Boo! Tips for a Fun Halloween 2020

Yep, this year, of all years – it’s 2020, people, can I get a double eye roll please - Halloween falls on a Saturday, bringing with it the month’s second full moon, during Mercury’s retrograde, and of course, a global pandemic. I mean, if spirits and witches and wolves are ever going to show their faces, this is the year. But what about us? States are opening and closing left and right; cities are split between supporting and banning trick-or-treating; some schools are open, while others remain closed - - we don’t know what’s up or down anymore. Frankly, with all of the craziness, I’m not sure who’s even in the mood – to treat or even to trick.

So, what can and should we do to lift our spirits, get ready for a fun fall weekend, and raise the dead – or at least dress up with the kids and help them celebrate – safely and without too much of the sugar madness? Read on for a few ideas.

Managing the Monster Mash

Apart from the standard “keep it outside” and “keep it socially distanced”, to get into the spirit this year, think about adding the following to your Halloween agendas…

1. Decorate, decorate, decorate: If you have to be home, take a little time to make it the best looking, most festive, spooky, cozy spot you can. Grab the littles, and have them help. Things don’t have to look perfect - if it makes everyone feel more included and festive, and your house gets a fall makeover, it’s a win-win.
2. Carve pumpkins: Take yourself, your partner, and or your kids to a pumpkin patch or even a garden center or grocery store, let them pick out their own shape and size, grab a few extra gourds and funky looking pumpkins, then head home, and have a pumpkin carving planning sesh. Don’t forget to clean and roast all of the seeds! For a super easy savory seed, toss with butter or olive/avocado oil, salt, pepper, cayenne (if you want a little spice), Lawry’s or any season salt. For a sweeter seed, use butter, brown sugar or maple syrup, cayenne (for spice), and cinnamon (or cinnamon and sugar).
3. Dress up: Why not? You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy group themed costumes for all of the parties this year, but since we have to wear masks anyway, why not grab a cool, scary, funny mask, rummage through Halloween stuff from years past for weapons and accessories, and get your costume going? My dad’s birthday is Halloween, and nothing makes him happier than seeing his grandkids, throwing on a creepy clown mask, and passing out candy, and every year, my husband throws on an old gas station uniform and swaps out Michael and Jason masks and weapons to walk up and down the block and scare the kids. Everyone loves it and so do I. This year will be no different, except that Papa will do the mask via Zoom or FaceTime.
4. Plan festivities: If the weather is crisp and clear, have a small outdoor gathering: If the weather cooperates and it doesn’t snow or rain where you are, especially if the kids are trick-or-treating a little, have a bonfire, create a scary music playlist, and serve Halloween-themed snacks and drinks. Take the kids boo-ing! It’s like ding-dong-ditch of yore, but nicer. The kids ring a friend’s doorbell, leave funny riddles and bags of candy, and either run as fast as they can or hide in the bushes. I took my middle schooler last week, and we had so much fun and so many laughs, and when the kids get booed here, they all race to the door, try to catch whomever rang the bell, and promptly fight over who gets the “boo” candy (I’ve now set the rule that if they fight, Mom gets the candy). If the weather is rotten, watch scary movies, and check out virtual tours of haunted houses around the country. We’re big fans of all things spooky and scary around here, so we run an annual scary movie marathon, and the kids each get to pick one from a carefully curated list my husband makes, but if your crew is super young and or not into the horror genre (yet), there’s always It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Hocus Pocus, plus a ton of excellent not-so-scary Halloween books to read.

Balancing Out the Sugar Scaries

Any other sugar addicts in the house? Well, whether you are or not, the vast majority of the holidays can be dangerous or stressful territory for the nutrition knowledgeable, macro counters, athletes, parents, and dessert fans alike. Whether or not you have to deal with small people on sugar highs for weeks on end, Halloween, in particular, is tough to navigate when it comes to managing good nutrition practices. Here are a couple tips for managing the sugar scaries…

1. Meal plan: Whether you log your food or not, whether you manage your macros or not, whether you have a crazy busy schedule and multiple people to manage or not, one fail-safe way to manage sugar cravings, sugar intake, sugar highs, or sugar crashes, is to plan and prep your meals. Now, some of us aren’t great planners, but we can always try and begin to build better habits. Here’s one process I follow and teach when working with clients who aren’t always inclined to meal prep…

Pick a Day: Choose a day and time that best suits your schedule for each of the following: to plan, shop, and then prep.

