I’m not a huge fan of Halloween. In fact, I don’t even really like it at all.
There. I said it.
For one thing, I have seven kids and Halloween costumes are expensive! Gone are the days of cutting holes into white sheets or penciling whiskers onto your face. Now my children want to be super heroes and princesses!
…Super heroes and princesses who eat lots and lots of candy!
So. Much. Candy.
They get loaded down with candy during trick or treating and class parties.
Moreover, I get loaded down with candy during trick or treating and class parties. I literally have my children convinced that pink starbursts are poison and need to be given to me to eat.
I’m protecting them. It’s the least I could do – right?!
Last year I declared a Healthy Halloween! I made snacks and treats that were festive, yummy, and yes, also healthy! And you can do it too! It won’t be the end of the world, I promise!
Here were some family faves:
Apple Mummies – You can’t beat this easy Halloween treat! Simply peal an apple and soak in an acidic liquid like water with lemon juice. They are delicious with a healthy fruit dip, like Peanut Butter Silk Dip.
Apple Mummies
Peanut Butter Silk Dip:
½ C nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
¼ C creamy peanut butter
5 Tbsp pure maple syrup
½ t vanilla
Ghostly Bananas – Simply peel and slice bananas, add two mini chocolate chips for some eyes and you have yourself a ghoulish treat!
Ghostly Bananas
Tangerine Pumpkins – simply peel a tangerine (we call them “cuties” in our house!) and insert a celery through the top to make a stem! So “cute”! (See what I did there?!)
Sweet Potato Fries – For this, simply slice a sweet potato into very thin slices. If your children are old enough to use a knife, they can easily carve a pumpkin face into each circle. When they are finished, drizzle with some olive oil and bake at 400o for about 15 minutes, until crunchy.
Sweet Potato Fries
Veggie Tray – Who doesn’t love a good pumpkin-faced veggie tray! Arrange your carrots, peppers cauliflower, cucumbers, and broccoli to make a treat that is so delicious, it’s scary!
Veggie Tray
Karen Wonders, Ph.D., is the Founder and Director of Maple Tree Cancer Alliance, and Professor of Exercise Physiology at Wright State University. She is also the best selling author of the 40-day devotional, Beauty from Ashes. Her passion is to advocate for exercise as part of the standard of care for cancer. Maple Tree provides free exercise training, nutrition counseling, and emotional support to hundreds of cancer survivors every month at several locations across Ohio and Pennsylvania. Karen was recently recognized for her work by the Dayton Business Journal’s “Forty under 40”award. In addition, Maple Tree has been awarded “Best in Dayton” for Health and Fitness four years in a row. Karen is committed to evidence-based practice in her facilities, and has a robust research program that has published two text books, four book chapters, and more than 40 peer reviewed manuscripts on the topic of exercise and cancer recovery. A gifted communicator, Karen has given numerous professional presentations on the national, state, and local levels, including a talk at TEDxDayton 2017 on Exercising through Cancer Care. Karen is married to her college sweetheart, Andrew, and together they have seven (yes, seven!) children. If you think her hands are full, you should see her heart!
