mood, sleep, and behavior. It was a win-win.

But that doesn’t mean you have to miss out.

In fact, I did a whole blog on Halloween options if you are a food allergy family like ours or just want a Halloween experience that doesn’t leave your child bouncing off the walls or in meltdown mode for the next week. You can read that here.

So let’s get back to this year…..

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This morning I used Birch Bender’s Paleo Pancake Mix. I love this stuff. In fact, when we travel, I usually have a few bags with me. Then, no matter what I can find locally, I have something that just needs water, that’s it! I can also turn this into a makeshift bread if I have to. It is great.

This morning I added organic pumpkin in addition to pumpkin spice seasoning in addition to the water. I adjusted the water accordingly because of the pumpkin.

Then, I added some allergen -free chocolate chips, my favorite brand is Enjoy Life and they have mini-chips, regular chips, and mega chunks! To make this even lower sugar, you can use something Like Lily’s Brand which uses stevia to sweeten. They also carry candy bars which are great as sweet treats but without traditional sweeteners.

Next, I topped it with Lakanto Syrup which is a keto-friendly option that uses monk fruit to sweeten. Before the birth of Lakanto and when yeast was very high and I was trying to reduce sugar as much as possible, I used to melt organic coconut oil and use stevia as a “syrup”. Lakanto looks, smells, and tastes just like syrup to me and is a nice option.

These are “special occasion” options. I would not use these as daily staples, I feel like we need to sometimes break ourselves out of the constant need for sweets and for kids with severe gut issues, breaking that cycle can be so healing. But, I love holidays and it is important to not lose sight of enjoying the journey, which is why I appreciate options for these instances.

Check out my full Halloween blog for additional tips on healthier Halloween options so that your holiday is filled with more treats than tricks when it comes to your health!

I am wishing you all a healthy and happy Halloween!