Why not try aiming for a healthy Halloween this year? You can totally do it, and here are some recipes to try out with family and friends that are delicious and still good for you. Sometimes Halloween can throw our healthy habits off the radar because it’s a holiday that’s known for indulging in sweet treats and candy, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with shaking things up. Here are some ideas for Halloween snacks.
Halloween 2016: Healthy Recipes
The first Halloween recipe comes to you from Laurie Aker of Earth Fare’s The Healthy Supermarket. This is a recipe for a Halloween salad with tons of flavor. Here it is:
Halloween Salad with Jack-O-Lantern and Frankenstein Cups
1 tsp nutmeg. 2 cups black rice, cooked. 1 cup black quinoa, cooked. 2 cups butternut squash, cubed. 1 tsp cinnamon. 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled. ½ cup purple cabbage, chopped. 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds. 4 large orange or green bell peppers (to make Jack-O-Lantern and Frankenstein cups). 2 cups kale, chopped. 1 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped. 1 cup zucchini, chopped. Note: will need 8 small button mushrooms for Frankenstein cups.
Dressing
¼ cup lemon juice. 1 tbsp. honey. ½ cup Extra virgin olive oil. Salt and pepper, to taste.
Directions:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then place the cubed butternut squash on a large cookie sheet and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Then sprinkle it with cinnamon and nutmeg and toss to coat.
Arrange the butternut squash evenly on sheet and place it in the oven to roast for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool. Then, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the cooked rice and quinoa, then add crumbled feta, kale, zucchini, parsley, purple cabbage, and pumpkin seeds. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients and then pour over the salad mixture and toss it all together to coat. Finally, add the roasted butternut squash to the salad and gently mix it. Put it in the fridge to continue cooling.
To make Jack-O-Lantern Cups:
With a small pairing knife, carve out the top of the bell pepper at a slight angle, similar to a pumpkin. With a small spoon, scoop out the inside pulp/seeds. If you need to run it under water to remove leftover seeds, that’s okay.
Save the top portion of the bell pepper with stem. Once the peppers are cleaned and completely dry, carve out two eyes carefully and a triangle nose and mouth, creating a Jack-O-Lantern face with the small pairing knife.
Fill it up with the Halloween Salad and top off with the stem before serving.
To make Frankenstein Cups:
With the same small pairing knife, carve a Frankenstein face and cut out two small squares on each side of bell pepper, towards the bottom portion of the pepper. Insert the stem of a button mushroom into each square, creating Frankenstein “neck bolts.” It looks so cool!
Fill with Halloween Salad and top with stem.
Serve and enjoy!
Source:
McDonald, L., “RECIPES: 3 snacks for a healthier Halloween” FOX 21 News website; October 11, 2016; http://fox21news.com/2016/10/11/recipes-3-snacks-for-a-healthier-halloween/; last accessed October 14, 2016.
