For three years now, we’ve been advocating trying a different style of Halloween celebration. With so much of the holiday devoted to the massive consumption of candy and away from the more fun aspects of the tradition (namely, the spooky dress up and the fun fright activities), it’s our belief that making Halloween fun without wanton corn syrup consumption ought to be one of our goals. It’s a goal that I, personally, feel is very worthy.
Halloween isn’t meant to be an excuse to binge. It’s a celebration of bravery.
No, really. The origins of Halloween lay in traditions honoring the dead. And on a day celebrating the dead, fears of your own demise are sure to appear as well. So we all dress up as scary images so that we can realize that our nightmares are, in the end, silly and are really just masks we put on. This is an especially good lesson to teach to children, who are so primed to be afraid of practically anything. Instead of giving into their fears, why not celebrate how fun and silly it can be to play with the imagery of ghosts and goblins once you’ve established what’s “real or pretend”?
So, if you’re going to be having treats, make them fun treats!
We asked everyone to submit their fun Halloween recipes for this round up and many people definitely delivered! We hope these ideas inspire you to have a fun celebration with your little monsters!
Thank you to all the bloggers who participated this year. We’ve been doing this for three years now, if you can believe, and each year we are delighted by the creations that these talented people come up with.
Paleo Pumpkin Pie Smoothie (Nut-Free) by Tessa the Domestic Diva
Tessa comes in with a seasonal treat! Why not start off your morning with the flavors of fall? In this smoothie, you get the benefits of gelatin and carrots teamed up with the great taste combo of cinnamon and pumpkin.
Batty Patties by Paleo Gone Sassy
Now this is cute! Using ghost and bat candy molds, Paleo Gone Sassy has made some awesome flavored chocolate lollipops free of all the junk store-bought versions have – and your ghouls will love to bite into them!
Chocolate Fruit Bugs by The Fit Cookie
Look at these adorable little insects! Maybe it’s the Betty Crocker side of me, but I love a clever food project. Would you believe that those adorable little legs are fruit leathers? Genius!
Easy Candied Apples by Satisfying Eats
Traditional candied apples are coated in a sugary syrup. That’s all good and well, but wouldn’t they be even better if they were coated in nut butter and chocolate instead? Satisfying Eats delivers the goods here!
Apple Cinnamon Gummy Candies by Phoenix Helix
Phoenix Helix remembers an old favorite of ours, gummy bears, and makes little gummy candies with just a handful of healthful ingredients. This is definitely one I’m interested in trying. Maybe if you quadruple the cinnamon, you could have red hots too!
Paleo Almond Joy Bites by Plaid and Paleo
These delicious looking truffles are just the most perfect bite to remind you of one of my favorite candy bars, the Almond Joy. If you don’t want to have something labelled “fun sized” and torn out of a plastic wrapper, why not make it yourself?
Ghost Pops by Eat Recycle Repeat
Kate from Eat, Recycle, Repeat shares these tasty sunbutter balls rolled in coconut. Not only do these look awesome, but would you believe there’s only 2 tablespoons of honey to sweeten the whole batch? Amazing!
Healthy 3 Musketeers by OmNom Love
I don’t know how she did it, but OmNom Love has actually made a healthy version of a 3 Musketeers bar! That’s just sweetened coconut cream in the middle there! Can you believe it?
Spooky Ghosts and Eyeballs by Equally Yolked
And winning the category of most uniquely gross and awesome are these coconut butter coated grapes. I would have never have thought to use grapes to make treats like this! And grapes are certainly known for their eyeball texture!
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And although these recipes weren’t formally submitted, they were just too good not to include!
Yummy Mummys aka Halloweenies by Nom Nom Paleo
Caramel Apples the Easy Way by Clean Eats in the Zoo
Tootsie Rolls (Paleo) by Real Sustenance
The Halloween Menu from Gather by Primal Palate
After tasting these tasty treats last year we have these planned for our huge Candy-Free Halloween Party on Saturday! Eyeball Meatballs, Bleeding Cupcakes and Caramel Crab apples are all on our menu!
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And Finally, Our Pumpkin Delights!
We hope you are inspired by these devilish treats to start your own fun Halloween traditions. Hope your tricks are joyful and your treats are grain-free and delicious!
psst… still here? want even more? check out this pinterest board for more inspiration and recipes!
