Spicy Shrimp on the Bar'Bi

Spicy Shrimp on the Bar'Bi
Number of Servings
Serves 4
Ingredients
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • [q:1/2] tsp cayenne pepper
  • [q:1/4] tsp black pepper
  • [q:1/4] tsp paprika
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Directions
  1. Preheat grill for medium heat.
  2. Crush the garlic with the salt in a bowl.
  3. Mix in cayenne pepper, black pepper, and paprika.
  4. Stir in olive oil and lemon juice to form a paste.
  5. Toss shrimp in shrimp and mix until the shrimp are evenly coated.
  6. Place shrimp on skewers (optional, this step is to make grilling easier)
  7. Cook shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Nutrition Info
255 Calories, 46 g Protein, 365 mg Cholesterol, 1 g Carbohydrates, 0 g Total sugars (0 g Added sugars), 0 g Fiber, 8 g Total fat (1 g sat), 552 mg Sodium, [nutrition:5] Phosphorus, [nutrition:2] Zinc, [nutrition:1] Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium

8 Tips for Hosting a Haunted Halloween Party

8 Tips for Hosting a Haunted Halloween Party
Pam Bump
Children trick or treating cartoon image.

Halloween is here! Last year, Fortune magazine predicted that Americans would be spending $6.9 billion, or—on average—$74 each on Halloween-related purchases. 

This year, you can save money by creating your own entertainment, while still promoting healthy habits. Try these easy and affordable Halloween party ideas.

  1. Go all natural with this year’s Halloween decorations with the help of fall-friendly crops. Try creating Halloween centerpieces out of pumpkins, acorns, or Indian corn to add an essence of orange and seasonal colors to each room. This also is a great strategy for a Thanksgiving dinner event!
  2. Serve festive, but healthy Halloween treat options. Homemade Coconut-Banana Ghost Pops or Witches' Toenail Trail Mix may be enjoyable for family members at any age! Need more Halloween inspiration? Check this out.
  3. If it’s a fall feast you’re planning, cook up some Turkey Pot Pie, Pumpkin Wedges, and more with the help of our easy Halloween dinner guide!
  4. Cooking a recipe passed down from generation to generation? To make sure everyone enjoys this dish, ask your guests to warn you of food intolerances beforehand to give you time to find alternative ingredients. Here are some helpful holiday cooking tips! 
  5. Set up a Halloween arts-and-crafts station! Aside from the traditional carving of jack-o’-lanterns, collect apples and use this project to bring them to life! 
  6. What good is a Halloween party without games? Put a healthy twist on a traditional doughnut-eating contest by tying these Gluten-Free Doughnuts from a string.
  7. Not a fan of cooking or DIY? If you’re just interested in treats, consider offering natural Halloween candy options. Click here for our Top 7 Halloween Candy Ideas or watch Taste for Life staff discuss their favorite natural Halloween alternatives.
  8. For the adults at the party, be sure to provide a batch of colorful and creative mocktails! 
Sources

“The Scary Amount Americans Spend on Halloween” by Stephen Valdivia,  Christina Austin,  Burcu Noyan, Fortune.com, 10/27/15

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Contributor
Pamela Bump
Tags
halloween
natural
parties
fun
autumn / fall

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Healthy Halloween Treats

Healthy Halloween Treats
Fun doesn't have to be unhealthy!
Melissa Jellie
deviled eggs with black olive spiders

If you’re preparing for trick-or-treaters, a family event, or a friendly gathering, you might be wondering how you’ll maintain healthy nutrition with all the sugar filled sweets that dominate the holiday.

Luckily, there are plenty of healthy alternatives that give you the rush of eating yummy Halloween candy without giving you an unhealthy sugar-high.

Halloween Treat Alternatives

Whether you prefer to buy or cook your treats, these are just a few of our favorite spooktacularly healthy candy alternatives.

Heathy Treats You Can Buy

  • Endangered Species

    Ten percent of the profits from this organization’s delicious chocolate products go towards improving habitats of endangered species. A variety of their dark and milk chocolate products could also make for great winter holiday gifts.

