Free Halloween Party Planner
for Dieters
Article by Diet Bites
Planning a small get-together with family and friends, or a huge Halloween Party bash?
Our Party Planner can keep the 'Diet Happy' in your event, and you'll feel great knowing that you're being the Hostess with the Mostess in serving healthier, lower calorie treats. No tricks here!
We invite you to try out Diet Bites' delicious Halloween recipes listed below. We have several sweet options - including a Halloween punch with oomph! as well as some great appetizer suggestions. And Happy Halloween to all of our cherished readers!
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HALLOWEEN PUNCH LOWER CALORIE RECIPE FOR DIETERS
Low Calorie, Diet Friendly Spooky Halloween Punch Recipe
You will need the following ingredients: 3 liters of cold Diet 7-Up OR Diet Sprite + ½ gallon of Pineapple Sherbet
Simply pour the diet soda into a punch bowl, or the bowl of your choice, then add large scoops of the pineapple sherbet. Most varieties of sherbet contain about 100 calories per ½ cup serving and about 1.5 grams of fat. One large punchbowl of our Halloween Punch serves 24 guests generously.
HALLOWEEN APPETIZER LOWER CALORIE RECIPES FOR DIETERS
Low Calorie, Halloween Party Bread Appetizers
A very simple, delicious recipe suggestion that can almost be prepared in one's sleep. Purchase the small party breads of your choice at your local market (generally found in the bread section or the deli section).
Top bread with a thin smear of Miracle Whip Light OR the mustard of your choice.
Opting for mustard will save additional calories and fat grams. Next, add a square of cheese and top with a thin slice of deli meat. Secure with a frilly toothpick.Other combinations that work well include:
Low Calorie, Frankenstein Appetizers for Your Rockin' Halloween Party
You'll need the following for this lower calorie Halloween Recipe:
Prepare the sausages as directed on package. Heat the chili sauce in a deep pan, then add the grape jelly. When jelly melts, add the sausages. Make sure you have frilly toothpicks so guests can self-serve. Delicious!
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Lower Calorie, Chip & Dip Appetizers
The old chip and dip section at the party is one of the deadliest when it comes to weighty issues. There are a few options around the calories and fat grams.
You can opt to serve raw bite-sized veggies which have frilly toothpicks inserted - along with light prepared dips, or light yogurt or you can prepare a light version of a personal favorite dip recipe substituting light sour cream OR light cream cheese for said ingredients.
Or, you can serve Diet Bites'Nacho Chips. Here is the tasty, quick recipe:
Add 1 Tablespoon of bean dip to a chip. Add 1 teaspoon of cheese sauce. Top with 1 pepper slice if desired. Pop a tray of these babies into the microwave to heat, then set out for your guests to eat.
Lower Calorie, Meatballs Appetizers for Your Rockin' Halloween Party
The key in keeping calories and fat grams low resides in the cut of beef. Opt for the lowest fat-percentage of ground beef available. The following recipe makes about 2 dozen meatballs.
For this lower calorie recipe you will need:
Mix ingredients then shape into one-inch balls. If meatball mixture sticks to hands while forming meatballs, wash hands, then dampen hands with a bit of water before continuing.
Arrange in pan and bake in a preheated 350° oven until juices run clear.
Be sure to test before serving by checking the inside of one meatball before serving. This meatball recipe goes well with reduced-fat ranch dip.
Low Calorie, Celery Appetizers
The possibilities are endless! Start with clean celery stalks. Be sure to remove the strings and to pat your celery dry before filling.
A wet surface will have the cream cheese rolling everywhere except where you want it to go. Also, the key to keeping these Celery Stick Appetizers lower in calories is to use WHIPPED cream cheese.
Here are just a few delicious combinations that can be created:
1 Celery Stalk spread with any of the following mixtures:
- 1 serving of whipped cream cheese + chopped black OR green olives with pimentos
- 1 serving of whipped cream cheese + golden OR dark raisins OR dried cranberries
- 1 serving of whipped cream cheese tinted orange + 1/2 teaspoon of mini chocolate chip morsels OR dark raisins OR chopped dates
- 1 serving of whipped cream cheese + 1 teaspoon of bacon bits + 1 teaspoon of chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 serving of whipped cream cheese + 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon + 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar; sprinkle with Halloween-theme sprinkles
- 1 serving of whipped cream cheese + 1 teaspoon of ground chili powder + 1/4 teaspoon of ground lemon OR lime rind + 1 teaspoon of finely chopped jalapeno peppers
HALLOWEEN DESSERT LOWER CALORIE RECIPES FOR DIETERS
Lower Calorie, Diet Friendly Ice Cream Cakes
Ice cream? Diet Friendly? Oh goody! This recipe makes 1-2 Ice Cream Cakes, depending upon the size of pans used.
Start with your favorite cake mix. We used Devil's Food. Add ½ of unsweetened applesauce; dough will be crumbly and/or stiff. Press into non-stick cake pans that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. If you don't like the idea of applesauce, use ½ cup of melted margarine instead, opting for one of the lighter calorie versions.
