Easy Halloween Dinners

Easy Halloween Dinners
Lynn Tryba
a turkey pot pie next to a pumpkin

What do Halloween and New Year's Eve have in common?

They're both holidays—but they're also two of the top pizza sales day of the year!

Of course, Americans don't need a holiday to eat pizza—93 percent of us have eaten pizza in the last month. What's the love affair all about? Convenience...and taste!

If you want something a little healthier for your crew this Halloween — or any night — read on!

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Tags
halloween
kitchen / cooking

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Witches' Toenail Trail Mix

Witches' Toenail Trail Mix
Prep Time
10 minutes
Ingredients

There’s no set recipe for this trail mix, but instead some options that blend well. Don’t be afraid to use more than one of the ingredients below, but just be sure not to overwhelm your mix.

Directions
  1. Start with a base ingredient such as granola or flax clusters.
  2. Add to this your choice of sweet, such as dried cranberries, dried bananas, dried apricots (cut into small pieces), and raisins.
  3. Next, venture into the salty territory, with things like pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds, and pecans.
  4. Mix it all together with a big spoon and enjoy!

Coconut-Banana Ghost Pops

Coconut-Banana Ghost Pops
Prep Time
20 minutes, plus 1 hour freeze time
Number of Servings
Makes 8 pops
Ingredients
  • 4 ripe bananas
  • 1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
  • [q:1/2] cup vanilla yogurt
  • Options for eyes and mouth:
    • Raisins
    • Chocolate chips
    • Dried cranberries
Directions
  1. Peel bananas and cut in half crosswise.
  2. Gently insert a popsicle stick into the center of the flat round end of each banana half.
  3. Place bananas on a cookie sheet in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile, pulse coconut in a blender or food processor until it is fine. Set coconut aside on a wide shallow plate.
  4. Remove bananas from freezer. Dip each banana in yogurt until it is lightly covered. Sprinkle coconut evenly over each banana.
  5. Gently but firmly press raisins, chocolate chips, and/or dried cranberries firmly into each “ghost” to make their eyes and mouth.
  6. If ghost pops won’t be eaten immediately, place them on a cookie sheet in the freezer, so they won’t turn mushy. Pops can also be eaten frozen. 
Nutrition Info
1 pop: 32 Calories, 2 g Protein, 18 g Carbohydrates, 3 g Fiber, 7 g Total fat (6 g sat), 14 mg Sodium, [nut:1] Vitamin B6, Manganese

Pumpkin Seed Bars

Pumpkin Seed Bars
Pepitas + Cranberries = A Delicious Snack!
Prep Time
10 minutes prep time + chill time
Number of Servings
Serves 8
Ingredients
  • Cooking spray
  • [q:1 1/2] cups toasted pumpkin seeds
  • [q:1/2] cups dried cranberries
  • 4 Tbsp honey
  • [q:1/2] tsp orange extract
Directions
  1. Lightly oil a loaf pan with cooking spray.
  2. Combine pumpkin seeds and cranberries in a small bowl.
  3. Stir together honey and orange extract together in medium-size bowl.
  4. Add pumpkin seed mixture to honey mixture and stir well to combine. Press into loaf pan.
  5. Refrigerate approximately 2 hours, or until mixture has set. Cut into individual servings.
Nutrition Info
190 Calories, 7 g Protein, 18 g Carbohydrates, 14 g Total sugars (9 g Added sugars), 2 g Fiber, 12 g Total fat (2 g sat), 2 mg Sodium, [nutrition:4] Phosphorus, [nutrition:3] Magnesium, [nutrition:1] Iron, Zinc

Spooky Spider Crackers

Spooky Spider Crackers
Prep Time
20 minutes
Number of Servings
12 spiders
Ingredients
  • [q:1/2] cup low-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 24 round crackers
  • 96 small carrot sticks, cut thinly
  • 48 currants
Directions
  • Spread 1 teaspoon of cream cheese evenly over each of 12 crackers.
  • Place 12 remaining crackers over to form sandwich. This will be spider’s body.
  • To make spider legs, carefully place 8 carrot sticks into each cracker sandwich—four on each side.
  • Top each cracker sandwich with 1 teaspoon of cream cheese.
  • To make spider eyes, place 4 currants on top of each spider body. Chill until served.

Human Skeleton with "Brain" Dip

Human Skeleton with "Brain" Dip
Prep Time
20 minutes
Number of Servings
Serves 8
Ingredients
  • 2 cups assorted fruits and vegetables, sliced, such as:
    • apples
    • broccoli
    • carrots
    • cauliflower
    • celery
    • cucumber
    • mushrooms
    • red peppers
  • 1 cup low-fat ranch dressing
Directions
  1. Arrange sliced fruits and veggies into a skeleton shape on a platter.
  2. Fill a small, round, shallow bowl with dressing and cauliflower florets. Place this at top of skeleton to form a “brain.”
  3. Chill until served.
Nutrition Info
57 Calories, 10 g Carboydrates, 1 g Fiber, 2 g Total fat, 353 mg Sodium, Vitamin A, C
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