Ghoulish? Yes! But Guilt Free? You bet!
With Halloween around the corner you might find yourself thinking… How will I navigate the season? How will I steer clear of the gobs of sugary goodies and candy that come with it?
Sugar will be ever-present; at school, at parties, on end-caps at the grocery store. For a family that doesn’t do much sugar, snubs artificial ingredients, and can’t have gluten or dairy, Halloween presents a little, ahem, challenge. Here are a couple of fabulously spooky treats that won’t put your Paleo plans in the graveyard. I found these recipes on a variety of wonderful Paleo blogs. Visit them yourself and enjoy!
Frozen Banana Mummies and Hairy Creature Things
(from paleoparents.com)
Makes: 12-15 Mummies/Things Active Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 3-4 hours
Ingredients:
- 3 large BANANAS
- 3 tablespoons gently melted, food grade COCOA BUTTER
- 3 tablespoons powdered COCONUT SUGAR (it’s low glycemic and so easy to make it)
- CANDY EYES, “safe” chocolate chips, currants or raisins
Directions:
- Have the kids peel and slice (butter knife it) the bananas into 1-1/2″ chunks. Skewer bananas with lollipop sticks (available at most craft stores), or use kabob skewers cut in half using wire cutters as I did. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze.
- For the candy coating; in a small bowl, mix the melted cocoa butter with the powdered sugar.
- Spoon a little drop of candy coating on a frozen banana and stick on an eye (or two, or three). Using a spoon, have the kids drizzle candy coating over the bananas in all directions, avoiding the eye.
An egg carton turned upside down with little holes poked in the bottom made a good stand as we worked on them.
For the “Things”; We made the orange shredded coconut by mixing a few drops of yellow and a drop of red India Tree Liquid Natural Decorating Colors with some unsweetened shredded coconut. We opted to toast the coconut for a few minutes. Voila, colored sprinkles.
To assemble the “Things”: Attach eyes with a dot of candy coating. Drizzle candy coating on to coat front, avoiding eye(s). Sprinkle with coconut. Drizzle to coat back. Sprinkle again. Drizzle to coat top. Sprinkle again. You gotta work in stages as the candy coat hardens real quick on the frozen bananas.
Notes: Cocoa Butter: If your local natural food store doesn’t carry food grade cocoa butter, here are some chips that look fantastic (just pure cocoa butter). Whatever brand you buy, ensure that it’s food grade.
Candy Eyes: These candy eyes were purchased at Michaels. You can find them in the cake decorating aisle. They contain some artificial colors and the usual yucky stuff. You can remove them prior to eating—or choose not to sweat it. Up to you.
Boo Bites
(from primalkitchenblogspot.com)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut manna, slightly warm and soft*
- 3-4 tablespoons honey (adjust to your sweetness preference, buy locally or find a good quality one online)
- Pinch sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (Rodelle is one gluten free, junk free option)
- Raisins, for decoration
- Mini chocolate chips, appropriate to your dietary needs (I like the allergen-free Enjoy Life chips)
- A tray or dish lined with parchment paper or wax paper, the right size to fit into your freezer
*One way to soften your coconut manna is to put about 1″ of hot water in a larger bowl, and then place a smaller bowl containing the coconut manna into the larger bowl, double-boiler style. After about 10 minutes the coconut manna should be nicely malleable. Remember that coconut manna consistency varies from brand to brand and even jar to jar – you are going for a play-doh style consistency, so if it seems too runny, add more manna. Not runny enough? A little more honey, or even a little added coconut oil.
Directions
Stir together all ingredients except for the raisins and chocolate chips. See above notes on consistency; once you have achieved a nice doughy consistency, roll a chunk of mix into the size of a large marble. Flatten the ball, and then use your fingertips to “pinch out” some ghost feet. Place the ghost on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the coconut “dough” until all the ghosts are made. Decorate the ghosts with the chocolate chips for eyes and the raisins for mouths. Place the dish into the freezer to allow them to set. Serve chilled. Makes 6.
Primal Pumpkin Pecan Ice Cream
(from everydaypaleo.com)
Ingredients
- 2 cups Heavy Cream (or Coconut Milk for dairy-free)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup Organic Canned Pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 & ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Stevia Powder
- 2 tablespoons Organic Apple Butter (make sure the ingredients list nothing but apples and possibly apple juice concentrate)
- ½ cup Chopped Pecans (to be added at end of process)
Directions
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for the pecans and blend well with a hand mixer. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and follow your model’s instructions. My Cuisinart takes about 20 minutes to make a batch this size. During the last 5 minutes of the process, add the chopped pecans to the ice cream.
Slightly melty, totally yum.
Not adding any sugar to the mix will yield an ice cream with more of a “soft serve” texture. It also means that it can get hard when stored in the freezer. If it freezes too hard, just remove it and let it sit at room temperature for 20 or 30 minutes before serving. But for this reason, I prefer to serve it immediately.
Do you have a ghoulishly good recipe to share with your Pilates 1901 peeps? Don’t hold back! Post them below or share them on our Facebook page.
And don’t forget about our Halloween Costume Party on Saturday, October 27th!
Best costume wins a Pilates 1901 Goody bag and 8 Mat/Cardio Classes! So join the fun and dress up that morning for class! Your instructors will be!
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