For your kids, Halloween is an exciting time of year. They get to dress up as their favorite movie character or animal, and go door-to-door filling a bucket with candy!
As a parent, you know what too much sugar can do to your kid’s teeth. Cavities and tooth decay are caused by sugars sticking to your child’s teeth without being cleaned or washed away. After a while, bacteria start eating the sugars on your child’s teeth, eventually damaging the enamel of their teeth — this is the start of a cavity.
But not all candy is created equal. When it comes to your child’s teeth, sticky, sour, and hard candy are known to be the worst Halloween candy for your child’s teeth.
It may be tempting to forgo treats altogether and give your kids raisins as a replacement, but that probably won’t be enough to satisfy their sweet cravings!
Instead of opting out of all the fun, try some healthy Halloween snacks that are both delicious and dentist-approved. Here are 4 fun and easy treat recipes for Halloween, from ghost and mummy popsicles to string cheese broomsticks!
Ghost & Mummy Banana Popsicles
We love these Ghost and Mummy Popsicles as a healthy Halloween recipe. With Greek yogurt and a peanut butter drizzle, your kids will also be getting a good dose of protein!
Ingredients:
- 4 large bananas (not overly ripe or they’ll be too soft)
- 1 cup nonfat Greek vanilla yogurt
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 16 popsicle sticks
- 1/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter
Instructions:
- Peel the bananas. Slice them in half cross-wise for the ghosts and in thirds for the mummies.
- Slice each banana section length-wise to create a flat bottom for the popsicle.
- Insert a popsicle stick into each banana section and lay them on a lined baking sheet. Freeze for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- Once the bananas are firm, mix the yogurt and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Dip the bananas into the yogurt mixture and lay them on the lined baking sheet.
- For the ghosts, press two mini chocolate chips into the top for the eyes. Don’t put eyes on the mummies just yet!
- Heat the peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 to 45 seconds until it’s easy to spread. Use a spoon to drizzle peanut butter on top of the mummies, crisscrossing them back and forth to look like wrapped bandages. Then press two mini chocolate chips into each popsicle for the eyes.
- Freeze the popsicles for at least an hour so the yogurt and peanut butter can be set.
- When you’re ready to treat your kids, let the popsicles sit at room temperature for a few minutes.
Pretzel Spiders
These spooky Pretzel Spiders are also a sneaky way to add more fiber to your kids’ diet. They’ll be so focused on how delicious these treats are, that they won’t even notice they’re healthy, too!
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup quick oats
- 6 Medjool dates (150 g, or about 16 regular dates)
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter or almond butter
- 26 small hard pretzels
- 24 pine nuts (or another small nut to form the eyes of the spider)
Instructions:
- Pit your dates. If they’re dry, place them into a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let them soak for 10 minutes to soften, then drain. If you’re using Medjool dates, they may already be soft enough to work with.
- Add the oats, dates, cocoa, sweetener, and nut butter to a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are mixed into a coarse texture, wiping down the sides as needed. It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth.
- Use a spoon to scoop out an amount of the mixture a bit smaller than a golf ball. Roll it into a ball and place it on a plate or cookie sheet. Repeat until all the mixture is used.
- If you’d like, you can roll the balls in additional cocoa powder.
- Cut the pretzels in half and cut off the inner piece to form half circles. Stick six or eight into each ball near the top so the legs point down towards the floor. (You might not have room for eight legs — it’s ok if your spiders aren’t anatomically correct!)
- Press two pine nuts into the balls for the eyes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Spooky Colorful Popcorn
Home-popped popcorn is an easy, healthy snack for kids— as long as it’s followed by careful brushing and flossing, and avoided if your child has braces! With a little seasoning and optional food coloring, you can make this Spooky Colorful Popcorn a fun Halloween staple.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup popcorn kernels
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon activated charcoal powder
- ½ teaspoon dried beet powder
- ½ teaspoon dried turmeric
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- Black, orange, and yellow food coloring (optional)
Instructions:
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat on the stove. Pour in your oil and 2 popcorn kernels.
- Cover the pot with a lid and wait for the pan to heat enough to pop those 2 kernels.
- Once they pop, pour in the remaining kernels and turn the heat off. Cover the pot again and shake it to distribute the kernels in the oil.
- Turn the heat to medium and cook, shaking every now and then to mix the kernels. Once they start popping, carefully open the lid slightly to release some steam.
- When the popping slows to about one pop every few seconds, turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove. Pour popcorn into a serving bowl.
- Prepare three medium bowls with each separate seasoning and one tablespoon each of melted coconut oil. Add food coloring if you’re using it.
- Divide the popcorn among the three bowls and toss to coat it in the seasoning and oil. Add salt to taste.
- If you’d like more color and flavor, sprinkle more seasonings (and/or food coloring) into each bowl.
- Allow each bowl to set before mixing them all together to create a popcorn rainbow.
String Cheese Broomsticks
These String Cheese Broomsticks are a super easy and healthy Halloween snack for kids. With just three ingredients and a whimsical shape, you’ll be reaching for these as a go-to Halloween snack every year.
Ingredients:
- 10 pretzel sticks
- 5 string cheese sticks
- 5 fresh chives, left whole
Instructions:
- Unwrap your string cheese and cut each one in half.
- Using a knife or clean scissors, cut the bottom of the string cheese to resemble the bristles of a broomstick. Leave a centimeter or so at the top of the cheese uncut to keep it together.
- Insert a pretzel stick length-wise into the string cheese to look like a broom handle.
- Wrap a whole chive around the top of the string cheese broom and tie it in a knot to look like it’s holding the broom together.
- Serve!
Is Your Child Experiencing Tooth Sensitivity?
Eating healthy helps your child maintain a bright smile — and it doesn’t have to be boring! Feed your kids a balanced diet with occasional treats to keep them growing strong while satisfying their sweet tooth.
If your child is experiencing tooth sensitivity after Halloween (or any time of year), it can be a sign of cavities or enamel erosion. In other cases, it could mean a cracked tooth or filling or another problem.
It’s hard to know when to make an appointment with us, or when you can treat the issue at home.
Here are the common causes of tooth sensitivity, how to treat them, and when to see your dentist >