For many of us, celebrating the Harvest season means cozy cardigans and lots of pumpkin-themed snacks. While many of the common treats – pumpkin bars, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin ice cream – can be packed with sugar, there are many tasty alternatives that your kid (and you!) will not only love to eat but help prepare.
Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
This recipe is simple and requires minimal effort to produce a delicious, healthy pumpkin muffin. According to the recipe from yummytoddlerfood.com, you will need ¼ cup flour, ¾ cup almond or sun butter, ½ cup pumpkin puree, 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 3 tbsp vegetable or olive oil, 1 ½ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp baking soda, ¼ cup maple syrup, a shake each of pumpkin spice and cinnamon.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven warms up, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until they are well mixed. Then spoon the mixture equally into muffin tins. Bake for 14 minutes and allow to cool. They should remain fresh if refrigerated for up to three days.
Pumpkin Hummus
There seems to be an unlimited number of variations of hummus but this savory spin on pumpkin from superhealthykids.com is sure to deliver major flavor. You will need 2 cups drained chickpeas (garbanzo beans), 15 oz pumpkin puree, 2 tbsp tahini, 2 garlic cloves, a dash of salt, 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin, ¼ cup olive oil, and a shake of paprika.
Combine all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. If it’s too thick, add a little more olive oil to the mix. Spoon the blended mixture into a bowl and you’re ready to eat dip celery, slices of bell pepper or cucumber, and pita chips into the creamy hummus. For some extra festive fun, cut a stalk of celery to about 3 inches long and insert it half way into your mix so it looks like the handle of a pumpkin.
Frozen pumpkin yogurt snack bites
For those fall days that are a little hotter than usual, a wholesome frozen treat is a great way to get in the fall spirit. This recipe from onmykidsplate.com calls for 1/3 cup pumpkin puree, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 vanilla yogurt, 1 tsp honey or maple syrup.
Mix together in a bowl the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, vanilla and honey. Add the yogurt to a silicone mold or mini cupcake tray, filling each bite halfway. Then add your pumpkin mixture to fill each silicone mold spot. Freeze your creation until it’s frozen solid, which should take about 1-2 hours. Pop-out the bites from the silicone mold and enjoy!
