Human Skeleton with “Brain” Dip
20 minutes prep time | Serves 8

What you need:

• 2 c assorted fruits and vegetables such as apples, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, mushrooms, and red peppers, sliced
• 1 c low-fat ranch dressing

What you do:

1. Arrange sliced fruits and veggies into a skeleton shape on a platter.
    
2. Fill a small, round, shallow bowl with dressing and cauliflower florets.
    
3. Place this at top of skeleton to form a “brain.” Chill until served.
    

Per serving: 57 Calories, 10 g Carboydrates, 1 g Fiber, 2 g Total fat, 353 mg Sodium, Vitamin A, C

Spooky Spider Crackers
20 minutes prep time | Makes 12 spiders

What you need:

• 1/2 c low-fat cream cheese, softened
• 24 round crackers
• 96 small, thinly cut carrot sticks
• 48 currants

What you do:

1. Spread 1 teaspoon of cream cheese evenly over each of 12 crackers.
2. Place 12 remaining crackers over
3. to form a sandwich. This will be
4. the spider’s body.
5. To make spider legs, carefully place 8 carrot sticks into each cracker sandwich—four on each side.
6. Top each cracker sandwich with 1 teaspoon of cream cheese. To make spider eyes, place 4 currants on top of each spider body. Chill until served.
    

Per serving: 50 Calories, 2 g Protein, 5 g Carbohydrates, 1 g Fiber, 3 g Total fat (1 g sat, 1 g mono), 72 mg Sodium, Vitamin A

Halloween Popcorn Balls
Adapted from Healthy Cooking for Kids by Shelly Null ($14.95, St. Martin’s Griffin, 1999)

10 minutes prep time | Makes 8 balls

What you need:

• 1 Tbsp peanut oil
• 1/4 c popping corn
   
• 1/2 c honey
   
• 1/4 c smooth peanut butter
   
• 1/4 tsp salt
   
• 8 strings black licorice,
   
• chopped (optional)

What you do:
 

1. Mix oil and popping corn together in a large pot. Cover the pot and cook over moderate to high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until corn begins to pop. Using pot holders, lift pot approximately 2 inches from the stove’s surface, rotating or shaking the pot using a circular motion to prevent burning. Continue cooking until all the corn is popped, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan set over moderate to high heat, bring honey and peanut butter to a rolling boil. Stir mixture constantly for 30 seconds. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in salt. Pour peanut butter mixture over cooked popcorn and mix until well combined. Add licorice bits, if using.
3. With your hands, shape the popcorn mixture into 4-inch balls. (Oiling your hands with a small amount of vegetable oil will help prevent sticking). To cool popcorn balls, set them onto a lightly oiled wire rack. Once they have completely cooled, they are ready to serve.
    

Per serving: 150 Calories, 3 g Protein, 24 g Carbohydrates, 1 g Fiber, 6 g Total fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono, 2 g poly), 74 mg Sodium, Biotin