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Aside from starting with the letter H, Halloween and health don’t have much in common! The upcoming candy-filled holiday often results in your kids loading up on sugar, which isn’t good for them or fun for you. While it’s difficult to encourage healthy Halloween recipes, it’s not impossible–especially when better-for-you foods have a fun twist.

Try these cute, spooky and downright tasty treats to get kids excited about healthy Halloween recipes!

1. Chocolate Dipped Fruit

Directions:

Finely chop a bar of dark chocolate; microwave on 50% power until almost melted, about 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Dip dried mango, papaya and/or apricot pieces in the chocolate, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill until set, about 10 minutes.

2. Dark Chocolate Bark

Makes 24 pieces
1/2 cup hazelnuts
450 grams dark chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup puffed brown rice cereal

Directions:

Line a large baking tray with baking paper  and set aside. Toast hazelnuts in a dry pan until warmed and fragrant. Let the nuts cool, then chop and set aside.
In a double boiler, slowly melt chocolate, stirring gently with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon; add brown rice cereal and mix gently. Pour mixture onto a lined baking sheet and smooth out evenly into a rectangular shape (it doesn’t have to be perfect).
Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and set aside for 1 to 2 hours (or 30 to 45 minutes in the fridge) until chocolate hardens. Break into pieces and serve.

3. Apricot Coconut Balls

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cup dried apricot
1/2 cup almond meal
1/3 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted

TOPPINGS/DECORATIONS

Spider mini paper cups

Candy eyes treat
1/3 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
4-5 drops carrot juice or natural food colouring
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

DIRECTIONS:

Process on low speed first then increase to high speed for about 1-2 minutes or until it forms a consistent batter.
Stop the food processor and use your hands to shape small balls, rolling the batter with your hands. You should be able to make 16 apricot balls.
To decorate the balls roll them into desiccated coconut. You can colour the coconut by adding some desiccated coconut into a zip-able plastic bag with few drops of carrot juice, turmeric powder (or natural food paste orange colouring). Simply rub the coconut into the bag with the juice/turmeric (or natural food colouring) until you achieve the colour you like. Add more juice/turmeric until it reaches the colour you like. If you use carrot juice it may be moist but it will dry well at room temperature.
Use the tint desiccated coconut to roll your truffles.
You can store the truffles up to 2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature – they will stay soft.
Store very well in the fridge up to one month. They will get harder to remove them from the fridge 1 hour before to enjoy their soft and moist texture.

4. Silly Apple Bites

INGREDIENTS

2 green apples, each quartered
Sunflower butter
32 sunflower seeds
23 strawberries, sliced
12 homemade googly eyes per apple bite

INSTRUCTIONS

Cut the middles out of each quarter of the apple to create a mouth. Don’t worry about perfection, you are filling this gap with sunbutter anyway so if you cut too deep, you can always just cover it up and no one will know.

Coat the inside of the cut gap with a filling of sunflower butter.

Place 4 sunflower seeds on the top of the “mouth” for the teeth.

Place 1 sliced strawberry inside the mouth for the tongue.

“Glue” each eye above the mouth with a dab of sun butter to stick.

5. Spooky Pumpkin Cupcakes

Makes 24 pieces

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

  • 1 box butter cake mix
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 1 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs (at room temperature)
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin (or pureed pumpkin)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sour cream (at room temperature)
  • 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Frosting:

  • 250g unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar (icing sugar)
  • 1/4 cup cream or milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Orange and green food colouring
  • 24 Tootsie Rolls for decoration

Directions

Preheat oven to 230°C. Place 24 cupcake liners in two (12 cup) muffin pans. Set aside. Place all of the cupcake ingredients in a large bowl. With an electric mixer, stir on low speed to combine (30 seconds). Turn up to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
Use a muffin scoop or ice cream scoop to place batter into each cupcake liner. Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cool.
Meanwhile, prepare the frosting.
Beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if mixture is too thick. Take out 1/2 cup of frosting and place in a separate bowl to colour green. Colour remaining frosting orange. Place green frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a #5 tip. Place orange frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a #1M tip. Pipe orange frosting on each cupcake in a circular motion. Add one Tootsie Roll to the top of each cupcake. Pipe green vines on top of each Tootsie Roll “stem”. Store covered at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
For more healthy Halloween recipes (or just for more generally health-conscious recipes), please don’t hesitate to come in and chat to one of our qualified APDs here at Fuel Your Life.