Healthy Halloween Snacks
Halloween is a time of year known for its treats just as much as it is for its tricks. With a global pandemic still impacting our day-to-day lives, Halloween might look a little different for you and your family.
Halloween can serve as a great time to teach children that foods have no moral value and no one food can make you healthy or unhealthy. By normalizing sweets and allowing access you can improve a child’s relationship with food, and it can make them less likely to eat so much that they feel sick. Your actions can teach your children that sweets do not need to be feared which can help them avoid feeling out of control around them in the future. Although I would never tell anyone to not let their child enjoy Halloween sweets (unless there was a medical reason, of course!), this year there are added safety concerns to the yearly tradition which may have you looking for alternative ways to celebrate.
Even though you may not be able to control the world around you, you are still able to plan a special Halloween-themed family day! Whether you’re choosing to forgo trick or treating this year or simply wanting to get in the spirit of the season, below are two spooky snacks that you can get the whole family involved with making!
“Boo”-nana Pops
Ingredients:
1 banana peeled (makes 4 popsicles)
1 cup white chocolate or yogurt
8 mini chocolate chips for eyes
4 popsicle sticks
Instructions:
If using white chocolate:
Cut the banana in half, then cut in half again lengthwise so that all 4 pieces have a rounded end.
Insert popsicle sticks into the cut end of the banana.
Freeze bananas on a wax paper lined baking sheet.
After bananas are frozen, melt chocolate in a bowl or mug. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring until the chocolate is melted.
Dip the bananas into the chocolate one at a time, removing excess from what will be the back of the ghost, and place it back on the wax paper.
Add the chocolate chips for eyes while chocolate is still soft and melted.
Put back into the freezer until chocolate is frozen. Serve frozen.
If using yogurt:
Tip: Regular yogurt is easier to coat the bananas with, but Greek can be used.
Cut the banana in half, then cut in half again lengthwise so that all 4 pieces have a rounded end.
Insert popsicle sticks into the cut end of the banana.
Dip in yogurt and use a spoon to coat evenly. Place on a wax paper lined baking sheet.
Add the chocolate chips for eyes.
Freeze until yogurt has hardened. Serve frozen.
Pretzel Broomsticks
Ingredients:
Pretzel sticks (whatever size you want)
Cheese sticks/strings
Fresh chives
Instructions:
Cut cheese strings into thirds.
Pull or use a knife to pull the cheese apart to create a broom look.
Use a toothpick to create a hole in the top of the cheese string for the pretzel and insert the pretzel.
Wrap and tie with one chive.
Enjoy!
Content and photos by Kimberlee Galus, Registered Dietician