Part one of the Halloween showdown is for all of you go getters who are throwing your own party, or have been invited to someone elses. We all know that once you finally let yourself indulge in that Reeces Peanut Butter Cup you’ve been eyeing, it is undeniably difficult to keep yourself from eating the second one…and then moving onto the Snickers bar(s). Halloween is the gateway holiday to the rest of the holiday season, and as such, it sets the tone for our eating habits for the remainder of the year!
Not only do I want you to be the talk of the town with your amazing appetizers and festive munchies (no one will even know they are “healthy”), but my hope for you this Halloween is that you enjoy and indulge with a new, smart and creative twist! Here are a few ways to enjoy the Halloween festivities while staying relatively healthy and without reeking darn near irreversible havoc on your body:
1. RAW Carmel Apples: (via renegadehealth.com)
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates (pitted and unsoaked)
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup almond milk (or other nut milk of your choice)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional)
- 1 dash sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or 1 inch vanilla bean, scraped
- 3-4 apples, depending on size
Preparation
- Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
- Start with 1/4 cup almond milk and add until consistency is such that apples can be dipped and the caramel sticks.
- Insert a popsicle stick into the center top of each apple.
- Dip in caramel sauce.
- Refrigerate until caramel solidifies
2. Homemade Halloween Trail-Mix (via www.goodlifeeats.com)
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup coconut
- 1 cup whole almonds
- 1/4 cup flax seeds
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup cheerios
- 1 2/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, coconut, honey, oil, sugar, and salt. Stir until well coated. Add the flax and sunflower seeds. Mix well. Spread mixture out on a large baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes.
- Remove the oat mixture from the oven and allow to completely cool. In a large bowl, stir in cheerios, apricots, and chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container.
3. Toasted pumpkin seeds: Three ways! (via 101cookbooks.com)
Ingredients: Sweet & Spicy
- 1 egg white
- 1/4 cup natural cane sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- scant 1/2 teaspoon fine-grained sea salt
- 1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds
Preparation: Sweet & Spicy
- Preheat oven to 375.
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the egg white, sugar, cayenne and salt.
- Add the pumpkin seeds and toss well.
- Drain off any excess egg white (using a strainer) and place seeds in a single layer across a baking sheet.
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until seeds are golden.
- Sprinkle with a bit more sugar and cayenne pepper when they come out of the oven.
4. Sweet Potato Humus (via mynewroots.blogspot.com)
Ingredients
- 2 cups chickpeas
- zest of 1 organic lemon, juice of ½ lemon
- 3 small sweet potatoes
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2-3 pinches sea salt
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
Preparation
- Place sweet potatoes (with the skin on) in a baking dish in a 400 F oven and bake until very soft, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size. (You can also steam the sweet potatoes, but I find baking them is more flavorful.)
- Let the sweet potatoes cool down so that you can easily remove their skins – they should just peel off. Place them in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and blend on high to mix.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of cracked black pepper, and whatever herb you have on hand. This is wonderful with raw veggies, healthy crackers, or pita bread.
5. Tootsie Rawls (via www.rawfoodtalk.com)
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cacao powder
- 1/2 cup mesquite powder
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 3/4 cup honey or agave (I used a mix of both)
- 2 T. fo-ti
- 2 heaping T. lucuma powder
- 1 T. Vanilla
- pinch sea salt
Preparation
- Process in food processor till well blended…will be very stiff, stir down as needed
- Place in bowl and knead in more lucuma (several T.) till no longer sticky.
- Roll in logs, wrap in paper
- Store in freezer
Caley Alyssa 