Halloween is upon us, and before you know it, it will be the holiday season! For those of us working to keep a healthy diet, the thought of all that festive, yet unhealthy food in most of our futures might have us a bit worried about maintaining our health goals! But never fear, there are always ways to stay deliciously healthy while still getting in the spirit of the season! Here are a few Halloween recipes we’ve rounded up that are easy, festive, healthy + fun! So go ahead, get your chef hat on, twist it up to a witchy point, and enjoy!

Roasted Halloween Vegetables

What you’ll need:

2 large sweet potatoes

2 large white potatoes

4 carrots (peeled)

3 red beets (large/medium)

2 T. oil

Pinch of salt & pepper

2 T. rosemary

1/2 bulb garlic (cloves separated with skin still on)

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. honey

To Do:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cut sweet potatoes and white potatoes in half, width-wise, then drop into the boiling water.  Boil for 5 minutes, then remove.  Drop the whole beets and carrots into the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
2. While beets and carrots cook, cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch thick slabs.  With a small pairing knife or with a pumpkin cookie cutter, cut jack-o-lantern shapes into the sweet potatoes.  Do the same or the white potatoes, cutting them into ghost shapes (a straw might help to cut out the eyes!)
3. Remove beets from water and cut them into 1/2 inch thick slabs, then cut out witch’s hat shapes.  Call the carrots witch’s fingers and just leave them be!
4. Set veggies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary leaves, and toss evenly to coat.  crush garlic cloves with the flat part of your knife and scatter around the pan.
5. Bake at 400 F for 1 hour, flipping the veggies halfway through.  When you have 10 minutes left, drizzle balsamic over the beets and honey over the carrots, then return to the oven.
6. Enjoy your adorable veggies as a pre-trick-or-treat meal!

Recipe from: https://www.liveeatlearn.com/halloween-roasted-vegetables/

Tangerine Pumpkins + Banana Ghosts

What You’ll Need:

bananas

chocolate chips (regular sized and/or mini)

tangerines

stalk of celery

To Do:

1. Peel the bananas and cut them in half.  Place the cut side down so the banana halves stand up.
2. Use small chocolate chips to make ghost eyes and large chocolate chops to make ghost mouths.
3. Peel the tangerines.
4. Cut the celery lengthwise into thirds and then across into 1/2 inch pieces.  Insert the celery pieces on the tops of the tangerines to resemble pumpkins. If you want to get really fancy, use some of the celery leaves too!

Recipe from: https://weelicious.com/2013/10/14/tangerine-pumpkins-banana-ghosts-fruity-halloween/

Stuffed Peppers Jack-O-Lantern Style

What You’ll Need:

4 large orange bell peppers

1 cup cooked rice (white or brown)

1 T. oil

1 lb. ground meat (beef, turkey or chicken)

1 medium yellow onion, diced small

8 oz mushrooms, chopped

2 cups roasted red pepper sauce (bought or homemade)

1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

salt + pepper to taste

To Do:

1. Heat oven to 350 F
2. Use a sharp knife to slice the top off each bell pepper horizontally.  Set tops aside (do not discard).  Remove all seeds and membranes. Rinse and pat the peppers dry with paper toweling or a clean, soft cloth.  Use a small pairing knife to cut holes into the exterior of the peppers to make jack-o-lantern faces. (Note: If the peppers don’t stand upright, use the knife to slice a small amount from the bottom to flatten the surface.)
3. Cook rice.  As rice cooks, use parchment paper or oil to grease a small sheet pan.  Arrange pepper and tops of peppers on pan and cook in oven for 20-25 minutes, or until peppers are cooked, but are still firm (al dente).  Remove peppers from the oven and allow to cool while you make the filling.

For the Filling:

1. Heat 1 T. oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes, or until mushrooms have softened and reduced in size.  Increase heat to medium high.  Add ground meat and spices to pan and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains.
2. Drain excess grease from pan, reduce heat to medium low, then add red pepper pasta sauce and cooked rice.  Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 more minutes, or until mixture is heated through.
3. Prior to serving, fill each pepper with approximately 1 cup of mixture, over-filling each pepper slightly.  Place a top onto each stuffed pepper and serve – laughing ghoulishly!

Notes:

Traditional pasta sauce can be used in place of red pepper pasta sauce.

These cute pumpkins can be filled with any filling that your family likes!

Homemade Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:

16-oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 T. minced shallot (1/2 small shallot)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. packed, chopped fresh basil (about 10 leaves)

1 T. capers, drained

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

To Do:

1. Place all ingredients into a blender jar.
2. Blend for 30-60 seconds on high speed, until completely smooth.
3. Use for everything! Enjoy!

Stuffed Pepper recipe from: https://www.itsyummi.com/jack-o-lantern-stuffed-bell-peppers/

Red Pepper Sauce recipe from: https://www.fifteenspatulas.com/roasted-red-pepper-sauce/