I'm pumped for Halloween weekend ... it's one of my favorite times of the year!
But ... I know finding balance & enjoying the holiday without derailing your fitness goals can be tough.
There's candy & treats everywhere, and if you're anything like me ... you tend to go overboard easily.
And this is why I want to help you out ... and give you some of my favorite, low-calorie Halloween sweet treat recipes!
The best part ... these treats can fit just about any diet plan, and they're absolutely delicious! I have no doubt they will fight off your Halloween sweet tooth & keep you on track this weekend.
Halloween Protein Dirt Cake
Ingredients:
-12 reduced fat Oreos
-2 Cups Unsweetened cashew or almond milk
-1.5oz instant vanilla pudding mix
-8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
-1/4 cup Splenda for baking
-1 carton (8oz) cool whip fat free
-3 scoops Level-1 Ice Cream Sandwich protein powder
-Gummy worms
Directions:
1. Crush Oreos, either by hand with a rolling pin or using a food processor, until fine crumbs, Set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk almond milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes with a hand mixer.
3. In a separate bowl blend cream cheese and Splenda until fluffy,
4. Add pudding and Level-1 Ice Cream Sandwich protein to cream cheese mixture. Blend until well combined.
5. Fold in Cool Whip.
6. Spread mixture into a 9x13 pan.
7. Sprinkle Crushed Oreos and gummy worms on top.
8. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutritional Breakdown:
Recipe Serves 12
Calories: 225
Protein - 10g
Carbs - 20g
Fat - 10g
Jack-O-Lantern Protein Ball
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup all-natural smooth peanut butter
- ¼ cup pure pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup honey
- ¾ cup dry rolled oats
- 3 scoops EvoFusion Chocolate Shake protein powder
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips
- 12 small pretzel sticks, each broken into 2 pieces
Instructions:
1. Combine peanut butter, pumpkin, honey, oats, protein powder, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; mix well with clean hands or a rubber spatula.
2. Shape mixture into about 24 balls.
3. Arrange chocolate chips in protein balls to resemble jack-o'-lantern faces. Stick a pretzel piece into the top of each protein ball to make a stem.
4. Place in airtight container; refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
5. Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Nutritional Breakdown:
Recipe Serves 12 (about 2 balls per serving)
Calories: 184
Protein - 9g
Carbs - 18g
Fat - 10g
Healthy Halloween Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups chickpeas cooked or canned
- 2 medium ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 3/4 cup rolled oats gluten free if preferred
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 scoop Level-1 Vanilla protein powder
Optional Ingredients:
- Candy Eyes
- Green food coloring
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Add all the ingredients EXCEPT the optional candy eyes and food coloring to your food processor and process until smooth. Then add 25-30 drops of green food coloring, if using, and pulse a few times to mix through.
3. Use a small cookie scoop to scoop the batter onto your baking sheets (You'll get about 26 cookies). Then using slightly wet hands, press the cookies down and shape them into rounds. The batter won't spread much, so shape them before baking.
4. Bake for 16-18 minutes, then remove from the oven and gently press the candy eyes (if using) into your cookies while they are still warm. Then let them cool.
Nutritional Breakdown:
Recipe Makes 24 Cookies (1 cookie per serving)
Calories: 70
Protein - 3g
Carbs - 8g
Fat - 3g
Ghost Brownies
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp walden Farms Syrup
- ½ cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 oz dark chocolate chips
- 1 whole egg
- 1 scoop Element Peanut Butter protein powder
- 1 cup, mashed banana
Directions:
1. Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, blend egg, 2 tbsp syrup, black beans, protein powder, and baking soda with a small blender or hand mixer.
3. Pour batter into a greased 4x6 baking pan.
4. Top with 1 tbsp dark chocolate chips.
5. Bake 18-25 minutes. After cooling, cut into 6 brownies.
6. In a bowl, combine yogurt and syrup to make a sauce.
7. Coat banana pieces in sauce, then fix two chocolate chips on each banana piece for eyes. You now have ghosts.
8. Place a ghost on top of each brownie, and drizzle with any remaining sauce. If desired, secure banana pieces to brownies with toothpicks.
Nutritional Breakdown:
Recipe serves 6
Calories: 98
Protein - 8g
Carbs - 13g
Fat - 3g
This is a tough weekend to stay on track with your fitness ... so please know that we're always here to help. If you need more healthy recipe ideas or nutritional guidance of any kind ... make sure to stop into your nearest Supplement Superstores! We'll make sure you have the best plan possible.
This article was written by Casey Borgmann. She is a N.A.S.M. Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutrition Specialist.
