Healthy Hollywood: How To Avoid Halloween Diet Disaster!

Nutritionist Keri Glassman, who regularly shares her expertise on Access Hollywood and Access Hollywood Live, is answering your nutrition, diet and health questions.

Want to know how celebrities are getting their fabulous post-baby bodies? And, if their diet plan is right for you?

This week’s question…

“Help! I always overdo it on Halloween. How can I get through it this year without getting completely off my healthy diet track?” — Suzanne L., Tulsa, Okla.

Keri says…

Halloween can be one of the most fun holidays of the year…even for us adults! It’s the perfect time to let loose, get silly and indulge a little. Or, a lot, for some of us. But, indulging doesn’t have to mean gorging yourself on sugar-laden and chemical-rich sweets until you begin to resemble a pumpkin. Indulging can mean treating yourself well and indulging in super powerful foods.

Here’s my survival guide for tricking yourself into treating yourself right — or in other words, how to make it through the day on October 31 without obsessing and/or overindulging in candy. Happy Halloween!

Protein Potion for Breakfast

Before you laugh at my protein potion subtitle, let me explain why a protein-rich breakfast is the ultimate potion for successful eating. Research shows that ghrelin (the hormone responsible for making you feel hungry) responds most to breakfasts high in protein or quality carbohydrates. This means that you will be less hungry throughout the day. Starting your day with protein and fiber (which will help keep you full) will help you avoid the candy corn on your co-worker’s desk. An egg scramble with broccoli and turkey has your name written all over it!

Veggie Voodoo

I’m a huge believer in snacking…and I mean real, healthy snacks throughout the day. Snacking helps you make good choices and stay in control. When you snack properly, you are also more likely to make better food choices later on. I like to call my snacking options veggie voodoo because the truth is veggie snacks are so filling, healthy and yummy that you might actually feel like I “put the healthy spell on you”. Vegetables are full of water to help keep you feeling full and coupled with some healthy fat you’ll stay satisfied as you plow through the day. One of my favorite snacks is roasted pumpkin seeds and Halloween is the perfect time for these bad boys. They have monounsaturated fats, which have been linked to reducing belly fat. Check out my easy pepita recipe.

Roasted Pepitas

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Seeds of your pumpkin
• Sea salt to taste

Toss pumpkin seeds in olive oil, and spread on a baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees until the seeds crack, about 10-20 minutes.

Pumpkin Soup for Lunch

Soup can be super filling and a great low-cal addition to your regular lunch salad, especially when it’s made with heart-healthy vegetables that contain fiber (squash and pumpkin both contain pectin, a type of fiber that helps keep your appetite steady throughout the day). Try my pumpkin squash and ginger soup. It’s totally Halloween appropriate and absolutely delish!

Pumpkin Squash & Ginger Soup
Time: 8 hours/Serves: 4

• 1 pound large winter squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 pound pumpkin, cut and cubed
• 2 medium Vidalia onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon cumin, grounded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

Add all ingredients to a crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours. Carefully use an immersion blender or blender to puree soup to a smooth consistency.

Witches Brew

If you’re looking to pick up the spook factor then you’ll love this recipe. It’s loaded with citrus fruits that are packed with powerful antioxidants. Most party punch is full of sugar-laden ingredients, but this brew will keep you hydrated and give you a great dose of vitamin C to help ward off the winter sniffles. And, the green tea contains catechins, potent antioxidants that will help keep your metabolism revved up so you can continue burning cals through the evening festivities.

• 4 cups cold green tea
• 1 cup sparkling wine or champagne
• 4 cups water
• Fresh squeezed lemon juice, about half a lemon
• 2 limes
• 2 red grapefruits
• 2 oranges

In a large black urn mix tea, wine or champagne, water and lemon juice. Thinly slice limes, grapefruits, oranges and float in mixture.

Dark Delight

Not all sweet indulgences are a no-no. And, on Halloween I even encourage you to indulge in a healthy and sweet treat. What’s so great about these treats is that you’ll feel satisfied while also reaping some bewitching health benefits — it can boost your mood and help ward off diseases. Just be sure to have a protein and veggie-rich dinner to fill you up before your costume goes on so you don’t have 20 of these treats and just indulge in 1 or 2.

• Chocolate pear: 1 sliced pear dipped in 1⁄2 ounce melted dark chocolate with a pinch of ground cloves
• Chocolate-covered figs: 2 figs dipped in 1⁄2 ounce melted dark chocolate, then allowed to cool and harden
• 2 York Peppermint Patty
• 2 fun-size Hersheys Dark

— Terri MacLeod & Keri Glassman