Happy Halloween! As you get ready to celebrate the season this October, know that it’s possible to get through this frightfully treat-filled month without breaking your diet. We’ve collected a few great treats, as well as some helpful tricks, to help you ensure that you fit into your new costume and feel great all month long.
Spooky Veggie Snacks
You probably already know that vegetables are great for you. Maybe you’ve heard that people who eat lots of veggies are at lower risk for heart disease and certain kinds of cancer, or maybe you’ve learned that veggies are a great way to consume fewer calories while staying full longer because of their high water content. Either way, veggies are an important part of any healthy diet, and you can use that to your advantage this Halloween with these healthy snack ideas.
You’re already used to carving pumpkins in October, so why not bell peppers? Bell peppers come in a variety of colors, but next time you’re at the grocery store, pick up a few orange ones and anything else you need to make your favorite healthy stuffed pepper dish. Before your peppers go in the oven but after you’ve scooped them out, take a small knife and give them little jack-o-lantern faces. With just these two small adjustments, your stuffed peppers will be transformed into a ghoulish meal fit for the season.
You can give a lot of vegetables the jack-o-lantern treatment, actually, even if they’re too small to scoop out. Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, red beets, squash, large carrots; whatever your favorite vegetable is, provided it’s big enough, can be sliced and given jack-o-lantern faces. To make a side dish or meal of it, gather a bunch of vegetables, give them spooky faces or ghostly bodies, and roast them in the oven with some tasty herbs and spices.
Frightfully Fun Fruit Treats
Vegetables don’t get to have all the fun—fruits can also be turned into some of the healthiest Halloween treats. Like their veggie counterparts, fruits help to keep you fuller for longer, though fruits achieve this by having more fiber. Both should be staples in your diet, as they not only improve your overall health, but they can help you lose weight in the process, as well.
When you think of fall fruits, chances are you think of pumpkins. Just like the aforementioned bell peppers, oranges and clementines can also be transfigured into little lookalikes. There are a ton of possibilities, but here are just a few magical ideas for these popular citrus fruits:
- Cut up some celery, peel a clementine, and give it a little celery stem to transform it into a pumpkin sitting in a pumpkin patch.
- Use a bit of melted dark chocolate to paint a creepy jack-o-lantern face onto a peeled orange, making it both sweeter and spookier.
- By cutting the top off of an orange or grapefruit and scooping out the insides, you can carve the leftover rind into a jack-o-lantern. Then, fill it with other fruits, like blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries, to make it a tasty treat.
If citrus isn’t your thing, you can cut up apples in fun ways, too. Pick up a small, spooky-shaped cookie cutter and give some thinly sliced apples a fun twist. Make a healthy dip to go with your apples, like this one(opens in a new tab) that combines peanut butter, fat-free greek yogurt, and a little bit of honey, and enjoy your nutritious snack.
Low-Carb, Low-Scare Finger Foods
If you’re on a diet that requires you to eat fewer carbs in order to stay in a state of ketosis, the above options might not be the best for you. Never fear; you can still have healthy Halloween snacks! Just like with the fruits and veggies above, presentation can go a long way in making food feel festive. This Halloween, try a few of these low-carb friendly tricks:
- Carve a hot dog to look like a finger by adding lines for wrinkles, and then cut a small slice off of one end to create a fingernail. Serve without a bun or on lettuce for a nail-bitingly good time!
- Prepare your favorite deviled egg recipe, slice up some black olives to create the body and legs of a spider, and then place the spider on top to satisfy your creepy-crawly cravings.
- For a sweeter treat, employ this recipe; it uses a low-carb flour alternative to create delicious peanut butter cookies topped with dark chocolate spiders.
When the candy tempts you during this spooky season, know that you have delicious and nutritious options you can eat without any guilt. No matter which recipes and ideas you choose to use, remember that you can have fun while sticking to your diet!
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