Article by Adriana Moura
Doctor with a postgraduate degree in Sports Medicine with training in high-competition nutrition.
October 31st brings with it the famous Halloween!
And what is its origin? The Celts believed that at the beginning of winter the dead returned to visit their homes and that hauntings appeared to curse animals and crops.
The popular “trick or treat” tradition is based on the consumption of sweets rich in sugar, dyes and other harmful substances.
According to nutritional data and research from the World Health Organization (WHO), daily sugar consumption should not exceed 50g or 10% of the calories consumed per day. When we eat sweets, sugar is transformed into glucose and this is how it circulates in the blood. The increase in blood glucose leads to the release of insulin, the hormone responsible for the entry of glucose into cells and a consequent decrease in blood glucose. Thus, glucose levels rise and fall quickly, increasing the desire to eat more sweets, thus generating a vicious cycle, which can contribute to the appearance of type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and obesity.
Therefore, the suggestion is to take great care in decoration and costumes, giving rise to creativity and creating healthy recipes.
Here are two examples:
Quark pudding
Ingredients:
- Orange/Peach Gelatin 0%;
- Quark 0%;
- Cinnamon to taste.
Preparation method: dissolve the gelatin in hot water, add 500g of 0% quark cheese and dissolve well until a homogeneous mixture is obtained, distribute into containers and refrigerate until solidified. Decorate with cinnamon.
(illustrative picture)
Protein cake
Ingredients:
- 330 mL of egg white;
- 2 eggs;
- 220 mL of sugar-free soy or almond drink;
- 150 g oat flour;
- 60 g of nuts or low-fat cocoa;
- 1 banana;
- 140 g of chocolate or 40 g of honey;
- Dark chocolate.
Mix all the ingredients until you obtain a homogeneous paste, bake for 25 minutes at 220º. Melt dark chocolate (>50% cocoa) to decorate.
(illustrative picture)
