Ah Halloween, one of my favorite Holidays and yet such a bad day for kids' teeth everywhere.  I love dressing the kids up and trick or treating, but I don't love the month long battle to keep my kids from overloading on sweets at the expense of healthy foods.  That being said, I'm not going to deprive my kids from what is one of the greatest Holidays to a kiddo. and if it means I'm going to have to put my Mom badge on and police that out of reach cabinet that has all the candy, then so be it.

One of the greatest challenges of Halloween day is getting my kids to eat good foods before the barrage of Twix, Jolly Ranchers and Smarties.   I have a crock pot of overnight oatmeal going right now for breakfast tomorrow, veggies and turkey for lunch, and sushi/pizza plans for dinner.  I also have a spooky little Halloween snack treat, so I'm hoping that my kids will be trick or treating on full bellies.

Here's a quick snack that will give your kids a little more nutrition on a day that is hallmarked with sugar.  They're fun to look at, tasty, and super easy.  Just four ingredients and you have a spooky Halloween treat that isn't candy.

Enjoy!

Halloween teeth
Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: 4 mouths

1 apple, cored and cut into 8 wedges
1/4 of one banana, cut into chunks
Juice from half a lemon
peanut butter

Sprinkle lemon juice on apple and banana pieces.  Spread peanut butter on one side of an apple wedge.  Add on a few banana pieces (these will be your teeth).  Spread peanut butter on another apple slice, then place on banana peices peanut butter side down to make a complete set.  Serve immediately.

So I thought that I was near the end of my pumpkin recipes.  But then we went to Trader Joe's and my daughter immediately threw a can of pumpkin puree into the cart.  What could I do?  She was making a healthy food choice completely on her own volition.  I'm a real sucker for this sort of thing.  I've came home with brussle sprout stalks, eggplants (totally not a fan of) and silken tofu (again, not a fan of) because of this weakness.   So we ended up with more pumpkin, and therefore I have another vitamin A laden snack for you all.

In full disclosure this is not my original idea, but an adaptation from a recipe off of carrots n chocolate.  That is a great blog that I really enjoy, so check it out when you have a chance.

Regardless of all the pumpkin recipes lately I think that you'll still like this recipe.  It's a creation that is laden with good things, like wheat germ and whole grain benefits, pumpkin goodness and calcium.  It's also still really tasty, as evidenced by my kids gobbling them down today for breakfast, while hiking this afternoon and as a snack.

Just a word of warning, the lack of fat in these can make them stick to the wrapper.  Some ways of getting around that are spraying down the wrapper with non-stick cooking spray, letting them cool thoroughly for most of the day before eating, or just dealing with this minor issue.  Either way you will be adding some great things to your kids diets while avoiding white flour and refined sugar, which is a great way to get the empty calories out of your kids diets in my book. 

Enjoy!

Pumpkin breakfast muffins
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 22-25 minutes
Makes: 24 muffins

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup room temperature butter
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 cup granola (I used pumpkin flax)
1 can pumpkin
1 egg
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
more granola for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together honey, butter, apple sauce and granola.  Add in pumpkin, egg and yogurt and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, germ, spice, salt and soda.  Make a pit in the center, then add the wet ingredients and mix until combines, but be careful not to over mix.

Add cupcake liners to a cupcake pan.  Fill with batter 2/3 to 3/4 full.  Sprinkle on more granola.  Cook for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely before serving.

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Alright, here's another pumpkin recipe!  Have you gotten tired of pumpkin yet?  I'm still loving sneaking pumpkin into my recipes, and I might still have a couple more up my sleeve before Thanksgiving.

So here's a great egg-free, oil-free recipe that doesn't involve more than mixing a few things together.  How easy is that?  It's so simple you might as well let the kids whip these together while you catch up on Facebook.

This recipe is another one inspired by my intrepid grad student.  If this whole biomedical engineering thing doesn't work out she's definitely has a future in the snacking business.  She also gave me the cucumber snack cups idea and these cupcakes were the featured item at a recent lab meeting.  I brought two cupcakes home to the kids and they were a hit.  When my vegetable-adverse daughter tried to sneak a bite of my toddler's, he let out a yell heard from across the house.  No one even know that they were eating some nutrient rich pumpkin, which has tons of vitamin A, fiber, vitamin C, riboflavin, potassium, copper and manganese.  Pretty deceptive stuff, but well worth it. 

What's great about these cupcakes is that all you really need is two ingredients- pumpkin puree and chocolate cake mix.  The rest is my additions to make it a little more fancy.  No need to add oil or eggs (an added bonus for parents of kids with egg allergies), the pumpkin puree makes these cupcakes super moist.  With Halloween and Thanksgiving just around the corner the pumpkin part of that is easy enough to find at any grocery store.  As for the cake mix go for a higher quality mix so that you aren't saving money by buying more processed ingredients.  I got an organic mix from Whole Foods, but just check your ingredient list and go for a mix that has less ingredients and doesn't have anything that you can't pronounce. 

Another cautionary note: with the lack of fat in these you will need to use cupcake liners, otherwise you'll definitely have a stick-to-the-pan problem.  Fortunately those little wrappers are lots of fun and are also great carriers for snack mixes, like trail mix and popcorn. 

Enjoy!

Chocolate pumpkin cupcakes
Cook times and number of servings depend on mix

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
unsweetened coconut (optional, but a great visual alternative to frosting)

Combine cake mix with pumpkin puree and cinnamon until mixed.  Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and fill the cups until 2/3 full.  Sprinkle on coconut and cook according to the instructions on your cake mix box for the cupcake version.  Let cool and serve.