Spellbinding Healthy Halloween Treats to Celebrate in Style

By Charlene Bazarian

Boo! Halloween may be creeping up, but it doesn’t have to haunt your nightmares with a sugar-induced candy coma. Swap out some of the trick-or-treat sweets this season for some frightfully fantastic recipes that will conjure up screams of rave reviews. Top culinary wizards share their magic for ghoulishly gush worthy options guaranteed to make your Halloween bash a real thriller!

Cast a spell with this wickedly delightful spooky witch face that’s sure to enchant even the most finicky of goblins!

Halloween Witch Chips and Guacamole by Angela Cardamone Campos, a Registered Nurse, Runner, Ironman Triathlete, & Cooking Enthusiast who shares inspiration and some of her favorite recipes on Marathons and Motivation. You can follow her at @MarathonsandMotivation on Instagram and Facebook.

Ingredients:

For Guacamole

• 5 medium ripe avocados seeds removed and scooped from peel
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 2 Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
• ¼ cup onion finely diced
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro minced
• ½ jalapeno seeds and membrane removed, finely diced (optional)

Photo courtesy of Marathons and Motivation

To Make Witch

• 8 ounces Blue corn tortilla chips for the hat
• 1 black olive cut in half through the middle (for the eyes)
• 1 slice avocado for the nose
• 1 slice red bell pepper for the mouth
• Carrot sticks for the hair

Instructions:

For Guacamole:

1. Smash avocado in a large bowl with a potato masher, fork, or pastry blender.
2. Place the remainder of ingredients into the bowl and stir until well combined.

It is best served immediately. ***However, if you make it ahead of time, spread a thin layer of lime juice over the top to prevent avocado from turning brown. Then, press plastic wrap firmly over top and refrigerate until ready to serve. When ready to serve, stir the guacamole again until lime juice is well combined.

To Make Witch:

1. Place the guacamole in the shape of a face in the center of a large plate.
2. Cut 1 black olive in half and use for eyes.
3. Place a slice of avocado in center for nose.
4. Place 1 thin strip of red bell pepper under nose for the mouth
5. Add carrot sticks on each side for witch’s hair
6. Then, arrange blue corn tortilla chips on top in the shape of a hat.

Photo courtesy of Marathons and Motivation

Nutrition:

Serving: 1g | Calories: 302kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 90mg | Potassium: 672mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 581IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1mg

Unleash the magic of pumpkin season with this hauntingly delicious Armenian treasure!

GHAPAMA (ARMENIAN STUFFED PUMPKIN) by Janelle Leatherwood, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who also works part-time in pediatric healthcare and also shares Armenian and Mediterranean recipes on The Stuffed Grape Leaf. You can follow her at @thestuffedgrapeleaf on Instagram and Facebook.

Photo courtesy of The Stuffed Grape Leaf

Ingredients:

• 3 small pie pumpkins or one larger pumpkin
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons melted butter
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 1/4 cup dried fruit (e.g. raisins, cranberries, diced apricots, diced dates)
• 1 finely chopped large green apple

Photo courtesy of The Stuffed Grape Leaf

Instructions:

1. Wash the outside of the pumpkin(s) and cut the lids out in a starburst shape (for a tighter-fitting lid and pretty presentation) or just in a plain circle. Then, clean out all the pulp, seeds and stringy fibers and rinse the inside out.
2. Pre-cook the basmati rice. First, rinse the rice under cool water in a fine mesh sieve. Then add the rice with 2 cups of water and a teaspoon of salt to a pot. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until about halfway done. Then remove the rice from the heat and drain and reserve the cooking liquid. Place the rice in a large bowl to cool down quickly and allow enough room to stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Chop the apricots, dates or any other dried fruit that you are using in addition to the raisins and dried cranberries. Also, core and dice up a green apple.
4. Melt the butter and honey together on low heat in a small saucepan.
5. Lightly coat the insides of the pumpkin(s) with approximately 1 tablespoon of the honey butter mixture. Pour the remaining honey butter mixture into the rice and stir. Then add the dried fruit, nuts and cinnamon to the bowl and toss until combined.
6. Fill the pumpkins or pumpkin with the rice mixture. Loosely pack the mixture into the pumpkins until it nearly fills the brim. Pour the reserved cooking liquid (from the rice) on top of each filled pumpkin (trying to distribute evenly). You can add 2-4 tablespoons of water to each pumpkin if you don’t think you have enough cooking liquid to finish cooking the rice.
7. Secure the pumpkins lids on each pumpkin and then place the pumpkins on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Lightly spray the outside of each pumpkin with cooking spray to give the pumpkins a glossy finish. Bake in a 375 ° Fahrenheit oven for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until the pumpkin flesh is soft. (You can test by gently poking it after about 50 minutes of baking and see if the flesh gives a little.)
8. To serve, cut vertically all around the pumpkin and serve a piece of the pumpkin along with a scoop of filling.

