Healthier Halloween Treats

I love throwing Halloween parties. I think the key to hosting a good family-friendly Halloween party is serving good food and having a fun activity for the kids (after they’ve finished trading candy, of course). This year we’ll make Spooky Fruit Faces (see instructions below), a super-fun craft for the kids to do while the adults sneak a peanut butter cup or two. For dinner, I’ll serve Healthy Halloween Recipes with an orange-and-black theme.

Here’s what’s on my party menu:

• Adults and kids love tangy Ranch Dip & Crunchy Vegetables, with plenty of carrots and orange cauliflower, of course! It only takes 15 minutes to make and keeps for 3 days so it’s a perfect healthy make-ahead appetizer.
• Pumpkin makes a delicious appearance in the tomato sauce of EatingWell’s healthier Pepperoni Pizza. We boosted the fiber with a whole-wheat crust, cut fat and cholesterol with low-fat cheese, and use healthy toppings, such as low-fat turkey pepperoni.
• Mixed Lettuce, Fennel & Orange Salad with Black-Olive Vinaigrette goes perfectly with the orange-and-black theme. To make it kid-friendly, put out all the toppings separately, along with a few other kid-friendly options, so everyone can make their own salad.
• Not that you need dessert with all that candy around, but Glazed Chocolate-Pumpkin Bundt Cake is a delicious way to end your Halloween celebration. This tender, moist cake uses pureed pumpkin to replace much of the fat and is delicately seasoned with classic fall flavors.

How to Make Spooky Fruit Faces
Halloween can be a fun time to encourage kids to play with their food. EatingWell’s kitchen witches came up with these clever edible crafts kids can help make to decorate the house or for little goblins to gobble up.
• To create a Jack-Orange-Lantern, cut off the top of an orange with a serrated knife. Use a melon baller to scoop out the fruit. Cut out a face and let kids fill the orange shell with dried cranberries, blueberries and whole almonds. Press a small piece of cinnamon stick into the orange “lid” to make a stem.

• For Apple Cats and Pear Witches, use the point of a knife to cut into the fruit where ears, eyes, noses and hats or whiskers should be. Kids can then press dried fruits and nuts into the cuts. Apple Cats can have dried apricots or prunes for ears, whole almonds for eyes, strips of fruit leather or slivered almonds for whiskers, and a dried blueberry or raisin for a nose. For a Pear Witch, use fruit leather rolled into a cone for a hat, a whole slice of dried apple for the brim, slivered almonds for hair, a cashew for a nose, raisins for eyes and a strip of prune for a mouth.

By Carolyn Malcoun

When associate editor Carolyn Malcoun came to Vermont to attend New England Culinary Institute, she knew she didn't want to work in a restaurant but knew that she wanted to do something in the food industry. Luckily she discovered EatingWell, where she's able to combine her love of food and writing.

More from EatingWell:

• Find healthy recipes in over 100 recipe collections—from chicken to Chinese to cake—at eatingwell.com.
• Find more than 100 delicious seasonally-inspired recipes in our newest book, EatingWell in Season: The Farmers’ Market Cookbook.
• Sign up for EatingWell's free weekly newsletters and get healthy recipes, diet tips and nutrition news delivered right to your inbox.
• Get a free trial issue when you subscribe to EatingWell Magazine.