7 Halloween Themed Recipes

Pumpkin, Jack-O-Lanterns, Costumes, Witches, Trick-or-Treating, 13 Days of Halloween, Spider Webs, Hocus Pocus, Candy, Candy, And MORE candy. That pretty much sums up what I think of when I think about Halloween!

Halloween is the first holiday that kicks off the holiday trifecta...followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas. Holidays bring unexpected amount of refined sugar, fat, alcohol, and lots of baked goods (not trying to make you depressed, but it's the truth!). Having all of that in the mix is what inspired me to come up with 7 healthy-ish Halloween Recipes. They're fun, spooky, and appeal to your sweet and savory taste buds without having to eat a whole bag of snickers.

Check them out below!

7 Healthy Halloween Recipes:

1. Jack-O-Lantern Stuffed Peppers
2. Sweet Potato Witches Fingers
3. Candy Corn Bark
4. Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
5. Pumpkin Coffee Swirl Smoothie
6.Gluten-Free Protein Pumpkin Pancakes
7. Graveyard Taco Bake

Feel free to save your favorite recipe! If you make it, give me a shout out! Have a Spooky Halloween Season!

Gluten Free Protein Pumpkin Pancakes

Halloween Themed Recipe #6- Countdown to Halloween!

There is nothing better than waking up on a Saturday morning and making pancakes, am I right?!

A few weekends ago one of my girlfriends, Annie, was in visiting from out of town. Whenever I have friends over I always like to make a fun and delicious breakfast, one because I am Italian and that is how my mom taught me to entertain and two because I like to make elaborate breakfasts on the weekend. 

So we started prepping everything. Before I go on any further I should preclude that my friend Annie doesn't cook a lot nor does she know how to cook {these are her words not mine!} so it was fun teaching her how to make pancakes. We made the batter and I showed her how to make pancakes on the stove. We were making chocolate chip pancakes for her and my boyfriend.  

Funny Story. About halfway through cooking the pancakes I had to use the restroom and I knew the pancakes were going to need to be flipped, remember she doesn't really know how to cook. So she says excitedly "go ahead! I will watch the pancakes." I had this overwhelming sense on panic because all I could think was "oh my gosh she doesn't know how to flip the pancakes...they are going to get ruined!" But I walked away and let her do her thing. A few seconds later I hear "Uh oh!" and then an excited scream. So I rushed back into the kitchen only to find that she accidentally flipped one of the pancakes on top of another one, but she had also successfully flipped her first pancake. It was a great moment :-) 

While the pancakes were finishing up I realized I wanted to try and make a batch of healthy pumpkin pancakes. So I threw some ingredients together and hoped it worked! Which it did by the way and that is how you have come to be blessed with this delicious recipe!

Gluten Free Protein Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients:

3 tablespoon of Libby's Pumpkin Puree
1 egg
1 scoop of Vanilla Shakeology
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 dashes of pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1) Whisk all ingredients together until everything is wet.
2) Set skillet on stove top and turn dial to medium heat. Spray pan with cooking spray.
3) Using a small serving ladle make 3 silver dollar size pancakes.
4) Cook 2 minutes on each side or until edges begin to bubble. Repeat process until all the badder is gone.

Recipe should yield 6-8 silver dollar pancakes. Serve with fresh fruit, a little maple syrup, or pumpkin butter! 

Pumpkin Coffee Swirl Smoothie

Halloween Themed Recipe #5- Countdown to Halloween


I love having smoothies for breakfast. It's quick, it's easy, it's simple. 

I don't have a lot of time in the morning to make a nice breakfast, as I am assuming many of you reading this are in the same boat! I can throw everything in a blender and in less than 5 minutes I have a delicious breakfast. 

Since it is fall time I use a lot of pumpkin puree in my recipes. Costco sells big cans of Libby's Pumpkin Puree in packs of 3, which definitely last me through the season. Now when you buy pumpkin puree make sure it is the real stuff (like Libby's) and not just pumpkin pie filling. The pumpkin pie filling can have extra sugar and preservatives in it compared to the pure puree. 

