Fruity Ghosts on a Stick

It just turns out that pears are just the right shape for making spooky ghost treats! These are an interesting alternative to the traditional candy apples.

Ingredients:

Wooden craft sticks, like for a popsicle
6 medium sized pears
10 – 12 squares of almond bark (2 ounce squares)
Handful of mini chocolate chips for ghostly eyes
Halloween cupcake papers

Instructions:

Line a cookie sheet or other flat serving tray with waxed paper, we aren’t actually putting in the oven so any moveable flat surface is good for this treat. Line up the cupcake papers across the sheet. Melt almond bark following the package directions. Poke craft sticks firmly into the pears. Dip each pear into the melted bark, you can use a spoon to help evenly coat the entire pear. Place each one in a cupcake paper, standing up as much as you can get it to. Place mini chocolate candies for face decoration. You can use any leftover almond bark to spoon ghost tails into the paper cups. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Halloween Banana Bites

What You Need:

4 bananas, peeled and cut into bite size chunks
2 t Halloween sprinkles
2/3 C semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 C milk chocolate frosting

How to Make It:

Cover a serving plate with wax paper.
Place the banana chunks, cut side down onto the wax paper.
Place a toothpick into each banana chunk.
Place the banana chunks into the freezer for 20 minutes or until hard.
Place the Halloween sprinkles into a small cup and set aside.
Dump the chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl.
Microwave the chips on high for 60 seconds.
Remove the melted chips and stir until smooth.
Place the frosting into the bowl with the melted chip.
Stir the mixture until blended together well.
Place in the microwave on high for 15 seconds.
Remove and stir until the mixture becomes a dip consistency.
Remove the bananas from the freezer.
Dip each banana into the melted chocolate mixture until completely covered.
Sprinkle each dipped banana with the Halloween sprinkles.
Place the banana chunks back onto the wax paper.
Put the all the dipped banana chunks back into the freezer for 1 hour or until the chocolate has completely hardened.

If the chocolate frosting mixture begins to harden before you have all the bananas coated place it back into them microwave and heat on high for 10 to 15 seconds or until soft. Be sure to stir the mixture before you resume the dipping process.

Makes 10 servings

Preparation Time: approximately 15 minutes
Freezing Time: approximately 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: approximately 1 hour 35 minutes

Nutritional Information (approximate values per 2 chunks)
Calories 190; fat 8g; sodium 0 mg; carbohydrates 30g; sugars 23g; protein 1g

Sweet and Salty Pirate Caramel Apples

Ingredients:

6 Granny Smith apples
6 wooden sticks
1 (14 ounce) package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Extra chips for decorating

Instructions:

Insert wooden sticks 3/4 of the way into the stem end of each apple.
Combine caramels and water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir often to get a smooth caramel mixture. Dip apples into caramel. Place standing up on a sheet of foil or a cookie sheet for easy decorating and chilling. Sprinkle with the coarse salt and place in the fridge. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe dish. This is easiest if you microwave for 30-40 seconds, stir, and repeat until you have a whole bowl of smooth creamy melted chocolate. Drizzle melted chocolate over the apples. Sprinkle with the extra chocolate chips. Return to refrigerator until ready to eat.

Do Apples Keep the Doctor Away?

We’ve all heard the saying about doctors and apples. But, is it true? There are many health benefits to eating apples and we are going to find out what they are.

 

Apples contain antioxidants. Antioxidants are everywhere these days. They are the chemicals in fruits, vegetables, and chocolate that combats the effects of free radicals in the body.

 

Free radicals are the by-products of cellular metabolism. It is the free radical damage to our bodies that causes us to actually “look” our age. Free radicals are hard on the body and that doesn’t let up as we get older.

 

In fact, it is worse. Age compromises our immune system. Just like when we are young, when we are old, our bodies are not in peak fighting shape to ward off illnesses and diseases like asthma and various forms of cancer. This is where antioxidants are so important.

 

Apples contain antioxidant substances called flavonoids: quercetin, phloridzin, and vitamin C are a few. These substances subdue the free radicals and prevent them from doing damage to our organs and vessels. With these free radicals out of commission, we are less likely to develop certain forms of cancer, neurological disorders (like Alzheimer’s), and other telltale signs of old age.

 

Why are many people living to the century mark and looking good while doing it? They aren’t eating a leaf of lettuce and drinking a gallon of water a day that’s for sure. They are better taking care of their bodies through exercise and choosing foods carefully.

 

Consuming many antioxidant rich foods like apples means more fight against aging and illness. Despite the color on the outside, each apple contains antioxidant properties that make it pack a punch each time you eat one. No one specifically knows how many antioxidants we should consume on a daily basis to achieve optimal health but getting as many into you as possible is best.

 

And, with apples on our side, consuming them is a very tasty proposition indeed. Apples have many tastes: tart, tangy, sweet, and not so sweet. Choose the apple that fits your taste and get healthy while enjoying yourself.

 

The pectin found in apples helps to reduce our cholesterol levels. Bad cholesterol chases after us all our lives. The foods we love to eat are always loaded with it. So, switch out some of those French fries for at least one apple a day and see the difference it will make to your body.  

Getting Kids to Eat Apples

Apples are an all around fruit that has universal appeal. There’s nothing like an apple picked fresh from the tree. The crisp natural goodness has many health benefits. Unfortunately, kids don’t worry about any of that. So, how do you get them to eat apples?

 

Well, you can tell them how good apples are for their bodies. They may listen and then they may not. We all know what we should and should not eat, but it’s more fun to eat something that is not necessarily best for us.

 

The thing about apples is that they taste good. The natural sweetness can be better tasting than candy. Most kids have a sweet tooth so use apples to satisfy it.

 

On one hand, you can sneak apples into their favorite dishes. When there is more than one taste present, certain tastes that you find less appealing are masked. You’re kids may not be opposed to apples, but this is one way to get them to try them and like them before they can say no.

 

Do they like salad? Dice a few skinned apples and sprinkle them on the salad like croutons. The sweet taste contrasts with tomatoes and cucumbers to provide something extra.

 

Apples are also a favorite addition to chicken salad. It lends a certain zing to the chicken, mayo, and other ingredients. Use apples to flavor turkey salad as well.

 

Kids enjoy finger foods. Something that they can pick up and carry around with them makes eating not only fun but convenient. Create apple sticks by peeling and coring them first, then slicing the apples to resemble French fries. Combine with cheese sticks and their favorite sandwich for lunch and you’ve got a winner.

 

Apples are appealing as a drink. For kids who don’t eat fruit that often, give them their fruits in liquid form. Apple juice retains many of the nutrients as the actual apple. It is not as filling, will do instead of orange juice at breakfast or as a midmorning sweet tooth satisfier.

 

Apples can be incorporated into muffin mixes, cakes, and of course, pies. Even apple flavored yogurt contains pieces of the fruit. If your child has a problem with the taste, substitute other apple varieties. Gala apples are crisp and sweet while Granny Smith apples are tart and crisp.

 

Find out what they like and give it to them. The best thing about apples is they don’t need any added sugar to liven them up. The natural sugars will do the job just fine.

Next Page »