Sweet treats can be nutritious and still full of flavor. Substitute these fall themed desserts and snacks, which are traditionally filled with added sugar and saturated fat, with these flavorful treats:
- ½ cup fresh fruit dipped in lite Greek vanilla yogurt sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tablespoons Pumpkin spice hummus with 4 graham cracker squares
- 1 baked apple or pear with lite Greek vanilla yogurt topped with cinnamon
- Pumpkin Pie flavored protein bar- like One Bar, Quest Bar, Aloha Bar, Kind Bar (pumpkin pie/spice may be a seasonal flavor)
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds (for a salty vs. sweet craving)
Stay energized with this protein-filled pumpkin smoothie:
Creamy Pumpkin smoothie:
Serving size: 1.5 Cups
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1 cup canned 100% pumpkin
- 1 cup low-fat, lite Greek vanilla yogurt
- 1 cup fat-free milk or milk substitute
- 1 scoop vanilla flavored protein powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg, plus a dash for topping
- 1/8th tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Wash hands thoroughly with warm water and soap.
Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
Blend until smooth.
Pour into a glass and garnish with a dash of nutmeg.
Recipe modified from https://www.eatright.org/recipes/beverages/pumpkin-cheesecake-smoothie-recipe
Other helpful treats to navigate through this traditional “candy” season:
- Instead of keeping candy laying around the house for the taking.. Keep a jar and pad of paper/pen out for people to write what they are thankful for and put it in the jar. At the end of each week, read aloud as a family or by yourself for a mood boost instead of turning to typical “comfort” foods.
- Plan to give out small bags of pretzels, low-fat popcorn, granola bars or even stickers instead of candy on Halloween,
- Challenge family members or friends to walk every day in October.
- Implement “Sober October” and refrain from any alcoholic beverages during the month of October.
- Plan a fun trip to an apple orchard or pumpkin farm and stock up on healthy apples to make unsweetened applesauce, baked apples or just enjoy fresh apples. Try out some new recipes with small baking pumpkins.