One of the ingredients I love adding to my smoothies is cold coffee because I am able to get my caffeine for the day without adding the flavored creamer or half and half, which equates to extra calories. Another ingredient I add to my morning smoothies is a nutrient dense protein powder called Shakeology. It is packed with my daily dose of vitamins, minerals, fruits, and vegetables. By adding it to my smoothie it helps me stay fuller longer throughout the day as well as makes my smoothie more substantial.

The Pumpkin Coffee Swirl Smoothie was created on a morning when I couldn't make up my mind of what to put in my smoothie, I know we have all been there before! I wanted to add coffee, pumpkin puree, chocolate Shakeology, Vanilla Shakeology....so I decided why not throw it all together?! And that is exactly what I did. 

And the Pumpkin Coffee Swirl Smoothie was born.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of iced coffee (I use Starbucks brand)*

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 scoop Chocolate Shakeology**

1/2 scoop Vanilla Shakeology**

1/4 cup Libby's Pumpkin Puree

1/2 banana (not pictured)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dash of cinnamon

Add everything into the blender along with 4-6 ice cubes. Blend until smooth. Pour into your favorite cup and whalah! You have an amazingly nutritious breakfast!

*Starbucks iced coffee can be swapped for any cold coffee. Do NOT add hot coffee to the smoothie, it will cause the smoothie to not blend smoothly.

** If you do not have Shakeology this can be swapped with any protein powder you have at home, although I do have to say it might not be as delicious! Or if you don't like protein powder you can omit it all together!

Happy Blending!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Halloween Themed Recipe #4- Countdown to Halloween!

I love pumpkin. I love chocolate. Putting the two together seemed like a no brainier.

There is no doubt pumpkin season is here and in full swing. Everyone is looking for their next best pumpkin recipe, well no need to look any further. You have found it. Right here, on this page.

This bread is moist, chocolaty, and will cure any sweet tooth you have. There is mounds of chocolate chips in every bite. It is not overly sweet though, it is the perfect balance of sweet. Anytime you add pumpkin to a baked good you can guarantee it will come out moist and fluffy due to the nature of pumpkin.

Have a slice for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or even a late night dessert before bed! {That is usually when I op for it haha} I love warming up my slice and topping it with creamy peanut butter, butter, or homemade pumpkin butter, that way the topping melts all over the bread and I get the flavor in every.single.bite. <3 

This recipe takes less than 10 minutes to get in the oven..it just depends on how fast you add the ingredients! Don't let the long ingredients list overwhelm you! Let's get cooking!

*For a clean version of this bread, look for the substitutes next to the ingredients in blue.

Yields: About 10 slices. Prep Time: 5-10 Minutes. Cook Time: 50-55 Minutes Total Time: 75 Minutes

Ingredients: 

1 large egg (1 banana)

1 cup pumpkin puree (Libby's works best!)

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed (substitute maple syrup)

1/4 cup granulated sugar (substitute applesauce)

1/4 cup of greek yogurt (vanilla yogurt works great too!)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (substitute whole wheat flour or almond flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Dash of salt 

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Take a stick of butter and grease the inside of the pan. Use your hand to spread the butter evenly, covering all the sides and bottom of the pan. Add 1 heaping spoonful of flour to the pan, shaking it around until it sticks to the butter. Dump the excess flour.

2. In a large bowl, add the first 10 ingredients and whisk to combine.

3. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

4. Slowly add the powdered ingredients into the wet pumpkin mixture. Stir until combined, but don't over mix.

5. Add the chocolate chips. Stir to combine.

6. Pour the batter into your prepared bread pan. Sprinkle top with cinnamon.

7. Bake for 50-55 minutes. The top should be domed and a golden brown color. Double check by sticking a toothpick or fork in the middle, if it comes out clean the bread is done. If mixture sticks to it, bake it for another 2-3 minutes. If the edges of the bread look too brown, cover lightly with aluminum foil.

8. Allow bread to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Store bread in an airtight container.