Photo © Flickr user TedsBlog
Homemade Pumpkin Baby Food
If your baby is too young for any other Halloween treat, at least get in the spirit with some fresh pumpkin purees and other pumpkin baby food. Pumpkin, while associated largely with Halloween and Thanksgiving, is great anytime of the year. Whether canned, frozen or fresh, pumpkin packs a powerful nutritional punch for your growing baby. Pumpkin is loaded with beta-carotene, an important antioxidant plus plenty of vitamin A, potassium, vitamin C, calcium and much more.
- Pumpkin broccoli puree: Steam 1/2 cup of fresh organic broccoli until soft. Blend the broccoli and 1/4 cup canned or fresh organic pumpkin puree in your blender or food processor until smooth. If it’s too thick, thin it out with a bit of breast milk.
- Baked mashed pumpkin & spice: Cut an organic pumpkin into chunks. Place chunks face down (not shell down) in a baking dish filled with 1-2 inches of water. Bake for about one hour at 400 degrees. Once cooked soft, scoop out baked pumpkin with a spoon, mash it with a fork or puree it in the blender. Add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Image © Flickr user TheCulinaryGeek
Organic Halloween Cookies
Halloween cookies are one of the easiest treats for little ones. Just make sure you choose a basic organic cookie with either no frosting or just a little icing made with non-toxic food coloring. Skip candy cookie toppers and other add-ins, such as nuts. Below are some nice Halloween cookie ideas for younger kids:
- Vegan Almond Cookies - cut with Halloween cookie cutters.
- Holiday pumpkin cookies (make these without the raisins or candy).
- Miniature organic pumpkin whoopie pies – for toddlers only, not babies.
- Pumpkin oatmeal cookies (minus the raisins and nuts).
- Beautiful Sweets makes organic cookies for all the holidays, packs them in eco-friendly packaging and ships them right to you.
Image © Flickr user lisaclarke
Orange Pumpkin Halloween Smoothie
- 1 cup organic canned pumpkin – or puree your own organic pumpkin
- 1 cup organic milk (you can use soy if you like)
- 2 tablespoons real, organic maple syrup
- 1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2/3 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure Fair Trade, organic vanilla extract
- 1 cup ice
Blend everything, minus the ice to a nice smooth consistency. Add ice and blend until thick and creamy. This tastes great plain, but you can garnish with organic whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon if you like. This is a great alternative to ice cream for little ones. See more awesome smoothie recipes.
Image ©Damaris via Kitchen Corners
Halloween Ice Pops
Ice pops are good icy fun year-round, but at Halloween you can get super creative with ice pops made in festive fall flavors and colors. You can even use spooky ice pop molds. Below are some amazing ideas.
- As seen above, creamy Pumpkin Pie Popsicles via the lovely food blog, Kitchen Corners.
- Vanilla tofu ice pops (add a dash of natural orange food coloring).
- Maple and squash pumpkin pie ice pops.
- Homemade veggie pops – which can be made with pumpkin.
- Sugar pumpkin ice pops (minus the pumpkin seeds).
- See Ice Pop Joy for more icy treat ideas, including an amazing Harvest pop.
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