Pin It

Halloween detox in 5 easy steps

After a night of gathering candy, there are ways to rebuild your body once the sugar rush is over.

By Kimi HarrisTue, Nov 01 2011 at 2:15 PM EST
 19

Picture of a bowl of oatmeal Photo: Shutterstock
We all know that Halloween is celebrated with plenty of candy and sweets. While it can be fun to indulge in caramel apples, candy bars and suckers, you may feel sluggish afterwards. As your kids continue to sort through their loot, you can create a Halloween detox plan (unbeknownst to them) to help pump them with nutrition after all of those sweet, but empty calories.
 
The following tips are not meant to lead your family to a serious detox diet; rather these tips will work to rebuild and replenish the body after all those sweets.
 
Tip 1: Serve and eat plenty of protein. If you experienced sugar highs and lows after eating candy, protein will help stabilize your system. Protein also helps your mood, partly by giving your body the building blocks (that is, amino acids) it needs to rebuild. Plan on eating high-quality protein three times a day.
 
Tip 2: Eat healthy fats. Yes, some fats are healthy! I eat traditional healthy fats, like coconut oil, grassfed butter and extra virgin olive oil. Fats help make you feel satisfied, so you don't feel the need to reach for the candy jar. Fats also help stabilize your blood sugar.
 
Tip 3: Eat lots of vegetables and some fruit. All of those refined sweets are hard on your blood sugar, and they also use up minerals in your body to process them, according to Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions. Eating plenty of produce will get your mineral intake back on track. Fruits are delicious as well as nutritious, but after all of those sweets, concentrate on vegetables, which have very little natural sugar in them.
 
Tip 4: When I feel especially behind, I love drinking vegetable juice because I own a juicer. It helps me regain my energy when I have the sugar "blahs." As nice as it is to use a juicer, you could certainly use this method of juicing with a blender.
 
Tip 5: Healthy soups are a great way to get a lot of vegetables and mineral-rich homemade chicken broth into your family. Popular ones in my family include this Simple Chicken Noodle Soup and Creamless Creamy Zucchini Soup.
 
So how does that translate into a daily menu? Here is one example of a simple sample menu using traditional ingredients.
 
Sample menu
Upon rising: Drink a big glass of filtered water with fresh lemon juice in it to help get hydrated. You can also start the day with a freshly made vegetable juice. Wait 30 minutes before eating breakfast.
 
Breakfast: Oatmeal served with grassfed butter and real maple syrup. Serve Apple Chicken Sausage on the side.
 
Lunch: Simple Chicken Noodle Soup with toast and a green side salad. 
 
Dinner: Roasted Chicken served with brown rice, steamed broccoli and Avocado, Bacon and Egg salad.
 
Snack ideas: An afternoon vegetable juice, carrot and celery sticks, hard boiled eggs, or fresh fruit.
 
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
 
Also on MNN: 

tease to unsolved mysteries

tease to pet rescue

tease to fuel-efficient cars

ADVERTISEMENT

TOP MEMBERSJoin Now
See what happens when Charlie wants a PB&J, when there is no J. more >
Who has been digging up mom's flowers? more >
Elizabeth Banks educates women about the reality of heart disease more >
Introducing Charlie, a nine-year-old super fan of The Brawny Man™. more >
Charlie surprises his mom with a “gift,” but she’s the one in for a little... more >

ADVERTISEMENT