Halloween on the Medical Ketogenic Diet

Today’s Guest Blog post is by Lindsey Thompson, MS, RD, CSP, LD, ketogenic dietitian and Nutricia Keto Ambassador.

Important: Please note that this post was written prior to COVID-19. Whether you will be celebrating Halloween at home with your family or participating in modified Halloween activities, please be sure to keep current safety recommendations (like social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand washing) in mind. For more information on how to protect your family from COVID-19, read this post.


Food is the focus of many holidays, and Halloween is no exception. For kids on the medical ketogenic diet, there are many ways to include them in your family traditions for Halloween. For this blog, I reviewed some tips for trick-or-treating with your child as well as how to navigate school or other Halloween parties.

Trick-or-Treating Tips

If your family trick-or-treats, here are some tips for including your keto kid:

-Provide non-food items or keto-friendly treats to neighbors beforehand for your child to pick up when she or he trick-or-treats. Some examples include:

  • Halloween themed toys or stickers
  • Tickets or tokens your child can collect from house-to-house and redeem for a larger non-food prize at the end
  • Keto-friendly treats, such as the following:
  • Chocolate Almond Bark:3:1 recipe
  • Almond Coconut Cookies:4:1 recipe and 3:1 recipe
  • No-Bake Fudge:4:1 recipe and 3:1 recipe
  • Sugar-free gelatin cups (Choose Halloween colors and/or decorate cups with Halloween stickers)
  • Other keto-friendly food ideas from the recipes included below

-Donate candy to a local charity or group after trick-or-treating. There are many groups that will collect extra Halloween candy for a good cause. If you plan to donate candy, make sure to talk to your children beforehand to explain your plan so they understand. You can also have the children turn in their candy to you for a larger toy, prize or allowance.

-Plan another activity in place of trick-or-treating that would not include candy or other treats your child could not consume. Some examples include a hayride, corn maze, pumpkin patch or decorating pumpkins as a family.

School Parties or other Halloween Parties

Make sure to plan ahead for school or other parties around the Halloween holiday. Let teachers or other caregivers know about your child’s food restrictions and plan to bring keto-friendly foods that your child can consume with her friends.

Here are a few recipes for keto treats that your child can take to the party:

  • KetoCal® Creamy Gelatin Snack: 4:1 recipe (can use green or orange gelatin powder and Halloween themed molds to make the treats festive)
  • KetoCal Pumpkin Spice Shake: 4:1 and 3:1 recipe
  • KetoCal Chocolate Cupcake with Chocolate Cream Frosting: 3:1 recipe (cook in Halloween themed muffin wrappers or add Halloween cupcake toppers)
  • Matthew’s Friend’s Chocolate Muffins: 4:1 recipe
  • Crustless Pumpkin Pie: 3:1 recipe

Always be sure to check the recipes with your ketogenic dietitian.

I hope these tips help make for a safe, happy and keto-friendly Halloween!

-Lindsey

KetoCal is a medical food for the dietary management of intractable epilepsy and is intended for use under medical supervision. 

Talk with your healthcare provider to determine if KetoCal is right for you. 

A Dietitian’s Tips for Celebrating Easter on the Medical Ketogenic Diet

Lindsey Thompson, MS, RD, CSP, LD

We are pleased to welcome back Lindsey Thompson, MS, RD, CSP, LD.  Lindsey is a ketogenic dietitian and Keto Ambassador from Kansas City. In today’s guest blog post, Lindsey shares her tips and recipe ideas for families celebrating Easter with a child on the medical ketogenic diet for the management of intractable epilepsy. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us, Lindsey!


One of the challenges for children on specialized diets is that food is often the focal point of holidays. Easter is a holiday that many families celebrate together and is no exception. If you have a family member on the medical ketogenic diet, including them in your family meal is imperative, but will require some extra planning.

Easter Meals

On Easter many families feature meals with ham or lamb, pies, breads and dishes with eggs. Consider incorporating the type of meat you are serving into a ketogenic meal for your child, such as ham or lamb with a side of fruit or vegetable and cream or other fats. In addition, here are a few keto-friendly dishes you might consider for your family member’s Easter meal:

KetoCal® Cheese and Ham Tart

KetoCal Cheesy Tomato Tart

KetoCal Apple Crumble with Whipped Cream

Ketogenic Deviled Eggs:

Use the following ingredients to put into your child’s ketogenic diet planner to calculate his or her recipe:

  • Egg white- cooked
  • Egg yolk- cooked
  • Mayonnaise
  • Butter- softened
  • Small amounts of mustard, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce (if your family member likes spicy foods)
  • Salt, pepper and paprika to taste

Instructions:

  1. Hard boil eggs. Slice eggs in half and remove yolks.
  2. Place the cooked egg yolks in a bowl & mash them up with a fork.
  3. Stir in the mayonnaise, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  4. Scoop the filling into the halved egg whites.
  5. Sprinkle with paprika.

Easter Egg Hunts

In addition to family feasts, many families will attend or have Easter egg hunts for the Easter holiday. Children often hunt and discover plastic eggs filled with treats or goodies. Here are some tips to help include your family member on the ketogenic diet in your family’s Easter Egg Hunt:

Easter is a special holiday for families. With a little extra planning, your child on the medical ketogenic diet can enjoy and feel included as a part of your family’s Easter traditions.

Happy Easter to all!

-Lindsey

 I have been paid by Nutricia for my time to write this blog post but my opinions are my own. 

KetoCal is a medical food for the management of intractable epilepsy and is intended for use under medical supervision. Talk with your healthcare provider about whether KetoCal is right for you.

The medical ketogenic diet for epilepsy should be used under medical supervision.