Garnish with an extra drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon, if desired.

Nutrition:

Serving: 1/6 of recipe (~300g) | Calories: 532kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 397mg | Potassium: 614mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 8,500IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 2mg

Bite into these bewitching bars, swirled with chocolate for a spellbinding treat!

Pumpkin Seed Bars with Seeds and Chocolate Swirl Topping by Nkechi Ajaeroh, MPH, A Public Health Promotion Expert with a Master’s Degree in Public Health and founder of nkechiajaeroh.com; the creator of The Juice Approach and the author of Make Time for Dinner (an e-Cookbook)! You can follow her at @nkechiajaeroh on Instagram, Facebook and X.

Photo courtesy of Nkechi Ajaeroh, MPH.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of Pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup of sunflower seeds
• ½ cup of coconut flakes
• ½ teaspoon of Sacred Valley Pink Peruvian Salt from Spice Tribe
• 8 Medjool Dates
• ½ cup White chocolate
• ½ cup of Semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 teaspoons of coconut oil (optional. For melting the chocolate; one teaspoon each)

Instructions:

1. Soak the dates in hot water to soften; if possible, soak overnight. Pit and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. Place parchment on a baking sheet; lay the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and coconut flakes on it. Toast for 7 – 9 minutes until lightly toasted. Remove and allow cooling.
4. Place the dates in the food processor, blend until almost smooth, then add the toastedseeds, nuts, and salt. Process until barely smooth; textures are great for this recipe.
5. Press the mixture onto the bottom of a 9×9 parchment-lined baking pan using a spatula or your hands (while wearing gloves).
6. Melt the chocolate separately. If using the microwave, melt at 10-second intervals, not exceeding 30 seconds.
7. Drop spoonfuls of melted semi-sweet chocolate over the bars, repeat for melted white chocolate; use a skewer or knife to cut through the melted chocolate, making a swirl. Allow to set; 5 minutes in the freezer or up to 15 minutes (or up to 1 hour) in the refrigerator. If you’re impatient, you can also use the freezer route, but do not allow this to freeze.
8. Gently pull with the parchment paper, place on a cutting board, and cut into bars; this made nine pumpkin seed bars. Sprinkle a little Sacred Valley Pink Peruvian salt, or regular sea salt and enjoy!

Photo courtesy of Nkechi Ajaeroh, MPH.

Nutrition:

Serving: 1 bar (~45g) | Calories: 205kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 10mg | Potassium: 287mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 27IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1.4mg

Have some frightful fun making these cookies into ghoulishly charming Halloween masterpieces!

Halloween Cookie Recipe by Tracy Stopler, MS, RD, a registered dietitian, with a Master of Science in Nutrition from New York University, the nutrition director at NUTRITION E.T.C. in Plainview, Long Island, and the head pastry chef at Trace of Sweetness. Tracy has been a nutrition professor at Adelphi University for 28 years. Tracy is also the author of two award-winning novels: The Ropes that Bind and My Brother Javi: A Dogs Tale.

Photo courtesy of Tracy Stopler, MS, RD

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup can pumpkin (it has to be thoroughly dried in paper towels)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup white flour
• 1 cup WW flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt.
• Natural food coloring

Instructions:

1. Stir everything together like a witch stirring ingredients in a cauldron.
2. Use an ice cream scooper and place balks on Silpat covered cookie sheet.
3. Slightly underbake in preheated oven 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Every oven is different. I strongly recommend an oven thermometer.
4. Discard (or eat) crunchy edges.
5. Combine the soft cookies and divide into however many colors you need.
6. Put cookie dough into molds and freeze for 5-10 minutes.
7. Add edible eyes, paint lips. Refrigerate for 24 hours for it to set.

Nutrition:

Serving: 1 cookie (~45g) | Calories: 140kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 190mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1,200IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

From pumpkin-packed snacks to creepy-cute desserts, our dietitians and health experts help you keep the ghoulish vibe alive with treats that skip the sugar and fat overload, so you and your guests can brew up a wickedly good time!

Photo by Dana Lane Photography and Hair and Makeup by Janeen Jones

About the author: Charlene Bazarian is a fitness and weight loss success story after losing 96 pounds. She mixes her no-nonsense style of fitness advice with humor on her blog at Fbjfit.com and on Facebook at FBJ Fit and Instagram at @FBJFit.

Disclaimer
The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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