Some believe sugar should really be referred to as the “white devil,” which makes it somewhat appropriate for Halloween, but following the old tradition of consuming a ton of candy, or allowing your children to do so, can result in a huge sugar crash as well as other harmful effects now and in the future.
Sugar is highly addictive and has a toxic effect on the human body; the more you eat the more damage it takes, resulting in a wide range of health problems. Sugar can cause tooth decay, behavior problems, obesity, diabetes and much more.
Enjoying Halloween with your kids while ensuring healthy eating habits can be challenging, but it’s certainly not impossible, especially when you consider some of these fun recipes.
Ghost Pops
This recipe allows you to turn fresh ingredients into a frightfully tasty Halloween treat! You can easily, double, triple or quadruple the ingredients to make more for a large party.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup organic, dry, shredded organic coconut
- 18 organic raisins
- 3 organic bananas
- 1 ½ cups organic orange juice (preferably fresh-squeezed and homemade)
- 6 popsicle sticks
Instructions:
Cut each banana in half lengthwise and insert a popsicle stick into the flat end. Freeze them for several hours and then dip them into the orange juice followed by the coconut. Use the raisins to create the eyes and mouth.
Candy Corn Veggies
Using yellow peppers, baby carrots and cauliflower stacked to look like candy corn, this crudité treat is frequently a hit with the adults and sometimes even the kids, especially when paired with a healthy dip. Instead of using a processed dip, make this delicious homemade hummus for dipping.
Ingredients:
- 2 cans organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 organic cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup of tahini
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions:
Blend the chickpeas and garlic in a food processor; pulse until creamy. Add the water, remaining ingredients and pulse until well-mixed. If you have a Halloween-themed bowl, use it to place next to your candy corn crudité creation.
Eerie Eyeballs
These eyeballs may look slightly grotesque, but they’re ideal for Halloween, nutritious, and with a sweet taste and eerie look this is a treat that is also sure to be a hit with the kids.
Ingredients:
- 1 dried apple ring per eye
- ½ dried apricot per eye
- ½ raisin for per eye
Instructions:
Gently flatten two dried apple rings for each pair of eyes, using the palm of your hand. Carefully slice one dried apricot through the middle to produce two circular halves. Press one of the halves, sticky side down onto the center of an apple ring to cover the hole. For the pupils, use kitchen scissors to cut a raisin in two and press the halves, stick side down, onto the apricots.
Snack O’ Lantern
These healthy Jack O’ Lanterns are popular with everyone on Halloween. All you need is an organic navel orange for each one, and a fresh, fruit salad to fill it with. To make one lantern, use a small knife to slice off the top of the orange; cut around its interior in order to hollow it out.
Scoop out the orange sections, chop them and mix them in with your fruit salad. You can use almost anything you’d like for the fruit salad, such as grapes, strawberries, peach and apple chunks. Just be sure to choose organic fruits!
Carve small facial features like you would with a traditional Jack O’ Lantern and then cut a slit into the lid to accommodate the handle of a spoon. Fill the lantern with the fruit salad, insert a spoon and set the lid in place.
It’s easy to avoid that Halloween sugar crash with any of these great options.
-The Alternative Daily