Use the baking pans of your choice - and they can be any shape from round to square. You'll need the same size pans to prepare the ice cream filling.
Whatever pan used, keep in mind that we're going to be making a spider web on the finished ice cream cake. Next, bake in a 325° oven for about 20 minutes - or until edges begin to brown. Once the cake is done, allow to cool completely.
Next, allow your choice of LIGHT, reduced fat OR even sugar-free ice cream to soften - but you don't want a melted mess, so keep a close watch on the softening process. You can also pop it into the microwave for a minute or so to speed-up the process, but take note that different brands of microwaves cook differently.
Line the bottom of a pan (that matches the shape of the cake pans used in the baking process) with foil or plastic wrap. Allow to freeze to a firm state. Place one of the cakes on a freezer-proof serving plate; add the rock-hard ice cream then top with another cake. Store in the fridge. Assemble remaining cake.
Create the spider web using icing in a tube (any color desired to compliment cake). Start with a tiny circle in the center of the cake, then draw another circle around the tiny circle. Keep making circles until you reach the edge of the cake. Using a bread knife, place point in the center of the cake and pull through the circles of icing until it reaches the edge.
Continue this process until the web is complete. Add a few plastic spiders (or edible candy spiders or Halloweencandies) if desired. Be sure to keep your ice cream cakes in the freezer until just before serving.
Although we chose Devil's Food and used light vanilla ice cream, several combinations of cake and ice cream work wonderfully well together. A few of our favorites:
- vanilla cake & butter pecan ice cream
- lemon cake & lemon sherbet
- orange cake & orange sherbet
- strawberry cake & strawberry ice cream
Low Calorie, Diet Friendly Halloween Cake
You will need the following ingredients:
1 orange OR chocolate cake mix (use unsweetened applesauce in place of oil)
1 small box of instant sugar-free, reduced fat chocolate pudding/pie filling (if using chocolate cake mix, then use vanilla pudding + a few drops of orange food coloring)
1 large container of Light, Reduced Fat Topping, thawed
Candy Corn OR your favorite edible Halloween decorations
Use four baking pans to prepare cake OR use two pans and halve the cakes after they have cooked as directed on package. Next, allow cakes to completely cool. Prepare pudding & pie filling as directed on box, using the 'Pie Filling' directions as we're targeting a thicker texture for our Halloween Cake.
When pie filling reaches room temperature, fold in the container of whipped topping. Spoon about ¼ of the mixture on the first cake layer, then top with another cake layer.
Repeat process, ending with the top of the cake being topped with the filing mixture. Apply edible Halloween decorations if desired. This Halloween recipe makes a very eye-appealing centerpiece with its beautiful orange cake and chocolate filling.
Low Calorie, Diet Friendly Simple Halloween Cupcakes
If a very simple, lower calorie Halloween cake recipe is desired, simply make cupcakes tucked inside pretty foil cups. Prepare the cake mix package directions, opting unsweetened applesauce in place of the oil to cut fat and calories without sacrificing flavor.
Top with light topping - and there are several available flavors, such as delicious chocolate. If you can't find the flavor of your preference, mix 1 Tablespoon of powdered cocoa into the whipped topping.
OR if you desire an orange tint, simply add a dash of orange extract and a dot or two of orange food coloring. Top with candy corn OR candy pumpkins OR sprinkles for a few more calories.
The Melting Pot, a Halloween Recipe Treat
Dark chocolate comes with many healthy benefits and can indeed be a part of your Halloween Party. We suggest a fondue pot filled with melted dark chocolate with speared fruit on the side that has been dipped in citrus juice to prevent browning. Our favorites include: banana chunks, whole strawberries, kiwi chunks, and pineapple chunks. Large marshmallows also work nicely and contain only 20 calories each. Be sure to have an adult supervise the heated chocolate to prevent accidents.
Low Calorie Candy Caramel Apples Recipe
One little perfect square of caramel contains about 40 un-perfect calories and almost a gram of fat. But what's a Halloween Party without caramel apples? We have a couple of suggestions:
1. Purchase pre-packaged caramel apples at your local 'super mart' which contain about 150 calories per caramel apple.
OR, use this option:
2. Cut fresh apples in half, then in half again so that you end up with four quarters. Next, trim off stem and remove core, taking care not to strip off too much of the apple flesh.
Insert a pointy stick into the quarter then dip into your favorite caramel sauce. Insert stick into a thick slab of Styrofoam and allow to set - or use your favorite post-dipping method for setting purposes.
Finally, before caramel totally sets, dust or drag through chopped nuts of your choice,or mini-marshmallows, or Halloween orange and black sprinkles which are available in many shapes this time of year.
By quartering the apple, you're also quartering the calories and allowing your guests to sample more of the Halloween Party spread.
And the Styrofoam can also be used as a prop for serving purposes; the decorating options are unlimited. Just one: Cover in orange plastic wrap and scatter Halloween treats over the surface before inserting the line-up of caramel apples.
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