Healthy Munching with Willow: Halloween Treats!

Hi everyone!

I really love Halloween - everything's so spooky, the air is all gusty, the clouds are taking strange shapes, and it feels like ANYTHING can happen! It's fun to tell scary stories and decorate with cobwebs, orange and black streamers, and pumpkins! My favorite is actually the Jack Be Little Pumpkins, which are tiny pumpkins that can stay fresh and pretty for months if you keep them out of the sun. Judy likes the larger pumpkins though, because then she can carve all sorts of faces into them. With my little Jack Be Little Pumpkins, I draw the faces on with permanent marker.

Right now all the stores are full of candy and other sweets, but Judy Puppets and I wanted to share some of our favorite healthy Halloween treats!

***

First off, speaking of pumpkins, here are three great recipes from Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks for roasting pumpkin seeds after you've carved your pumpkin:

Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
1 egg white
1/4 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grained sea salt
1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the egg white, sugar, cayenne and salt. Add the pumpkin

seeds and toss well. Drain off any excess egg white (using a strainer) and place seeds in a single layer across a baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until seeds are golden. Sprinkle with a bit more sugar and cayenne pepper when they come out of the oven. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Makes one cup.

Curried Pumpkin Seeds
1 egg white
2 teaspoon curry powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grained sea salt
1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the egg white, curry powder and salt. Add the pumpkin seeds and toss well. Drain off any excess egg white (using a strainer) and place seeds in a single layer across a baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until seeds are golden. Sprinkle with a bit more curry powder when they come out of the oven. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Makes one cup.

Black Tea & Butter Pumpkin Seeds
You can use many different types of tea here. I opted for a smoky black one, but you can go for one infused with other flavors, or even tisanes (I have a dried lime tea that I be would be interesting in this recipe). Choose a tea that is fragrant and has a pronounced flavor for best results.

1 teaspoon (black) tea
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grained sea salt
1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 375.

Using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, grind the tea into a fine powder. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the butter and salt. Add the pumpkin seeds and toss well. Place seeds in a single layer across a baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until seeds are golden. Sprinkle with the ground tea. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

Makes one cup

***

Another yummy snack, as an alternative to the caramel-covered apples, is spiced apples. Ruth Turcotte's recipe is super easy and delicious:

Ingredients

• 8 Granny Smith apples
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup cinnamon red hot candies

Directions

1. Peel, core, and slice apples.
2. Place all ingredients in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 15 minutes, stirring each 5 minutes.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool or serve warm.

***

And if you want something a little more savory, try theSpicy Pumpkin Chili by Daisy K.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (4 ounce) can tomato sauce with garlic and onions
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans petite diced tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; cook and stir the beef in the skillet until crumbly and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes, garlic, and onion; continue cooking until the beef has browned and the onion has softened and turned translucent. Add the green and red bell pepper and cook 5 minutes more.
2. While the beef is cooking, combine the kidney beans, black beans, Great Northern beans, tomato sauce, tomato sauce with garlic and onions, petite diced tomatoes, fire roasted diced tomatoes, and pumpkin puree in a large slow cooker. Season with pumpkin pie spice, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Stir in the ground beef mixture.
3. Cook on Low until the chili is hot, 1 to 2 hours.

***

I also found a recipe for Wicked Witch Stuffed Potatoes - spooky!

  Ingredients

• 2 large baking potatoes
• 3 ounces Jarlsberg or Swiss cheese, shredded, divided
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 grape tomatoes, halved
• 8 slices ripe olives
• 4 small serrano peppers, stems removed
• 4 green pepper strips
• 4 blue corn chips

Directions

• Scrub and pierce potatoes. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until tender.
• When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp, leaving a thin shell. In a small bowl, mash the pulp. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese, milk, butter and salt. Spoon into potato shells. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
• Using the tomato halves, olive slices, serrano peppers and pepper strips, create a face on each potato half. Add corn chip hats. Yield: 4 servings.

What are your favorite Halloween munchies?

Today's blogger: Willow