Make it Simple: Don’t over complicate things. Choose 2 meals for breakfasts, a couple of proteins, a couple of veggies, and a couple of starches and healthy snacks to incorporate. OvaEasy makes that, well, easy for you! Shop our site for meal options and recipes.

Make a List: Write out your grocery list, grouping the items according to where they are in the grocery store to simplify your trip and shorten your time at the store. To save even more time, use an app like Instacart to to shop. You’ll be able to watch your spending more closely this way too!

Prep: Choose the day and time that you will PREP your foods for the week or weekend. Follow any recipes you’ve selected, or prep foods with basic seasonings so that you can enhance them specifically for each meal as desired. 

2. Serve balanced meals and snacks: Protein will help everyone feel full, and fat slows digestion, so they feel full longer, so consider serving balanced meals and snacks, not something easy and fast and packed with starch. Now, I mentioned in our last entry that protein is found in many foods, most commonly in EGGS, red meat, fish, pork, chicken, and cheese/yogurt/dairy. Non-animal protein sources are seeds, nuts/nut butters and beans, tofu, quinoa and tempeh. By serving a balanced snack on Saturday you can keep everyone full, not full on sugar. 

Where OvaEasy Comes In

When thinking about the planning and prep, consider OvaEasy Egg in a Cup. It’s our little effort, no mess way to cook up scrambled eggs – no equipment necessary. Just add water, microwave, and enjoy. Each cup packs approximately 12-13 grams of protein, is a great keto-friendly, low carb option, and comes in three delicious flavors. Add this to your breakfast meal plan or even as a snack option!

OvaEasy Egg Crystals are all natural, whole, dried eggs that taste just like their fresh counterpart, only they have an extra-long shelf life and don’t require refrigeration! When it comes to micro nutrients - all the good stuff, like folate, iron, vitamins a, b, c, d, potassium, calcium, magnesium and more is contained in the tiny yellow center of the egg, and our crystallization process keeps everything intact. So, scramble them or make a quick omelet, try them in fried rice, or even steak and eggs. You’ll feel better knowing you’ve filled up on delicious and necessary nutrients and complete proteins rather than too many processed sugary treats.

If you need to make a quick smoothie for the kids after school, before sports, or on Saturday before trick-or-treating, OvaEasy Egg White Protein is the perfect addition. Our protein contains all amino acids needed for muscle recovery and growth, but most importantly, especially with kids, our egg white protein is delicious, mixes well, and gets the job done. Whether you’re making a nutritious snack, treat diversion, meal substitute for your family, or trying to hit your macros after a tough workout, it doesn’t hurt to have a bag or two of this around.

The Bottom Line

As long as the rant list might be this year, in hopes of drumming up some spirit for All Hallows Eve and Día de los Muertos, let’s put on our big person pants, display all of the pumpkins and cornstalks, decorate our houses and our yards with all things Fall, pick a few fun Halloween activities for ourselves and our loved ones, and have a Spooktacular weekend. And when it comes to managing the sugar scaries, let OvaEasy help. Whatever you choose, don’t forget to keep an eye on Halloween’s full blue moon – you might even hear a few cackles and howls!

A little bit about our author:

Kerry is a writer, nutrition coach and consultant. She’s an active runner, skier, triathlete, CrossFitter, and a crazy busy mom of three. She dreams of being able to spend more time outside doing the things she loves with those she loves…and eggs of course, she dreams of eggs. Kerry’s still obsessing over her pumpkin spice smoothies with our Vanilla Crème Bruleé Egg White Protein, and she’s busy making sure she gets a good amount of protein into her kids’ meals to counter all of the extra sugar that’s around the house from the daily boo-ing. The kids’ current favorites are the Sea Salt and Pepper Egg in a Cup and Sausage Seasoning Egg in a Cup – both with cheese. If you have questions for her, let us know - she loves questions that don’t start with “Mom, can you buy…”