I have been thinking about some healthy but fun alternatives for the traditional candy and junk food that makes its way into our kids lives during this month. These are some ideas that you can use throughout the month for lunches, snacks, classroom parties, or to share with friends on playdates!!
Carrot Jack-O-Lantern
I used baby carrots, purple grapes, and broccoli to create a Jack O’ Lantern…..this would be fun for a party!!
Jack O’ Lantern Oranges
I used oranges wrapped in Saran Wrap for these. Then I drew faces on them with a permanent marker and added a piece of green fabric for a stem and tied it with a cute ribbon. Here is another way I made them HERE.They are also cute decorations!
Orange and Black Vanana Ice Cream
Rawdorable-a blogger friend of mine who makes adorable raw cupcakes came up with a really great idea for a substitute for food coloring and I LOVE it!!! She uses freeze dried fruit!!!! Make sure to check out her awesome Halloween themed cupcake creations and her YouTube channel!! I also did an interview with her here.
Here is the black vanana ice cream….
and the orange vanana ice cream….
So, for the vanana ice cream base you just need to use frozen bananas, a splash of vanilla, and 1 tbsp. of almond milk and blend until smooth. I wrote a post explaining it here.Next, you have to make the orange and black colorings. I used freeze dried fruit that I bought at Trader Joe’s. For the black ice cream I used freeze dried blueberries. For the orange I used a combination of freeze dried strawberries and freeze dried pineapple. Here is what you do! Start with a 1/2 cup of dried blueberries…..
Place them in a coffee grinder, nut grinder or food processor….
Next, grind them up into a fine powder, like this…
Add this powder into your vanana ice cream and either reblend in your blender or place into an ice cream maker to thicken. The powder looks kind of reddish purple but it made black ice cream!!! The kids thought this was super cool!!! If your really feeling sassy…grate some carrots onto the top for an orange colored topping….
Now, for the orange vanana ice cream….start the same way…1/2 cup of dried strawberries and then 1/2 cup of dried pineapple….
place them into the grinder or food processor…
Grind them up and then mix them together!!!
Now add the powder to your vanana ice cream and reblend in your blender or add to your ice cream maker.To serve either one just spoon into a bowl and eat!!! I had some non dairy chocolate chips that I sprinkled onto the orange vanana ice cream…the kids gobbled it up!!
After all the ice cream was gone I thought it would have been fun to layer the 2 colors together…orange, black, orange, black….might look neat!!!
I have one more idea to show you!! Candy Corn Pops!!! Well, they aren’t really candy corn flavored and I guess they don’t even look that close to a candy corn, but it passed for my kids when I brought them out for them to eat!! Maybe it will pass for your kids too!! :)
Candy Corn Pops
I used 3 layers to make these. The first layer was almond milk-I filled a popsicle mold about 1/3 of the way and froze. Once it was frozen I added a layer of blended mango and froze. For the last layer I was going for orange and I took the rest of my mango puree and added raspberries…however I added way too many raspberries and it turned too red…If I make these again I will only add 1 or 2 raspberries at a time until I get the shade of orange I want. Once it is the correct shade pour into the molds, add the lids and freeze!!!
Do you have any healthier options for Halloween?? I would love for you to share your blogs or ideas in the comments for all of my readers!!! Can’t wait to hear some more great ideas!!! If you are reading this post make sure you read through the comments too for more ideas!!
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Thanks so much for the shout out. You have no idea how excited I was to see it in my inbox. Love the post. So much fun. I’ll have to use that carrot display at our next family gathering. Cute!
Okay, cool….I wanted to make sure I let you know about it!!!
Thanks!!!
Shannonmarie is the best. love all her cupcake ideas!! we make some healthy pumpkin pie mousse that we just love and love your candy corn idea!
MMM….pumpkin pie mousse sounds yummy!!!
Your ideas are awesome! Can’t wait to try them! I blended some frozen banana with pumpkin and spices the other day and the resulting raw ice cream was very yummy!
Thank you!!! I make a pumpkin smoothie that I will blog about soon that uses banana and pumpkin!!! So yummy for this time of year!!!
ooo I want to hear about that.
Wow, using dried fruit as food coloring…that’s pretty darn ingenious! I love the idea.
Yes, I think it is genius too!! Only wish it was my original idea!!! LOL
What great Halloween ideas! I love the carrot jack o lantern. I have never seen the freeze dried fruit. Love the way it colors the banana cream! Thanks for the great ideas.
I know, once you start playig around with the colors of the dried fruit there are endless possibilities!!!!
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and your kind words. Most importantly, thanks to your comment, I’ve discovered your AMAZING blog! I’ll definitely be coming back for more tasty recipes. The Halloween treats are stunning! I’ve been making icecream from bananas and vanilla for a while now, but never imagined that it would colour so well, and naturally to boot! I know my son would love those popsicles too
xx
No problem!!! It looks really fun and looking forward to reading more!!!
Thank you for the compliment on my blog as well!!!
sweet treats
THank you!!!!
Love it all! Great and fun ideas! And heart Shannon and her creative cupcakes.
I know she is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love the idea of using ground fruit for ice cream. I’ve been using the ground dry fruit for other things, but never ice cream. Oh, and the candy corn pops looks delish. Yum!
It is so fun!!! It opens up a whole new world!!!! LOL Have fun!!!
I am totally making the carrot jacko-lantern for my son’s kindergarten class Halloween party. Such a cute idea!
awesome!!!!! I hope it goes over well!!!!! Let me know!!!
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