Halloween is a total sugar rush, and I’m not mad about it. I promise. But with all the candy sure to come, why not whip up some healthy Halloween treats to help balance things out?
These two mama bears have toddlers in the house, and if we’re going to spend the time making spooky snacks, they need to be toddler-approved. Making healthy treats while adding in some chocolate or marshmallows is a great compromise – it gets the kids interested and makes these treats extra exciting.
Without further ado, here are 12 healthy(ish) Halloween treats we think your toddler will love!
1) Spooky Spiders
Parents Magazine has a spooky spider recipe that’s essentially a decorated energy ball.
Mix peanut butter, honey, rolled oats, shredded coconut, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder. Roll the mixture into little balls and decorate them with mini pretzels and raisins to make them look like spiders!
You could also use chocolate chips for the eyes.
Source: Parents
2) Halloween Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies (Reduced Sugar)
Cut-out cookies are a staple in our family when it comes to holidays. The kids love decorating them, and it’s an all-family afternoon event.
To make cut-out sugar cookies a bit healthier, you can swap out regular cookie dough for a whole wheat version. I like the AllRecipes version, but I recommend adding vanilla extract to add some flavor. As for the icing, there’s really no way to make it healthy (that I know of), so just go for the regular stuff!
Check out the Halloween sugar cookies recipe from Food Network for some decorating inspo.
And don’t forget to pick up some Halloween cookie cutters!
3) Silly Monster Apple Bites
My 3-year-old was looking over my shoulder when I found this silly monster apple treat, and she got very excited.
These apple bites include green apples, sunflower seeds, strawberries, peanut butter, and googly eyes! You can get creative with this one and swap in things you already have. Get your kids involved for a fun, silly Halloween snack!
Source: Fork and Beans
4) “Spooky” Cinnamon Sugar Flour Tortilla Crisps
While this treat is more of a dessert, it’s a lot simpler to make, and you can customize it while controlling how much sugar you add.
Use a bat-shaped cookie cutter to cut shapes out of a regular flour tortilla. You could also opt for whole wheat tortillas. Bake it in the oven, dip in melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake it a little more afterward to crisp back up, and you’re done!
Source: Simply Recipes
5) Witch Pumpkin Yogurt Bites
First and foremost, these witch and pumpkin-shaped yogurt bites from Where’d My Sanity Go are super cute. I can’t wait to try these with my Halloween-obsessed daughter.
But the best part is they’re made with clean, healthy ingredients. Pumpkin puree, yogurt, and a little sprinkling of cinnamon sugar is all you need to make these kid-friendly yogurt bites.
Just add the ingredients to your Halloween molds and freeze! This is a great snack to get your kids involved with – they’d have fun pouring the ingredients in the molds and making fun designs and swirls with a toothpick.
Note: you can also use these molds for jello, chocolate, candies… some people even make DIY dishwasher pods in these!
6) Ghost Fruit Kabobs
I’m drawn to snacks that don’t require any cooking or baking, and these ghost fruit kabobs from One Simple Party fit the bill.
All that’s required is some assembly, which is perfect if you want to get your kiddos involved.
Just grab whatever fruit you have on hand – strawberries and cantaloupe are pictured here – and slide them onto wooden skewers. Draw some eyes and a mouth on your marshmallows (use a black food coloring marker), and you have a very spooky treat.
7) Witch’s Broomstick Cheese Snacks
These Witch’s Broomstick snacks from Mom Foodie look professionally made, but they’re actually pretty simple to put together!
All you need is string cheese, pretzel sticks, and fresh chives. It’s a fun snack to get your kiddos some protein. I also think this would be the perfect snack to have out if you’re doing any kind of Halloween party!
8) Mandarin Orange Pumpkins
This one is for the moms who have about 5 seconds allocated to Halloween-specific treats.
All you need is a mandarin orange and a small piece of celery. Can I get an amen?!
Source: All Recipes
9) Strawberry Yogurt Ghosts
Liven up the strawberries in your fridge by dipping them in white chocolate and adding mini chocolate chips for the eyes.
Yes, it’s mostly a dessert, but there’s still Vitamin C in there!
Also, if you plan to get that black food coloring marker to make #6, you could use that here once the chocolate has dried to make a ghost face.
Source: Parents
10) Candy Corn Ice Pops (All Fruit)
If you have kids that love candy corn (my fav Halloween candy) and popsicles, this healthy tropical ice pop is the Halloween treat for you.
Using coconut milk, pineapple, and peaches, you can make an all-fruit ice pop the kiddos will love. It is a little more time-consuming than some of these other treats because you have to freeze each section. However, most of the time spent on this treat is waiting for the freezer to do its job.
If you don’t have ice pop molds, these are the ones used in this recipe.
Source: Yummy Mummy Kitchen
11) Banana Ghosts
Last but not least are banana ghosts, a frozen banana with googly eyes and a raisin for a mouth!
The recipe from Kroll’s Korner includes dipping the banana in white chocolate, but you could skip this step for a quick assembly and less sugar. You could also dip the banana in dark chocolate, but it might lose the ghost look.
12. Veggie Skeleton
While I’m not so sure my own toddlers would go for a veggie skeleton, it sure looks cool and would make a great healthy snack for parties!
You can get creative with this one, but red bell pepper, cucumber, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, and veggie dip seem to be the stars of the show.
Even if your kids won’t eat it, interacting with vegetables is still worthwhile. My pediatrician always told us to expose our children to new foods, and even if they don’t eat it, looking at it and/or touching it is a step in the right direction.
Source: Fabulessly Frugal
Conclusion
Finding delicious Halloween treats and snacks isn’t hard, but making it healthy is definitely a challenge! I hope this list of ideas gives you some inspiration to come up with nutritious snacks your kids can get excited about.
Happy Halloween!
