Halloween is the best time of year for the kids. I mean, who doesn’t love dressing up and getting candy?! But most Halloween candy is loaded with saturated fat, high amounts of sugar, artificial colors, and high amounts of acidity which can lead to tooth decay. Fortunately, there are so many great alternatives to conventional candy for your little, costumed-up cutie pie. Here are a few recipes to replace some of our favorite, and least healthy, candies.
Snickers:
Snickers has been promoted by many fitness and elite athletes as being a perfect energy and meal replacement bar. Unfortunately it is filled with caramel and milk chocolate. Snickers is high in sugar, high in calories, and loaded with unhealthy fats. The caramel in the chocolate bar isn’t the greatest option for children as it can cause cavities. I created a healthy alternative using two different types of nut butters, date paste to replace the caramel, and a handful of raw peanuts. This can be substituted for almonds if your children have a peanut allergy.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup smooth almond butter
- 1/2 cup cashew butter
- 1/4 cup dates
- 1/3 cup hot water
- 1 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup raw peanuts
Directions:
1. Place almond butter and cashew butter in a medium sized bowl. Stir well until completely smooth. If your nut butters are too stiff to stir by hand, you can place them in a high speed blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a medium sized plate. Form nut butter mixture into 3 inch rectangles. Place in freezer.
3. In the meantime, place dates and hot water in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
4. Remove plate from freezer, top with date paste and a few peanuts. Return to freezer for 1 hour.
5. Melt chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Remove bars from freezer and top with chocolate. Return to freezer for 4 hours or overnight.
Sour Skittles:
Kids love anything sour and anything super sweet, but guess what, they will hate going to the dentist to get those cavities filled! Sour candies not only have a very high acidity, which can break down tooth enamel, they also have a very high sugar content. So for my health alternative, I used fresh fruit and coated them in lemon juice and stevia to give them a sweet and sour taste. Not only will your kids be reaping the nutritional value from the fruit, they won’t be ingesting any refined white sugars.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 cup fresh green grapes
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 4 packages of Stevia
Directions:
1. Wash fruit thoroughly and remove stems from green grapes. Place lemon juice in a small bowl and mix in the cranberries and grapes.
2. Sprinkle stevia on top of the fruit and place in freezer overnight.
These will last up to a month in the freezer in an air tight container. They are best served frozen.
Twizzlers:
Although Twizzlers aren’t the most unfriendly Halloween candy you can eat, they are still jam-packed with sugar and empty calories. And though they’re labelled as a fat free food, Twizzlers contain around 5 grams of sugar per piece. They have no nutritional value: lacking minerals, vitamins, and essential fibers. To fix that, down below is a great recipe for raw vegan, healthier Twizzlers. I used dates which contain natural sugar and fiber. I added frozen strawberries, raspberries, and beetroot powder to give it a great flavor and color. There are absolutely no artificial colors or additives.
Beetroot powder contains vitamin C, iron, magnesium, copper, potassium, and folate. It has nutrients that cleanse the blood and protect against cancer. Your kids won’t be able to taste the juice but they will reap the benefits of this super food!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups medjool dates
- 2 1/3 cup hot water
- 1-2 teaspoons Sunwarrior Beetroot powder
- 2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries and raspberries, slightly thawed
- 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup Sunwarrior Coconut Milk powder
Directions:
1. Soak dates for 10 minutes in 1 cup hot water. Drain.
2. Place dates, fruit, remaining 1 1/3 cups water, vanilla, beetroot powder, and coconut milk powder in a food processor. Blend for 1–2 minutes. If the mixture is too dense, add 1/4 cup of water more.
3. Line one of your trays in your dehydrator* with a silpat mat or parchment paper. Using a star tipped piping tip, pipe lines going from one end of the tray to the end. Dehydrate for 24–30 hours.
*If you don’t have a dehydrator, preheat your oven to 160 degrees. Bake for 3–4 hours or until set. Remove from oven and let cool. Place in fridge to firm up.
