28 Oct Healthy Halloween Ideas + Wholesome Haunted Halloween Contest Winners!

Happy Almost-Halloween! We are happy to announce the winners of our Wholesome Haunted Halloween Contest with Bitsy’s Brainfood. Our winners were kind enough to share their wonderful ideas for a healthy halloween and we’re very excited to share them with you:
Rachael R:
www.nboysmommy.typepad.com
My BBF (Battle Buddy Forever) Nicky and I met in the Army over a decade ago.  We were literally “Battle Buddies” training to be leaders in the real life transition of adult and womanhood.  We banded together then, to force the change in our lives for better fitness and health. We rendered triumph in our journeys, acknowledging that DIET is an utmost factor.
Today, as mothers, we continue to band together to keep our children enriched with healthy lives.  We value their nutritional foundations. Although we choose health over popularity food with our children, we’re very proud to live our lives in a way where not a single one of them are short on fun or experience just because of a conscious diet.
Our candy-free Halloween celebrations are full of fun, edible indulgences:

• Bloody Brains (chicken meatloaf and tomato herb sauce)
• Scrambled Brains (green food colored scrambled eggs)
• Vampire tongues (crisp bacon) and flying ghouls! Yep, those pancake ghosts fly right into our mouths!
• Our witch finger breadsticks are LITERALLY finger-licking good
• WE just forgot to tell the vampires, that their teeth would get stuck!

Happy Healthy Halloween!

Mary-Kate C:
http://www.3boysandagirl2.blogspot.com/

When it comes to picky eaters, you can’t beat an almost 4 year old!  Our son won’t eat or try anything new… unless you somehow put a “cool” spin on it! So as a mom who wants her kids to eat healthy and be exposed to a variety of foods, you have to get creative! Some of my ideas for healthy, creative Halloween snacks are:

• Fruit Cup Jack-O-Lanterns:  We took orange fruit cups, drew Jack-O-Lantern faces on them, taped a green spoon to the back (for the stem) and Ta-Da!  A cute & spooky spin on a healthy snack!
• Ghost Bananas: Cut a banana in half cross-wise and then in half length-wise. Put some peanut butter on it, raisins for the eyes and mouth and boom! – A ghostly banana treat!
• Spiders: Make deviled eggs. Cut a black olive in half and put half on the yolk part of the egg, slice the other half and use it as legs for the spider!  Scary and yummy!
• Vampire Teeth:  Put peanut butter between 2 apple slices and use almonds as the teeth.  Yumm!
• Give me a Hand:  Take a rubber glove and fill it with popcorn!  So easy and yummy too!

These are some easy ways that I have found I can get my almost 4 year old and friends to enjoy some healthy treats but also make them fun for them!  🙂
 
And we’ve been getting into the spirit at Mom Dishes It Out. Check out some of our spooky and scary Halloween ideas below (PS they’re great activities for both you and the kids)!
Soup In a Cauldron
We love making and eating soup in the Fall months. The weather gets chillier, plus soups are a great way to pack in some extra nutrition! You can add a can of beans for extra protein and fiber or throw in a cup or two of kale for a boost of vitamins, the options are endless.
One of our favorite things to do around Halloween is to make a big pot of soup and pretend that we’re making a witches’ brew. For a super fun activity with the kids, dress up as witches and warlocks and get to cooking in your cauldron!
 
Frankenstein
We love avocadoes and guacamole, so what better way to dress up this dish for Halloween than labeling it Franken-Food. If you’re having a party you can have the kids make labels for a fun and creative activity. It’s always fun to make Frankenstein footprints out of paper and make a path on the floor to the food table. A great addition is using carrots or cucumber sticks as “fingers” to dip.
 
Mud Yogurt
We love Greek yogurt and our kids love traditional mud cups. So, we thought of a compromise that added some nutrition, but kept the snack fun and festive. We recommend adding a tablespoon of cocoa powder to Greek yogurt and stirring until it reaches a mud-like color. Feel free to add more until you reach the desired coloring. You can throw in some gummy worms or crumble up a chocolate cookie for dirt.
Or if your children prefer smoothies, you can add cocoa powder to your family’s favorite smoothie recipe. This way your kids can drink the “mud” and enjoy a fun Halloween activity.
 
Do you have any festive activities you do with your family to celebrate Halloween?