Healthier Alternatives to Trick or Treat Candy

Halloween is one of the best holidays to celebrate with kids and friends! There are costumes, decorations, spooky movies, and parties galore. If you live a plant-based lifestyle, you might assume that the food part of Halloween isn’t for you. Celebrating Halloween doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your plant-based lifestyle. We have some great suggestions and recipes for planning a plant-based Halloween party you’re sure to enjoy!

Planning a Plant-Based Halloween Party

Have Fun with Fresh Fruits and Veggies

So often when people think of putting veggies or fruit out at a party, they cut them up in a hurry, add a quick dip, and call it a day. Believe it or not, there are a few different ways to serve your fresh produce without it looking like much fun. Investing a bit of extra time into the preparation of fresh fruits and veggies. Choosing fresh fruits and veggies for your party is a simple and delicious way to stick to your plant-based lifestyle. Here are a few Halloween ideas for your fresh fruits and veggies:

• DIY Fruit Kabobs - One fun way to add fruits and veggies to your next party is with DIY fruit kabobs. Cut your fruit into fun shapes or simply into small cubes. Let guests build their own fruit kabobs with their favorite fruits. If you want to incorporate a theme to the party, you can call these DIY wands.
• Make fun dips and take advantage of cookie cutters - Use cookie cutters to give your produce fun shapes such as spiders, pumpkins, and other spooky Halloween fun shapes. Serve these with a plant-based dip for fun Halloween party food. This chickpea lemon puree would be perfect as a dip for veggies! You could even add a scoop of Amla Green to the recipe!
• Reimagine the Jack-O-Lantern - You could easily add a fruit salad to your Halloween party by doing a modification of the jack-o-lantern. You could carve a watermelon in the way you might a pumpkin. If you want to make individualized jack-o-lanterns, you could do so with an orange. After making your jack-o-lantern, you can fill your orange with fresh berries and orange slices.

Let the Theme Guide Your Menu

When planning a Halloween party, many people pour out a bunch of candy, and some chips, and call it a day. These items don’t support a healthy lifestyle and generally aren’t plant-based. The good news is, you can have a great deal of fun with the theme while keeping a plant-based menu in place. Setting a theme of not just Halloween but a specific movie or spooky character can inspire a variety of plant-based options. Here are a few themes and food ideas that would go well with them:

• Hocus Pocus - Witches are very trendy during Halloween. The good news is, you can make some fantastic Halloween menu items around the theme of witchy stuff. For instance, you could fill a cauldron with 3 bean chili or a hearty black bean stew. You could also serve up foods that might look like part of a witch’s brew such as these spicy roasted cauliflower bites!
• Evil Scientist’s Lab - Are you after a fun Halloween theme? Go for the evil scientist's lab! This gives you the ability to have fun with colors and really get creative with your menu! We think these rainbow salad dressings would make the perfect addition to the menu. You could also add in some fun items such as vegetable and white bean salad or curried red lentil soup served in beakers and measuring jars.
• Hansel’s and Gretel’s Sweet Tooth - If you are looking for a twist on traditional Halloween Hansel and Gretel’s sweet tooth might be just what you need! This will give you the chance to bring out all of your favorite sweet treats for a fun Halloween party! Include items such as chia seed pudding (change up the flavors for different colors), mint chocolate chip nice cream, and build your own smoothie bowls!

*Pro Tip - Don’t forget about drinks! Add a hot cup of pumpkin spice Amla Green tea to your night for a delicious drink that is great for you as well! This fall favorite can be the perfect addition to any party theme! You can even change up how you serve it to fit the different party themes you choose.

What Do You Do About Trick or Treating?

When moving to a plant-based lifestyle, you may find that some of your traditions don’t translate well. This is where it would be helpful to find ways to make Halloween traditions that work for your life. Planning a Halloween party is one alternative but for some kids, trick-or-treating is a must. What do you do when the treats or really a trick? Check out these simple tips!

• Do a treat trade-out - The experience of trick or treating is a time-honored one! There’s just something about putting on a costume and heading out to get candy. However, that candy can work against their health and often isn’t plant-based. Doing a treat trade-out is a great way to let kids enjoy the fun of trick or treating and then trade those “treats” for a favorite toy or special experience with you after Halloween.
• Opt for teal pumpkin houses - The teal pumpkin is often associated with children with special needs or children with food allergies. Teal pumpkins houses will often have non-food treats such as small toys that children can choose in place of candy. You may end up with a collection of small toys instead but that may be fun for the child.
• Partner with other plant-based friends - If you are looking for a way to avoid the candy buyout, you can partner with other plant-based friends for a trunk-or-treat-styled event. Decorate your trunks and let the kids trick or treat with just plant-based friends who opt for items such as small prizes instead of food treats. This would also give children the chance to see that they are not “missing out” by living a plant-based lifestyle.