2015-10-15

~ Halloween treats can be healthy, too! These silly monster faces will be sure to make your kiddos giggle, and you’ll be thrilled with the nutritious snack they’re begging for during Halloween! Made with nut-free butter, these allergy-friendly Apple Monsters are perfect for class parties, too! ~

These little monsters aren’t scary at all. Nope, nope, nope.

They’re pretty much anything except scary! These monsters are sweet, funny, silly, delicious …

Delicious?! Delicious monsters???

Oh yeah! Exceptionally yummy!



And ya wanna know what else? These Apple Monsters are also nut-free and allergy-friendly. And allergy-friendly = perfect for school parties!

It’s nearly Halloween, and all the little ghosties and goblins (or Darth Vaders and princesses!) will be prepping for the very first holiday party of the school year.

And you? Well, you’re probably helping out, because these elementary school years go by in the blink of an eye. Right? Those class parties are going to be ending by middle school, so there’s that leeeeettle pressure to sign up as a party parent while you still can.

We get it. Shelley and I are the.exact.same.way. We know how it goes.

There’s a finite number of opportunities to be that super-fun momma who has the coolest activities and most awesome crafts at the class party. But then there’s also that feeling that, with each passing year, you’ve gotta up your game!

So … you’ve no doubt been scouring Pinterest looking for spook-tacular fun! And also scary good snacks.

Of course you made our Apple Mummies and Frankenkiwis last year. Can you show up with the same thing this year? Hmmm … probably not. (However, if you didn’t make them last year – hop to it! Those little snacks are so cute! And tasty, too!)

You need new ideas. New fun. New awesome.

You see how quickly these adorable (but never frightening!) monsters come together! So easy to make, so fun to eat! Simply chop the apples, smooth on some creamy nut-free butter, add puffed rice “teeth” and a red grape “tongue” before making green grape “eyes” – fast and healthy!

Well, you’ve come to the right place! But since Halloween pretty much means a total chocolate binge and an overload of sugar, Shelley and I just had to share another healthier treat that’ll have the kiddos AND the teachers AND the other party mommies all cheering with excitement!

Everyone will be oooohhhing and aaaaaahhhhhing and asking where, oh where, do you find the time to come up with these ideas?!? (And thanking you for creating something totally adorable that was also the one bright spot of nutrition in the whole candy-filled day!)

Since you’re spending so much time online searching for Halloween games, crafts and treats, you’ve no doubt seen plenty of ideas for snacks, but so many of them are just more, more, more sugar … on top of all the candy and other sugary sweets that already seem to go hand-in-hand with Halloween. Even some of the treats that start with fruit … often just end with sugar (sugary marshmallows, frosting, cookie crumbs, sprinkles). Suddenly what should’ve been a healthy snack is … just not.

And so many of even the healthier snacks involve nuts and seeds that just aren’t allergy friendly for class parties or playgroups.

We’ve recently talked here on THK about how the schools in our town are so cautious about peanuts and tree nuts. While we’re still allowed to send foods with nuts in during lunch, all classrooms and sports practices are 100% nut free. So a nut-free spread was in order, and I knew nuts and even sunflower seeds were out, too.

I let the produce at the grocery store inspire me, stocked up on loads of fresh ingredients, and went to work.

It didn’t take long to create an adorable little guy who met our standards of being easy (just a couple minutes to make!), healthy, nut-free, delicious and FUN!

These funny faces will be a delight at the party (or as a cute afternoon snack!) and you’ll just pat yourself on the back knowing you provided a nutritious treat to balance out alllllllll that candy!

So go be that awesomesauce momma who has it all together! Snacks are taken care of! Now … what games can we play to the tune of “The Monster Mash”?!?

Want more really great inspiration for a healthier Halloween? You’ve gotta check out our Healthy Halloween board on Pinterest! Terrifyingly terrific!

Needing More Adorable Halloween Snack Ideas? Be sure to check out …

Apple Mummies from Two Healthy Kitchens

Pumpkin Jack-O-Lantern Cookies from Amy at Amy’s Healthy Baking

Frankenstein Kiwis from Two Healthy Kitchens

Ghostly Halloween Fruit Dip from Two Healthy Kitchens

17 Spook-tacular, Healthy Halloween Treats, Snacks and Beverages

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Apple Monsters

Shared By: Two Healthy Kitchens

Yield: 8 monster faces

Ingredients

1 apple

⅓ cup, plus 2 teaspoons nut-free butter spread, divided (see note)

Puffed rice cereal

4 red grapes, each sliced vertically in half

8 green grapes

16 chocolate chips

Preparation

Quarter and core the apple, then quarter each piece again, so you have 16 thin wedges.

Spread 1 teaspoon nut-free butter on each apple slice.

Lay half of the apple slices on top of the other halves, (matching up nut-free butter sides so the apple slices stick together) to create the “mouth.”

Push puffed rice “teeth” gently into the nut-free butter, all around the “mouth,” leaving room to place a red grape “tongue” on the bottom slice of each “mouth.”

Place one red grape half in the center of each bottom slice to create the “tongue.”

To create the “eyes,” slice the ends off the green grapes, then cut each grape in half horizontally. (If your grapes are exceptionally large, you may get more than two “eyes” out of each one.) Using the tip of the knife, make a small slit in the top of each grape half, then place a chocolate chip, pointy-end down, into the grape, pushing the point of the chocolate chip into the slit you cut.

Place two small dollops of nut-free butter on the top portion of each “mouth,” then gently press a grape “eye” onto each dollop.

Enjoy immediately, or store in the refrigerator for an hour or two before serving.

Notes

Nut-free butter: We chose WowButter (a soy-based, nut-free product), but you could also substitute a peanut-free sun butter (made from sunflower seeds). Alternately, if nut allergies aren’t a concern, you can use regular peanut butter.

The post Apple Monsters – A Nut-Free, Healthy Halloween Treat! appeared first on Two Healthy Kitchens.

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