Halloween is one of our family’s favorite holidays — not for the candy, but for the traditions we’ve established around this spooky day, like this fun little recipe for Apple Monster Mouths.
As a mom and a nutritionist, I’m always looking for ways to keep real food for kids fun. Healthy treats will distract kids from the hyper-palatable junky treats filling most Halloween bags. Apple Monster Mouths have made the cut year after year!
Not only are apples in season during the fall months, but they look like creepy lips perfect for holding crooked teeth. We’ve always used red apples, but green would be awesome, too — not all monster mouths are the same after all.
This Apple Monster Mouth recipe is super easy, a blast for the whole family to make and eat, and can be kept fairly healthy as a bonus.
Halloween themed food
Costumes, carved pumpkins, spooky decorations and TREATS!!! What’s not to like? Well, if your family follows a primal diet, or you are working on adopting a real foods approach, it can be a daunting time of year!
The thought of sending your little goblins through the neighborhood to stuff a bag, bucket, or pillowcase with “franken foods” full of chemicals, colorings and man-made sugars can be tough to swallow.
Here are a few suggestions that have helped our family maintain the fun, and keep the sugar reasonable:
- Keep fruity fresh snacks on the table in the afternoon — still sweet and fun, but also nutritious. Try banana ghosts, clementine pumpkins, and of course Apple Monster Mouths.
- Fill everyone up with a warm, nutrient-dense, and nourishing meal before you hit the neighborhood. Bloody spaghetti squash “eyeballs,” Primal Chili, and Beef and Sweet Potato Stew are a few of our go-tos.
- Build traditions around fall activities, such as family pumpkin carving, and bobbing for apples! Remember to then use those apples to make Apple Monster Mouths, or Apple Crisp.
Get your kids involved!
Apple Monster Mouths are perfect for getting your kids in the kitchen.
Kids can:
- Pick the color of apples.
- Choose a type of nut butter (we use almond butter, but you could opt for peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, cashew butter, or walnut butter).
- Count the marshmallows. We like this brand that you can find on Amazon.
- Wash the apples.
- Core the apples and help cut the apples if they are developmentally ready — keeping kitchen safety in mind.
- Spread the nut butter.
- Place the marshmallow teeth on the nut butter to make their creepy creations!
If you need more fun ways to eat apples, check out these apple recipes for kids.
Apple Monster Mouths recipe
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Apple Monster Mouths: A Fun & Healthy Halloween Treat
Ingredients
- 2 large apples
- 8 Tbsp almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
- 40 mini marshmallows (without high fructose corn syrup)
Instructions
- Core each apple and cut in vertical quarters.
- With each quarter, carefully cut a wedge on the skin side of the apple without cutting through the apple entirely. This creates the mouth opening.
- Spread about 1 Tbsp of nut butter in the cut out.
- Place about 5 marshmallows on top of the nut butter to create the look of teeth.
