Healthy Homemade Halloween Candy Bars & Sweet Treats
Health experts and nutritionists typically caution people against the dangers of over-indulging that sweet tooth with store about chocolates, candies and sweets. Come Halloween, a time of year synonymous with sweet treats, the temptation (and the opportunity) to indulge is very high.
So how can you, your family, and guests avoid these snacks that are so high in calories, sugar, fat, preservatives and artificial additives while keeping up with the Halloween candy tradition? Here are some ideas for healthy homemade treats to help you celebrate Halloween a wee bit differently this year:
Homemade Chocolate Peanut bars
These chocolate covered peanut bars taste just as good as the store brands but are much more wholesome and healthy. Here’s what you’ ll need:
- ½ cup peanut butter - use a natural brand without salt, sugar or preservatives
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup oat flour
- 10 tbsp rice protein powder
- 1 cup sugar or 1 tsp of stevia extract
- ½ cup caramel sauce
- Peanuts (as per taste)
- 2 tbsp peanut flour
- 9 oz dark cooking chocolate
First mix together the almond milk, peanut butter and the sugar or stevia in a large mixing bowl. Separately mix the 8 tbsp of the protein powder and oat flour, and add this to the main mixing bowl and blend well until you have a smooth mixture without lumps. You should have a very thick near dough like consistency. Spread this into a pan evenly and put the pan in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Now take the caramel sauce in a bowl and mix in the remaining protein powder, and then add the peanut flour. This gives you a nice treacle-like mix. Add this as a top layer to the pan that you put in the fridge earlier and let it set in the fridge for an hour. Take it out again and add a layer of peanuts to the pan. Press them in so that you have a nice triple layer that won’t come apart. Refrigerate again.
Now when you remove the pan, cut this triple layer treat into bars the size of your choice. Use a double boiler to melt the cooking chocolate and then dip the entire bars into the chocolate mixture; refrigerate again till nice and firm. Wrap in foil or cling film and now you have another sweet treat ready for the little ones who come to your door.
Easy whole wheat & walnut brownies
What you will need:
- 80 gm butter (unsalted)
- 100 gm sugar
- 2 eggs
- 50 gm cocoa powder
- 50 whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 to 2 tbsp milk (if required)
- ½ cup of chopped walnuts (optional)
Put the butter (softened) and the sugar (powdered) in a bowl, and blend it well using a whisk, egg beater or bar blender. Add the eggs and continue to blend well. Add the cocoa and the baking powder and continue to blend. Then add the whole wheat flour – at this stage you may find the mixture thickening too much and may need to add some milk to create a nice thick pouring consistency.
Pour the mixture into a lined pan and top it with the chopped walnuts (a very healthy addition, but you may want to avoid this because many kids don’t like nuts or may be allergic to it). Bake at sponge cake temperature for 30 minutes, or until you are able to insert a knife into it and the tip of the knife comes out clean. Let it cool, cut it into squares can pack it into cling film – ready to be served for trick & treating!
We hope you have a fun and healthy Halloween this year, and that you enjoy making and indulging in these tasty treats. To keep track of future posts and great deals on ink & toner, subscribe to our newsletter or like us on Facebook. .