  • Annie’s Homegrown

    Annie’s Homegrown offers a variety of certified organic and Non-GMO fruit snacks. For chocolate fanatics, the company also offers Chocolate Bunny Grahams.

  • YumEarth Organics Gummies

    YumEarth’s gummy products are vegan and also do not contain gelatin. The company also offers fruit snacks and gluten-free licorice!

  • Glee Gum

    Glee Gum not only offers a variety of natural gum and lollipops, they also offers special kits to help families make their own candy.

  • UnReal Candy

    This company states that they’re on a mission to “unjunk the world.” Most of its products are natural, organic, and made with fair-trade ingredients.

  • KIND Snacks

    KIND offers many treats and granola bars, with the promise that they contain ingredients that you can see and pronounce.

  • Pamela’s SimpleBites Cookies

    Gluten-free flavors include Chocolate Chip, Ginger Snapz, Snickerdoodles, and Extreme Chocolate.

DIY Halloween Treats

  • Jack-o’-Lantern Veggies and Dip

    peppers cut to look like jack-o'-lanterns

    1. Slice off the tops of raw bell peppers.
    2. Carve eyes, noses, and mouths into peppers to create faces.
    3. Stuff with sliced vegetables and your favorite dip.

  • Mummy Pizzas

    mini-pizzas made to look like mummies

    1. Spread pizza sauce over split whole-grain, toasted English muffins.
    2. Lay strips of string cheese over to make a mummy face.
    3. Decorate with sliced black olive eyes. Bake until cheese melts.

  • Scary Deviled Eggs

    deviled eggs that look like spiders

    1. Make your favorite recipe for deviled eggs.
    2. Place a black olive half in the yolk area to create the body.
    3. Add thin slices of black olives to create spider legs.

  • Orange Pumpkins

    oranges made to look like pumpkins

    1. Peel skin from oranges, but keep the oranges intact and whole.
    2. Place a small piece of zucchini in the top of each orange to create stems.
    3. Arrange festively on a platter.

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Contributor
Pamela Bump
The Taste for Life Test Kitchen
Tags
halloween
snacks / treats
appetizers
parties
kids / children
candy / sweets

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Lite Hummus Dip

Lite Hummus Dip
Prep Time
15 minutes
Number of Servings
Makes [q:1 1/4] cups
Ingredients
  • 1 can (15 oz) chick peas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 to 2 cloves finely minced garlic (or to taste)
  • 1 Tbsp sesame tahini
  • 6 to 8 Tbsp low-sodium vegetable broth or water
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • [q:1/2] tsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Hot pepper sauce (optional)
  • Paprika
Directions
  1. In a blender or food processor, place chick peas, garlic, tahini, broth or water, lemon juice, and oil. Blend on high speed until mixture is smooth.
  2. Add salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce to taste, if desired. Pour mixture into serving bowl. Dust lightly with paprika.
  3. Serve with cut-up raw vegetables and pita bread or gluten-free crackers.

Homemade Lemon Hummus

Homemade Lemon Hummus
for satisfying snacking!
Prep Time
15 minutes
Number of Servings
4 cups
Ingredients
  • 4 cups cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas)*
  • [q:1/2] cup sesame tahini
  • [q:1/4] cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • [q:1/3] cup water
  • Juice of 2 to 3 lemons
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  1. Add beans, tahini, oil, water, lemon juice to taste, garlic, spices, and salt and pepper to taste in the bowl of a food processor or container of a high-speed blender.
  2. Process until smooth and creamy, pausing, if necessary, to scrape down the sides with a spatula.
  3. Transfer mixture to a storage container. Chill until ready to serve.
Nutrition Info
143 Calories, 5 g Protein, 13 g Carbohydrates, 4 g Fiber, 9 g Total Fat; [nutrition:2] Molybdenum, Copper, Manganese

