SNACKTIME healthy eating during Halloween

Your children can still enjoy Halloween without splurging on mounds of chocolate and sugary snacks. With imagination and a bit of effort, creating spooky treats with your children can be fun and contribute nutritional value.  

Here are a few creative and creepy Halloween Treats that will bring laughter to your whole family. 

Spider Deviled Eggs-Make deviled eggs and fill as usual but decorate as spiders by using a black olive, black beet or cooked purple potato to create the "body" of the spider.  Use the same food to create the "legs" by slicing the olive, beet or potato into four tiny strips on each side.

Spider Web Cheese Pizza-Make individual pizzas from mini-pitas or English muffin halves. Spread tomato sauce on the bottom and slice cheese into strips to create a "web." Use a black olive to create the body and legs of a "spider."

Severed Hot Dog fingers-Cut flour tortillas into strips and wrap a mini-hot dog (cocktail) in each. Dab the top with ketchup and place a slivered almond on top to create the finger nail. Serve with a bowl of red ketchup.

Festive Edible Pumpkin-Carefully peel a small orange and top with a celery stem to make it look just like a pumpkin.

Halloween Stuffed Peppers-Stuff orange peppers and bake as usual but cut out the eyes, nose and mouth to look like a pumpkin. 

Eyeball Platter #1-Spread peanut, almond, hazelnut spread or soy butter on a round cracker. Top with a slice of banana for the "eye" and place a raisin for the "pupil" in the center. Sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon to create a "bloodshot" effect.

Eyeball Platter #2-Slice hard boiled eggs with an egg slicer and place on round or oval crackers. Top with a piece of an olive for the "eye ball" and sprinkle with paprika for the "bloodshot" look.

Gelatin Jiggles-Use pre-formed Halloween molds and fill with colored gelatin.

Cookie Cutter Sandwiches-Use Halloween cookie cutter shapes to transform regular sandwiches into seasonal surprises.

Decorating food as a fun, seasonal treat is a creative way to get kids to sample a new food. Try some of these homemade Halloween recipes for your children or create your own!

Submitted by Leslie Kay-Getzinger, MS RD
Regional Dietitian for Nutrition Management Services Company

Image from Kid's Halloween