It’s that time of year again, when sweets, chocolates and other treats are within easy reach, tempting us all out of our cycle of good intentions and healthy eating. But Halloween doesn’t have to mean sugary, unhealthy treats and undoing all that good work. There are plenty of healthy treats that you can indulge in at parties and when Trick or Treating with the kids this year. Here’s our round up of our favourites!

1. Avocados make the best zombies – smashed avocado on toast or crackers makes the best base for making zombie faces and are great fun to decorate, minus the sweets. Use pickled onions, mini gherkins, cherry tomatoes, raw peppers and olives to turn plain avocado into ghoulishly delicious and healthy snacks.
2. Autumn means that root vegetables are in season which also means lots of oranges and purples to make Halloween shaped treats from. Dice and slice a collection of carrots, sweet potatoes, beetroots and white potatoes, then cut them into witches’ hats, ghosts and mini carved pumpkin shapes before roasting. (Turn any leftover bits that you’ve cut away into soup after roasting those bits too.)
3. Homemade muesli bars with their tips dipped in chocolate are a healthier alternative to chocolate bars and taste great. Nuts are packed with heathy fats and vitamin E too and the internet has plenty of recipes for incorporating your favourite nuts and seeds into snacks.
4. Pumpkins! Nothing says Halloween more than a Jack O’Lantern and the flesh of a pumpkin is incredibly nutritious whilst also being low in calories. Use the flesh to make pumpkin soup and serve in mini bowls. Pumpkin seeds are also nutritious and can be roasted and eaten as a snack.
5. If carving a pumpkin is a little out of your comfort zone, try carving ghostly faces into sweet peppers with the tops cut off and roasting them. Then stuff them with vegetables and rice for a balanced but fun meal.
6. Bananas are super versatile and can be chopped in half and turned into spooky popsicles. Push a lolly stick into each cut end and give them raisin eyes and drizzle them with peanut butter from side to side to give them a mummified look.
7. Fruit pies can also be given the mummy treatment by making them in a long narrow loaf tin and using pasty cut into strips to resemble a mummified coffin.
8. For the Trick or Treat baskets, it’s hard to trick kids into thinking something is a sweet when it isn’t a sweet. But there are sweets widely available in supermarkets that are at least lower in refined sugars and are free from artificial flavourings and colourings.
9. Homemade chocolate cups, energy balls and peanut brittle can all also be made using less refined sugar and made healthier, so check the internet for yummy recipes.

During any celebration or holiday, it’s tough to stick to your healthy regime and avoid all temptation. But enjoy a few healthier treats this Halloween, safe in the knowledge you’re not making ‘scary’ choices!