Day 53: Treats that Won't Trick or Trip You Up for Halloween

One of my favorite places on the planet is Party City!! It is impossible to go in and walk around without smiling and losing any "blues" that you may have walked in with! (Except maybe the Seahawks blues :) Bright colors, costumes, toys, candy, party decorations!

This is my happy place!

Whoa! Candy is EXPENSIVE!!

AND a great place to find ideas of little treats to give out to kids instead of candy! Halloween is less than a week away, and one of the worst temptations this time of year, is the loads and loads of CANDY coming home with your kids, or in my case that you buy to give out to kids... and it doesn't all get given away or eaten by others. It comes with your co-workers to work, it's in dishes at the bank and just about everywhere else. So I maintain that you CAN give out non-lame, non-candy goodies to little trick-or-treaters; a LOT of which you can find at the dollar tree, or at Party City :)

Mini toys (party favors): my favorites are...

• a mini barrel of monkeys
• bubbles
• parachute men
• "disguise" goofy glasses & mustache
• mini slinkys
• bouncy balls
• mini koosh balls

Other goodies to give:

• Glow sticks
• stickers
• temporary tattoos
• mini play dough
• jack-o-lantern fruit cupss
• spooky string cheese
• microwave popcorn
• jack-o-lantern tangerines

So, I am JONESING for PUMPKIN!! It's near the end of October, and I have made plenty of apple, zucchini and cinnamon-based dishes, but I need pumpkin! It's time!

Tomorrow I am going to the pumpkin patch and corn maze and I wanted to bring a snack that would satiate my pumpkin sweet tooth!!














Pumpkin Spice Ricotta Oat Mini Muffins with Craisins & Pecans


I got this recipe from Pinterest :) http://www.suesnutritionbuzz.com/2012/10/07/spiced-pumpkin-ricotta-oat-muffins-with-craisins-walnuts-sundaysupper-glutenfree/

Ingredients
For the muffins
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups oat flour (I coarsely ground oatmeal)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup craisins (or raisins or golden raisins)
1 cup pecans, chopped into medium pieces
2 heaped tablespoons coconut oil
2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg whites)For the topping

1 tablespoon oats
2 Tbs chopped pecans
3 Tbs dried fruit (craisins, golden or regular raisins)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (plus another tsp for topping)

Directions
Use a hand blender or mixer and blend ricotta cheese, pumpkin puree, oat flour, coconut oil, cinnamon, eggs and brown sugar together.

Stir in craisins and walnuts.

Mix the toppings together in a small bowl.

Fill mini muffin pan with batter and top with topping mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes till they are springy to the touch (not doughy, they should not give).

THESE ARE SO GOOD, and great for breakfast, or a hearty snack with a cup of tea :)

So as for my food intake today...

FOOD

Breakfast: 2 poached eggs and HM canned pears
Snack: raw veggies
Lunch: I went out to lunch with a friend, and took her to my newest & favorite pizza joint; MOD pizza! Yes I had half of a custom MOD pizza: mod red sauce base, spinach, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, tomatoes, mushrooms, basil, and Parmesan cheese
Dinner: a 1/2 cup of quinoa chili, mini peppers, 1/2 cup of HM pears
Snack: mini pumpkin muffins (maybe a few too many)

EXERCISE

I took a day off today :)

Thanks for reading all! Stay tuned... tomorrow we go to the pumpkin patch!

GO Seahawks!!

Thanks for reading!