Happy, Healthy Halloween!

Okay, NO, I am not the ghost of spoiled Halloween fun. The candy will arrive. Probably more than its possible for the kid to eat, and some of it may become "invisible" over the few days after Halloween. But there will be candy.

I just like to try and get a few healthy snacks in before the candy. Let's call it a last defensive shield against the sugar-frenzy to come. More likely, its a band-aid on any raging gash of mom guilt I feel and the kid will be just fine. Even so, I am glad its just once a year.

You can catch me on KCUR talking about a Healthy Halloween with the following recipes for a fun dinner before the trick-or-treating begins. Using a holiday fun theme helps the healthier recipes get a bit of love from your little goblins and ghouls, too.

Spooky Soup (Pumpkin–White Cheddar with Ghosts)

Pumpkin works well in this soup, but you can substitute mashed sweet potatoes, or even use canned pumpkin if desired. If you like, serve with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche, or even a bit more of the shredded white cheddar instead of the “ghost croutons.”

1 10 lb. pumpkin (to make 5 cups of puree, or 2 {1/2} cans pumpkin)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing pumpkin skin

1 large onion, chopped

1 cup carrot diced small (in {1/4}-inch cubes)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, or 1 tablespoon dried 

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, or {1/2} teaspoon dried

{1/4} cup unbleached all-purpose flour

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup apple cider

3{1/2} cups milk

12 ounces white cheddar cheese, grated (about 3 cups)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Set an oven rack in the lowest position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Skip to step 4 if using canned pumpkin.

2. To prepare the pumpkin, cut it in half and scrape out the seeds and pulp. Lightly oil the skin and place on a baking sheet, cut side down. Bake for about 1 hour, until the sides of the pumpkin give easily when pressed. 

3. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit. Scrape the flesh from the skin into measuring cup, (you need 5 cups). Purée in a food processor until smooth. (Any extra pumpkin purée can be frozen for future use. Store in 1-cup amounts or in 15-ounce portions to be equal to a can of pumpkin purée.)

4. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrot, sage, and thyme. Sweat the vegetables for about 10 minutes.

5. Add the flour and stir to coat the veggies and cook the flour for a couple minutes. Add the stock and the cider and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally to let the soup thicken a bit, for 10 minutes. Add the pumpkin and stir, bringing back to a simmer. Add the milk, carefully bringing the soup back to a simmer.

Last, add the cheese in small handfuls, stirring as you go to melt it in completely. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper as needed. 

Serves 8.

Recipe courtesy of The Cleaner Plate Club, By Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin, Storey Publishing

For the Ghost Croutons

4 slices of sourdough bread
1 tsp. olive oil for drizzling

2 oz. goat cheese, softened, or extra white cheddar shredded

1. Using a small ghost cookie cutter, cut ghost shapes out from the bread. Save the crusts and extra, diced, in a plastic bag in the freezer for your Thanksgiving stuffing. Or, you can drizzle the crusts with extra olive oil and bake for salad croutons.

2. Place the bread ghosts on a cookie sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for five minutes in the 350-degree oven until crisp. Remove from oven and carefully spread each ghost with softened goat cheese, or sprinkle with extra white cheddar.

3. Bake for five more minutes until the cheese melts and you get bits of golden brown showing. Remove from oven. “Float” one ghost on each serving of soup.

Pumpkin Toasties

For the Bruscetta

12 slices of sourdough bread


2 Tbs. olive oil for drizzling

1. Using a small pumpkin cookie cutter, cut pumpkin shapes out from the bread. Save the crusts and extra, diced, in a plastic bag in the freezer for your Thanksgiving stuffing. Or, you can drizzle the crusts with extra olive oil and bake for salad croutons.

2. Place the pumpkins on a cookie sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for five minutes in the 350-degree oven until crisp. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

3. Spread each pumpkin with the hummus below, adding a parsley leaf on each “stem” for garnish.

Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Hummus

1 lb. sweet potato, diced, peeled and steamed for 30 minutes, or poke holes in skin and microwave on high for 5 minutes, then scoop out flesh when cooled

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 clove garlic

Juice of one lemon

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. mace

Pulse in food processor until smooth, adding a bit more olive oil if needed. Serve on the pumpkin bruscetta, or with pita, pita chips or vegetables.

Bio of the author:

Beth will be doing a book signing, along with another local author, Jill Silva, at the Kansas City Store on the Plaza, 314 Ward Parkway, KCMO 64112, on Saturday, November 3, 1:30 to 3:30 pm.

Beth Bader is co-author of "The Cleaner Plate Club: More Than 100 Recipes for Real Food Your Kids Will Love." Beth was raised on a farm in northern Missouri long before raising your own chickens and the u-pick local strawberry patch were “cool.”

In the book, Beth helps parents understand picky eating behaviors; where they originate, and how to deal with them creatively to get kids to eat better — without any sneaking, lying or fights. And without the judging or holier-than-thou advice that parents don’t want and don’t need.

In addition to her book, Beth writes for EatLocalChallenge.com, Martha Stewart’s Whole Living, and Dr. Greene.