How to Make Halloween Treats Healthier

Halloween is fast approaching and, although it may be a night famous for ghosts and ghouls, it is typically one of the sweetest and tastiest times of the year. If you’re trying to watch your waistline, it can be difficult to stick to your healthy eating with so many treats around you!

To help you enjoy some Halloween treats without ruining your diet, we’ve created healthier recipes for some of the classics!

Fruity Eyeballs

Creepy eyeball shaped sweets and bakes are big business during Halloween but we’re ditching the artificial sugars and making our googly-eyed treats out of different fruits.

You Will Need:

Melon

Red Grapes

Blackcurrant Jam

Piping Bag

Melon Baller

Method:

1. Use your melon baller to scoop out eyeball shaped pieces of melon
2. Pop your blackcurrant jam in the piping bag and cut a very tiny corner off, leaving a very small hole to pipe through
3. Place a small dot of jam on the centre of the eyeball before cutting the end off a red grape and sticking to the melon, using the jam as glue
4. You can then pipe ‘veins’ onto the melon, coming from the grape with the jam to create your spooky eyeball
5. For even more detail, use a separate piping bag with a different colour jam or curd to add a ring of colour around the outside of your grape, giving your eye colour

Spicy Stuffed ‘Pumpkins’

If you want a Halloween themed dinner that adults and kids will love, then these spicy stuffed ‘pumpkins’ (they’re peppers really) are the perfect choice to keep things healthy and on theme for this spooky night of the year!

You Will Need:

Orange Peppers

5% Fat Beef Mince (could swap for a meat-free alternative)

Carrots

Sweetcorn

Onion

Garlic

Chopped Tomatoes

Tomato Puree

Chilli Powder

Baked Beans (could use a taco mix bean for extra kick)

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to around 180 degrees. Cut the tops of your orange peppers and scoop out the insides, keep the tops to one side. Cut small spooky eyes in the side of your peppers and place on a baking tray for later
2. Heat a large pan with low-calorie cooking spray and once warm, pop in one chopped onion and a crushed clove of garlic. Sweat the onions until softened before adding your 5% fat beef mince or meat-free alternative with some salt and pepper. Fry until browned.
3. Once your mince is browned, add your chopped tomatoes and a couple of tablespoons of tomato puree and mix in before adding as much or as little chilli powder as you like
4. At the point, you can add your beans, diced carrots and sweetcorn, mixing through.
5. Add a little boiling water and leave to simmer for 20-25 minutes
6. Once your spicy mince is all cooked through, spoon into your pepper shells and place back on the baking tray. Put the lids on the tray next to your stuffed peppers
7. Adding grated cheese to the top is optional but should be done now before placing into the oven for 10 minutes.
8. Place on the plate with the lid back on top to create your tasty, spicy filled ‘pumpkins’.

Orange ‘Pumpkin Face’ Pancakes

A fun breakfast for adults and kids to enjoy on Halloween, these orange-flavoured ‘pumpkin face’ pancakes are full of flavour, topped with goodness and look super fun on the plate.

You Will Need: (to make 4)

135g Plain Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Salt

2 Tablespoons Caster Sugar

130ml Milk

1 Large Egg

2 Tablespoons Melted Butter or Low Fat Spread

Zest of 1 Orange

Method:

1. Sift your flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together your egg, milk and melted butter
2. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and whisk with a fork to remove all lumps. Add your orange zest and a little of the juice too if you like, whisking again with a fork to make the mixture even
3. Let your batter stand for a few minutes while you warm up a non-stick frying pan with a little low-calorie cooking spray
4. Once warm, use a ladle to add some of your batter to the centre of the pan. Once the top of your pancake begins to bubble, flip over and cook on the other side. Once totally cooked through, remove from your pan and pop on a plate while you cook your other pancakes.
5. To top your pancakes in a Halloween theme, cut out faces to look like pumpkins or use fruits to create creepy faces

So, there are three healthy and delicious Halloween themed recipes that are perfect for helping kids and adults alike get into the spooky spirit!

What are your go-to healthy Halloween recipes? Let us know!