Spooky Halloween Foods
By Marci Lutsky
Halloween may be fun for kids because they get to dress up in costumes and go trick or treating, but my favorite part of Halloween as an adult is making spooky foods. Our Halloween tradition is to get together with a few families for dinner before taking to the streets. My kids look forward to creating new and fun spooky foods each year. They are easy to make and can actually be healthy too!
One of the easiest and biggest crowd pleasers is Mummy Hotdogs. Start with hot dogs (or veggie hot dogs) and cut a line down the hot dogs starting halfway down and to the bottom. This will create two legs. Then take crescent rolls and wrap them around the hot dogs, including on the legs. Bake them for about 15 minutes at 350 and then add two dots of mustard where the eyes should be.
Another fun treat to make are Vampire Mouths. Take 2-inch rounds of apples and cut part of the top and bottom out. Take sunflower seeds and stick them with the pointy ends coming out around the mouth. Take peanut butter (or sunbutter for kids with food allergies) and spread it into the middle of the mouth. Then take a thin strawberry slice and put it where the tongue should go.
Guacamole Vomit will both gross out and please kids and adults at your Halloween gathering. Carve a pumpkin and buy or make your favorite guacamole. Arrange the guacamole on a plate coming out the pumpkin’s mouth. Serve with chips on the side. It will surely bring a smile to everyone’s face.
Jack O’ Lantern Cheeseburgers are another crowd pleaser. Cook the hamburgers or veggie burgers like normal and before topping them with cheese, cut out triangle eyes and a mouth on each cheese slice. Melt the cheese on the burgers and you could have ketchup coming out the mouth to be blood. Kids will squeal with laughter at these!
Last but not least, how about Sea Monster Hummus? Take your favorite homemade or store-bought hummus and arrange it in a circle on a plate. As the legs arrange thin slices of bell pepper around the hummus. For the body, cut the top off of a mini bell pepper, remove the seeds and place it cut side down on top of the hummus. For eyes you could use olives or chickpeas cut in half. Serve this with pita chips or chopped vegetables.
It makes me feel better knowing that my kids have gotten some healthy food in their bodies before heading out trick or treating. It’s all about balance, right? I hope that you and your kids have a safe, spooky and fun Halloween!
Marci Lutsky is a food blogger at Vegging at the Shore, www.veggingattheshore.com and can be reached at veggingattheshore@gmail.com.
