Healthy Homemade Halloween Treats

Photo by rattler97.

Forget the store-bought candies and commercially produced stuff. Satisfy your sweet tooth with these healthy homemade treats this weekend:

Vampire Fudgesicles. Popsicles are great but often filled with artificial coloring and flavoring or poor quality ingredients. Keep it fresh and healthy by using fresh raspberries, strawberries, organic milk or yogurt (if your little tot is lactose intolerant, you can substitute milk with non-dairy milk such as soy or almond milk), and a dash of healthy sugar substitutes such as orange blossom honey or agave nectar. If you think the mixture is already sweet enough, then even better, you can skip the sugar! Blend all these ingredients together and pour the mixture into popsicle molds or an ice cube tray, freeze, and enjoy.

Gooey Apple Slices. To make the caramel dip, use Muscovado sugar, an unrefined brown sugar that takes most of its flavor naturally from sugarcane juice. It is nutritionally richer than regular sugar and can easily be found in organic and some grocery stores. Boil water in a saucepan, throw in your muscovado sugar, add a stick of unsalted butter to make it smooth and shiny, a dash of cinnamon powder and a drop of natural vanilla extract. Stir until the sugar is melted and combined with the other ingredients. Slice apples into fun shapes by using Halloween cookie cutters, stick them onto Popsicle sticks, dip into the gooey concoction, and enjoy!

Mystery Smoothie. Pumpkins are high in fiber and packed with nutrients such as beta-carotine, a powerful antioxidant. Use organic canned pumpkins for this recipe. Blend it in with yogurt, milk (depending on your kids’ needs, substitute milk as mentioned in the first recipe), sugar substitutes and four ice cubes. The mysterious ingredient here are tapioca pearls, which you can find in the baking aisle in most grocery stores. Tapioca is gluten free, and a fun addition to shakes and smoothies. Scoop two tablespoons of tapioca pearls into each glass, and pour in your blended mixture. Use a wider straw that is used for similar drinks so the pearls can easily get through once sipped.

Gotta have the candy? Okay, here are some tips to avoid the sugar crashes and keep it calm, healthy and fun:

• Exercise. There’s nothing more enjoyable than joining your kids as they roam the streets on Halloween night, right? Take advantage of that exercise and walk with your kids around the neighborhood. Just like any other holiday, Halloween is a great way to spend quality time with your family.

• Ration. Don’t leave those candy-filled pillow cases in their bedroom and spare your little pumpkins from gobbling up everything in one sitting.

• Eat then treat. The best way to prevent Halloween sugar crashes–not to mention all those unwanted calories and artificial ingredients–is to regulate sugar cravings by making sure kids eat a healthy meal before hitting the streets.

Happy Halloween folks!

Karla Mercado lives in New Mexico and is the author of Balancing Tenderfoot. She is passionate about human medicine, nutrition, and writing.