Almond Popcorn Balls

Almond Popcorn Balls
Number of Servings
12 popcorn balls
Ingredients
Directions
  1. Pop corn according to package directions and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the almonds.
  2. Place the syrups in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
  3. Reduce the flame to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly for about 5 to 7 minutes.
  4. Pour the hot syrup over the popcorn and almonds. Mix thoroughly until all the popcorn and almonds are covered with syrup.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the popcorn on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. With a spatula, loosen the popcorn from the baking sheet to prevent sticking.
  6. Place 1 cup cold water in a bowl. Lightly moisten your hands with water. Working quickly, take a handful of popcorn and form it into a fist size ball, packing like you would a snowball.
  7. Repeat, lightly moistening your hands as needed, until all the popcorn is formed into balls.
  8. Refrigerate to harden the syrup for 30 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Info
1 ball: 165 Calories, 3 g Protein, 0 mg Cholesterol, 21 g Carbohydrates, 18 g Total sugars (18 g Added sugars), 1 g Fiber, 8 g Total fat (1 g sat), 118 mg Sodium, [nutrition:1] Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

Memorial Day Entertaining

Memorial Day Entertaining
Lynn Tryba
Memorial Day

Memorial Day Party Tips

Decoration

  • Press fresh herbs or flowers under the glass of a large picture frame to make a unique serving tray.
  • Instead of paper napkins, offer colorful dish towels. For fun napkin rings, slip cookie cutters in the shapes of butterflies or flowers over the rolled towels.
  • Place silverware in small, clean terra-cotta pots.

Presentation

  • Arrange long flatbread crackers or loaves of bread in a clean enamel pail or child's beach pail.
  • Pour lemonade or iced tea into old clean Mason jars or retro soda-fountain glasses. To frost the glasses, place them in the freezer for a few hours.
  • Serve dips in a hollowed out cabbage or radicchio head, or in a scooped out crusty round of bread.

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Contributor
The Taste for Life Staff
Tags
parties
summer

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Gluten-Free Thai Chicken Wings

Gluten-Free Thai Chicken Wings
Prep Time
45 minutes
Number of Servings
8 to 10 as an appetizer
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 one-inch piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 1 tsp salt
  • [q:1/2] tsp black pepper
  • 3 lbs chicken wings (whole wings, drumettes, or a combination of the two)
  • [q:1/3] cup sunflower seed butter
  • Juice and zest of 2 limes (finely grate the zest)
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 1 to 2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 425°. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper. Add chicken wings and toss to coat. Arrange wings on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 30 minutes.
  2. While wings are baking, combine sunflower seed butter, lime juice and zest, honey, chili garlic sauce, and fish sauce in a small sauce pan. Heat over medium heat and cook until mixture is smooth and combined.
  3. After wings have cooked for 30 minutes, drain off any juices from the pan. Brush half of sauce on wings, bake for 10 minutes, flip wings, and brush with remaining sauce. Cook for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Tomato, Grape, Cheese Marinated Kebabs

Tomato, Grape, Cheese Marinated Kebabs
Prep Time
10 minutes plus marinating time
Number of Servings
Serves 4
Ingredients
  • 4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic, optional
  • Cheese, cut into cubes (cheddar or swiss works best)
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Grapes
Directions
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and lemon juice. Add the chives, minced garlic (if desired). Whisk to blend. Set marinade aside.
  2. Thread cheese cubes, cherry tomatoes and grapes alternately onto 4 wooden skewers as desired.
  3. Place skewers in a shallow, nonmetallic dish. Pour marinade over. Cover dish and refrigerate for 2 hours, occasionally turning skewers.
  4. Remove from marinade and serve.
Nutrition Info
Made with a total of 8 Cheddar cubes, 8 cherry tomatoes, and 12 red grapes: 267 Calories, 8 g Protein, 30 mg Cholesterol, 7 g Carbohydrates, 4 g Total sugars (0 g Added sugars), 1 g Fiber, 24 g Total fat (8 g sat), 203 mg Sodium, [nutrition:2] Calcium, Phosphorus, [nutrition:1] Vitamin A, Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Zinc
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