Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. It’s a great excuse to dress up, hang out with friends, decorate the house, and let that little ounce of “odd ball” come out that we are all trying to hide the rest of the 364 days of the year. Really, it’s all about being a kid again.
As most holidays are, Halloween is centered around food and treats, giving us all another reason to indulge. Yet, Halloween, more than any of the others, is all about the candy, making it even harder to find healthy alternatives to all the indulgences.
However, with just a little bit of tweaking, you can turn your Halloween splurges into nutritious treats. Ones that both you and your little goblins will enjoy!
Here are 5 easy tricks to make healthy Halloween treats:
- Replace milk chocolate in recipes with dark chocolate – or better yet, cocoa nibs. Cocoa nibs are full of fiber, protein, and have 0 grams of sugar per serving. Plus, they are full of antioxidants. They are vegan and gluten-free.
- Replace some of the “fat” (aka, butter, shortening, etc.) with pureed pumpkin to make baked goods healthier and more satisfying – and taste extra “seasonal”.
- Instead of adding orange food coloring to frostings, try adding some pureed carrots. Not only will this give you the orange color you are looking for, it will allow you to reduce the amount of sugar that you add to the recipe.
- Put a healthier spin on your caramel [apple] recipes by using coconut cream (instead of regular cream). Not only will this make your recipe dairy-free, it will also add a healthy bit of fat and fiber. Top with chopped nuts and you have a surprisingly nutritious snack.
- Make Halloween inspired treats using fruit. “Ghost Bananas” with cocoa nibs eyes, Caramel Apples (as discussed above), Clementine Pumpkins, and banana “Witch Fingers” are a couple ideas that are easy, festive, and a great way to get kids (and adults!) to eat healthier on Halloween.
Just because Halloween is known for mounds of candy and sugar-laden treats, doesn’t mean you have to totally forego your healthy lifestyle. Make a few simple changes to make some of your treats healthier, and then indulge on those things that you really can’t go without. Because we all need a little bit of sweetness every now and again
