Healthy Halloween Snacks Kids Will Actually Eat – let’s take a look.
Boo! The spookiest night of the year is nearly here, Halloween. It’s a time for dressing up, trick or treating and candy eating. Children all over the world get dressed up and celebrate all things spooky with their friends and family. You may go trick or treating, host parties or have scary movie nights. You may choose not to celebrate and just spend time with family or friends. Whatever you get up to on Halloween, it’s bound to come with some sweet treats.
But during spooky season, we know it can be difficult to encourage your children to eat healthy food. With more candy at school and at home, creating healthier snacks for your little ones is important to counteract the sweet treats. If you’re stuck for ideas, don’t worry, we’ve got some simple recipes for you to follow that are healthy and spooky.
Healthy Halloween Snacks Kids Will Actually Eat
These are super easy to make and also spooktacularly appealing to children. It’s one thing to make healthy treats, but encouraging your child to eat them is another! You shouldn’t have any problems with your children eating these healthy ice pop alternatives, as they’re tasty, look spooky and are ideal for Halloween. Not to mention, they’re super easy to make as you only need three ingredients – bananas, chocolate and yoghurt. Using vegan chocolate or saltanas means they’re great for vegan and vegetarian diets, too.
Banana and Pumpkin Seed Muffins
These are a great alternative to candy as they are still sweet but contain healthier things such as pumpkin seeds and bananas, and they’re easy to conceal in a delicious muffin! You could make these in a batch if you’re hosting a child’s Halloween party or if your children are having (or trying to) a candy-free Halloween. Both pumpkin seeds and bananas are nutrient and vitamin rich which is great for promoting a balanced diet, especially at this time of year. Of course, bananas and pumpkin seeds are just one combination, you can change it to your childs favourite fruit. You could add cinamon too, for that extra autumnal taste.
Pumpkin bread is an autumnal staple and is great for fussy eaters. Much like the similar banana bread, it’s a healthy alternative to chocolate and sweets. Using ingredients like cinamon, pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice means it’s a Hallloween staple! The recipe is straight forward with simple instructions, and is bound to be a hit with your children. Pumpkin bread is fabulously sweet which is a must for children with sweet tooths. They could also bring this into the classroom as a Halloween treat for their classmates, too.
Savoury Halloween Snack Ideas:
We’ve also lined up some healthy savoury snack ideas for your little ones to enjoy as well as sweet treats this Halloween. These can be used as lunch, dinner or afternoon snacks, plus they’re quick and easy to make. They’re great for adults and children alike so the whole house can enjoy them! They could also make great snacks if you’re hosting a party.
Shredded Chicken Stuffed Peppers
Although this recipe works best with a slow cooker, it’s not an essential to make these delicious stuffed peppers. Just get your chicken or alternative filling, cook and then stuff in the pepper. They’re quick to make and wonderfully healthy. Of course, you can personalise these to your liking, if you’re vegetarian maybe try couscous instead of chicken, or vegan cheese instead of dairy cheese. These are great for fussy eaters as they’re nice, simple flavours whilst encouraging your children to eat protein and veg.
Pumpkin soup is a quick and easy snack idea, and a perfect way to get warm in the cooler season. More importantly, it’s a great way for children to eat healthily. It’s packed with veg, which is a fast and delicious way to get your children to eat them easily. Pair the soup with their favourite bread (or homemade for an even healthier option) and it will make it more filling for a dinner or lunchtime meal. Using pumpkins to make your soup is also a great way to use up any pumpkins that will go to waste around the Halloween season. This is also a lovely meal to have with a cosy movie night.
You could also introduce a wicked Halloween reward chart to encourage your children to eat healthily. You can personalise it to your children’s needs and reward your little ones with a small prize, and over time, this makes eating fruits, vegetables, and balanced meals feel rewarding rather than forced. Hopefully, it will motivate your children when they see new stickers, stars or ticks on their reward chart. It also means your children get to take ownership of their eating decisions which is a great way to teach them independence and responsibility around food. Not to mention it’s spooky themed!
We hope you have found some delicious and healthy recipes to use from this blog. Have the spookiest Halloween!
Also see…Halloween activities for kids instead of trick or treating