Healthy Halloween Alternatives

Halloween is the one time of year that people of all ages can be whatever they want, from being a spooky vampire to a cute and sassy princess. Whatever it is you decide to be on Halloween we all know the best part of this holiday is all the food, especially the sweets. It is no surprise that sweets are the main reason children go nuts over the thought of Halloween, but what if we added a little nutritional value to the treats and offered them in a fun, exciting way. Having a Halloween party but don’t want to worry about eating junk food? There are some super simple but “spook”tacular treats that are great for all ages. For example, mummy wrapped hot dogs are spooky but cute and a super quick fix. Take hotdogs of your choice and wrap them in pre-made crescent roll dough, pop them in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees, and you’ve got yourself some delicious mummies that will be a hit with everyone. Take some green grapes and skew them onto a skewer, add some chocolate chip eyes to make some green grape worms. Instead of having candy corn you can make a candy corn parfait using pineapple, mandarin oranges, and whip cream for a sweet dessert. And who could forget the boo-nannas. Take some halved bananas and use mini chocolate chips for the eyes and a regular chocolate chip for a surprised mouth to spook any of your house guests.

For trick-or-treaters, it’s a good idea to hand out fruit like bananas or oranges with ghostly faces for a healthy alternative to candy. Cheese sticks are also a good option that can be easily distributed.

There are many recipes to choose from on Halloween without the worry of children eating tons of candy and greasy unhealthy foods. On behalf of the Richland County Nutrition Coalition, we hope these ideas inspire you to get ready for the holiday weekend. For more recipes and ideas check out the Nutrition Coalition’s, Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/1rcnc1.

The mission of the Richland County Nutrition Coalition (RCNC) is to identify and address food and nutrition needs of the community. RCNC strives to emphasize and encourage education and personal growth in the area of nutrition.

For more information on the Richland County Nutrition Coalition, or ways to be involved, contact Gina Dennis at 406.488.2273.