Halloween is upon us again, the yearly sugar fest that is matched only by Easter and Christmas. It's a treat or treat bonanza, with a big payday for retailers and families stocking up on cheap candy weeks ahead as if their lives depend on it. Newsflash: Stores do not run out of sweets. And we all know what happens to a stash of goodies at home. It mysteriously shrinks over time! So do yourself a favour and make any sugary purchases at the eleventh hour.
Now, roaming the streets dressed up as zombies and ghosts while collecting bucketfuls of sweets is one of the great pleasures of childhood. I wouldn't dream of suggesting you should prevent your child from joining in or take away their bounty. Sugar free mummies, the latter is called stealing. It's best to take a deep breath and remind yourself that it is more important to reduce sugar consumption throughout the year rather than focusing all attention on one single day.
Apart from making sure your kids brush their teeth particularly well on the 31st (and giving them plenty of veggies for lunch to make yourself feel better), there is one more thing you can do to help your family have a healthier Halloween: Throw your own Halloween party and crowd out the junk with these brilliant sugar free sweets and savoury treats.
Chocolate Peanut Spider Cookies by All Day I Dream About Food
Image: All Day I Dream About Food
How adorable are these little guys? I almost want one as a pet. These easy gluten free thumbprint cookies are made with a good measure of peanut butter, which makes them deliciously soft. The filling is a rich sugar-free chocolate ganache. Finger-licking goodness!
Halloween Bat Cookies by Sugar Free Londoner
Image: Sugar Free Londoner
Halloween is probably the only time of year you'd consider eating a bat. So you better make sure it tastes dastardly divine. These chocolate cut-out cookies are sugar free, grain free and drizzled with a dark chocolate glaze.
Low Carb Halloween Cheese Jalapeño Poppers by Step Away From The Carbs
Image: Step Away From The Carbs
A fun appetiser idea for your sugar free Halloween party. Would you dare eating one of these spooky jalapeño mummies?
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fat Bombs by Low Carb Maven
Image: Low Carb Maven
A fabulously rich and creamy treat that will satisfy even the strongest sweet craving. For a Halloween buffet, cut into small squares and eat with toothpicks to keep your vampire hands clean.
Apple Sunbutter Teeth Bites by Fork and Beans
Image: Fork and Beans
You think apples aren't scary? Think again. In this crafty creation it's the sunflower seed teeth and a red strawberry tongue that transform a harmless sliced apple into a truly terrifying healthy snack.
Cheese and Pretzel Broomsticks by One Little Project
Image: One Little Project
Treats don't have to be sweet to be sweet. My kids went to a Halloween party last year where cheesy broomsticks were the heroes of the buffet.
Pumpkin Pie Snowball Cookies by Beauty And The Foodie
Image: Beauty and the Foodie
Almond and coconut flour are the base of these gluten free pumpkin spiced cookies - bite-sized morsels that won't give you a sugar rush.
Halloween Witches' Finger Cookies by Sugar Free Mom
Image: Sugar Free Mom
With their icky green colouring and pointy pumpkin seed nails these sugar free cookies look delightfully hideous.
Frankenstein Kiwis by Two Healthy Kitchens
Image: Two Healthy Kitchens
Such a fun idea and a great little craft project. It's easy to turn a Kiwi into a cute mini-Frankenstein - the hairstyle is up to you!
Sugar Free Cut-out Cookies by Sugar Free Londoner
Image: Sugar Free Londoner
It's the sugar free coconut butter glaze that makes these ghost cookies so moreish. You could even give them eyes with chocolate chips or dried blueberries!
Pumpkin Pie Crumble Cupcakes by Wholesome Yum
Image: Wholesome Yum
Get your werewolf teeth stuck into these mini pumpkin pies topped with cinnamon crunch. They require only ten minutes of prep and are sweetened with the natural sugar alternative erythritol.
Brains, Bloody Brains by Low Carb So Simple
Image: Low Carb so Simple
This would be the crowning gory glory of any Halloween feast: a wiggly vanilla gelatine brain filled with sugar free strawberry jam. What a bloody brilliant idea.
Peanut Butter Pumpkins by Joy Filled Eats
Image: Joy Filled Eats
The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is always irresistible: these sugar free pumpkin-shaped candies are a perfect guilt free treat.
Banana Ghost Pops by Super Healthy Kids
Image: Super Healthy Kids
The base for this healthy treat is frozen banana. The recipe is so easy that even small children will enjoy helping you assemble them. Let me warn you now: They are not going to want to share. Make a double portion to ensure you don't miss out on biting the head off your very own ghost.
Low Carb Candy Pumpkin Truffles by Low Carb Yum
Image: Low Carb Yum
Get ready for some serious autumn flavours: These low carb and sugar free truffles have a soft pumpkin ganache centre. Decorate with some plastic spiders or flies to sufficiently disgust your guests.
Skinny Cashew Snickers Bars by My Montana Kitchen
Image: My Montana Kitchen
Who needs the real deal when you can have a homemade Snickers bar that is sweet without sending your blood sugar sky-high?
Low Carb Halloween Chips by Step Away From The Carbs
Image: Step Away From the Carbs
If you've got some Halloween-themed cookie cutters lying around, try out this snack idea: homemade cinnamon-spiced sweet tortilla chips. Crunchy, buttery and completely sugar-free. Enjoy!
This article appeared first on sugarfreelondoner.com