Delicious and Healthy Snacks to Give During Trick or Treat

Although candy’s a fun treat, here are some delicious and healthy alternatives to ease a parent’s worries.

Some parents are strict about their kid’s sugar intake and Halloween’s most likely their worst nightmare. Their kids feel bad for not being able to go out since most treats are loaded with processed sugar. Then, they’re stuck at home wondering how they can make Halloween fun for them. But we’re modern parents; we have the technology to make delicious, fun, and healthy snacks for the kids when they go out during trick or treat!

1. Halloween-themed Rice Balls

Also known as onigiri, Japanese kids are in love with rice balls because they have delicious meats and sometimes, veggies inside. Most rice balls are filled with spicy tuna, chicken, or sometimes even seaweed. But what we can do is make rice balls filled with all sorts of fillings like spiced pumpkin, cheesy tuna, and many other delicious meats and veggies. Then for a spooky effect, cut out eyes and mouth from the nori or the roasted seaweed sheets.

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked rice
• A thin stick of konbu (or you can use 1/4 cup of bonito flakes)
• 1/2 cup Rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 2 cans of tuna (180 grams)
• 1/2 cup of kewpie mayo
• Pepper
• Soy Sauce
• Sriracha Hot Sauce (optional)
• 1 can of corn kernels
• 1 sheet of nori (for the eyes and mouth)

Steam the rice with the rice vinegar, sugar, and konbu. While it’s cooking, mix the tuna, mayo, pepper, soy sauce, and corn kernels. Make sure to drain all the fluids so that it doesn’t make the rice soggy. Once everything’s mixed, refrigerate it until the rice is cooked. Once the rice is cooked, wait for it to cool before wrapping the tuna mix into a ball. Tightly pack it into a ball and then put the eyes and mouth made from the sheet of nori before wrapping it in cling wrap. After that, refrigerate it for the next hour so it can stick together.

2. Pumpkin Spice Popsicles

Because the Philippines is a humid country, some Pumpkin Spice Popsicles might be the kids’ fancy. Mix some pumpkin spice into milk and freeze it for the next four hours to make frozen and healthy trick or treat snacks.

Ingredients

• Ginger
• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon
• Cloves

The best part about these spices is that they’re available already ground. Spice companies like McCormick have all of these in sachets which makes it easier to procure.

For the milk, some would use condensed milk since it’s already sweet. But for those who are lactose-intolerant and diabetic, almond or oat milk will blend well with the spice mix but make sure to add a little Stevia or Monkfruit sugar to add a little sweetness to balance out the peppery taste. Mix the spices into the milk mix before putting them in popsicle makers that you can freeze for the next four hours.

If you don’t have popsicle makers, you can make them like traditional ice candy wherein you just stick it in a plastic bag and freeze it!

3. Tsokolate Bananas

While America has its candy apples, we Filipinos can make chocolate-coated bananas for healthy trick-or-treat snacks. Melting a tableya and then dipping a banana into it makes it a healthy treat. Bananas are already sweet by themselves so there’s no need to add sugar into the chocolate.

Ingredients

• 2 tableyas of chocolate
• 1 cup of water
• 6 bananas

Melt the tableyas in the water until it becomes thick and sticky. Pour into a bowl wherein you can dip the bananas before refrigerating it for the next four hours or at least until the chocolate hardens. For more variety, some parents coat the chocolate-coated bananas with rice crispies (pinipig), peanuts, almonds, and many other toppings.

4. Veggie Witch Fingers

While some parents use mozzarella fingers, we can use carrot or cucumber sticks as the fingers while using roasted pumpkin seeds to serve as the nails. Simply slice up the cucumbers and carrots into sticks while putting some ranch or blue cheese dressing to stick the pumpkin seeds onto the veggie sticks. Some home cooks even use celery since it’s already shaped like a boat, making it easier to fill with with the toppings.

Ingredients

• 1 Carrot
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 Celery
• A bottle of blue cheese dressing or ranch
• A pack of roasted pumpkin seeds

5. Sangria For Kids

Sangria is a Spanish or Italian word for “blood.” Although it’s normally an alcoholic drink, we can make a kid-friendly version by juicing apples, oranges, strawberries, and grapes to create a blood-red drink that’s healthy for children. Since apples and grapes have high fruit sugar content, there’s no need to put sugar anymore. Some can add a bit of calamansi if lemon is too sour to dull the sweetness a bit more.

We can pack these in little bottles since the kids might be parched from trekking around the neighborhood for candy.

Ingredients

• Apples
• Oranges
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Calamansi

If we don’t have a juicer, it’s okay to use a blender and then strain it through so the pulp doesn’t mix into the juice. After that, squeeze some calamansi to add a bit of tartness to balance the sweetness. Mix with some ice and then place in the fridge to keep it cool. If there are no real fruits, we can use store-bought tetra bricks of juice to make the drink. Calamansi concentrate is common in supermarkets but should be used sparingly because of the high sugar content.

6. Zombie Avocado Toast

Avocado offers a spooky green color that fits the trick-or-treat theme perfectly. Because it also has a buttery consistency, we can stick all sorts of things to it to make a face. Some use eggs, black olives, radish for the eyes, cherry tomatoes for blush, and onions or bell peppers for the mouth. It’s also a cute Halloween party activity for the kids to encourage them to eat healthy.

Ingredients

• 1 avocado
• 1/2 lemon
• black pepper
• salt
• smashed garlic

Carve out the avocado and then mix it with lemon juice, black pepper, salt, and smashed garlic to add more flavor. Then, spread it on some freshly toasted bread before adding some sliced fresh vegetables.

Have a happy and healthy Halloween with these Trick or Treat snacks!

Although Halloween is usually a cheat day for kids to eat all the candy they want, some parents may not follow that rule. Especially for parents who are keeping their kids on a strict diet for health reasons, these healthy trick-or-treat snacks can keep allergies at bay since most candies contain eggs, dairy, and nuts. With these healthy snacks, parents who send their kids out for trick-or-treat can rest assured that there are some parents out there who are also looking out for their kids.

More Halloween-themed treats?

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Easy Halloween Treats For Kids
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