diy mama

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Halloween Party Treats

Halloween Party Treats- For today, we’re talking treats, not tricks. Here are my top 10 favorite Halloween desserts that I am excited to try out. I love doing round ups so we can all have a chance to check out other blogs and share their awesome talents with others! Go check these ladies out and make a few Halloween party treats with your family!

The biggest reason I love these treats is for their level of cuteness and how easy they are to make! I also like how so many of them are kid friendly, so get your kids involved! Another great treat comes after Halloween once you’re overflowing with candy bars…cookie pizza with candy bar toppings! My favorite dessert ever!

Halloween Party Treats
halloween-monster-rollo

Amy’s (The Idea Room) Monster Eye Cookies are what I want to try the most this Halloween! The mixture of peanutbutter chocolate chip cookies with a carmel Rolo on top?! You’ve got my attention! I also love that you can customize these guys by using your favorite cookie recipe.

spiderweb-cookies-halloween-recipe-craft-funDon’t these Spider Web Sugar Cookies that Autumn (It’s Always Autumn) made look like they’re straight from Martha Stewart?! She has a great tutorial on how to make these creepy crawly cookies. Have a favorite sugar cookie recipe from your great grandma? Perfect reason to use it! Does the web marbling remind anyone of nail marbling?
Eye-of-Newt-PretzelsSheryl’s (Lady Behind the Curtain) Eye of Newt Pretzels are hilariously adorable! I love the colors she used and that there’s a little salt added into the dessert mix! These would be great to wrap as favors as well!
monsters-cookies-sugarMy girl, Meaghan (The Decorated Cookie), knows a thing or two about decorating cookies and these Fun Monster Cookies show off her talent! These would be so fun to decorate with the whole family and see all the different expressions everyone could come up with!
Yummy-Gooey-Monster-Cookies-1Ok, anyone seeing a pattern here? I must be crushin’ on Monsters this year! I think it’s the googly eyes!! Kristyn (Lil Luna) made these Gooey Monster Cookies look so fun to make AND they sound absolutely delish! You could make the dye for the cookies match the color theme of your party too!
Candy-Corn-treatsWhat’s Halloween without Candy Corn?! Anyone else eat them one color at a time? What about those candy-corn-like-pumpkins that you have to eat the green stem off first? No? Ok, well these Candy Corn Rice Crispy Treats that Glory (Glorious Treats) made are genius! So easy and super cute!
Halloween-BarkSpeaking of candy corn, this Halloween bark could not be cuter, tastier or easier! I love bark because you can make a lot of it with little effort and it always looks so fun! Corey (Family Fresh Meals) made this Halloween Bark super cute by adding that extra bit of Halloween party sprinkles and using Halloween Oreos!mickey-pumpkin-whoopie-pies-recipe-photoWhat would a Halloween Treats Round-Up be without something PUMPKIN FLAVORED?! I’ve never tried to make woopie pies but I imagine there is nothing cuter in this world than these Mickey Pumpkin Woopies (Disney Family)! My mouth is watering.
monster_eye_cakeCarrie (The Cake Blog) is quite the master of cakes but I’m pretty sure I could do this Monster Eye Cake! It’s adorable! It would be fun to dye the cake batter green or purple as a fun surprise once it’s cut.
Who wants to come over to make these treats with me? It’d be fun to make the cookies or pretzels and take them to the neighbors! Have you had a Halloween Party in the past? Make any cute treats? I may have to make some monster decorations since clearly I’m a bit obsessed.

I can not take credit for the awesome photography or ideas of these recipes. Please give all credit to the linked blogs and share from their sites.

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best halloween treats

Halloween related posts:

Halloween Candy Cookie Pizza

Halloween Street Sign

 

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Top 24 Cauliflower Recipes: Cheap and Healthy Alternative

Top 24 Cauliflower Recipes- I just finished up a year of working with a health coach to get me on the right track towards having another baby. Every couple weeks there was a new habit to add to my repertoire of healthy living. My biggest takeaway from the program was the importance of finding what food is good fuel for my body. There was a lot of trial and error through this process. While exercise is important for muscle growth and a healthy heart, a balanced diet is what helped me improve the most.

Neither my husband nor myself enjoy cooking. I learned that in order to eat good food I must meal plan on the weekends, purchase the groceries and prep the veggies. Prepping the veggies was key when it came down to making the meals. It is much easier to batch prep work all at once making dinner time a breeze. I also needed to be more creative with my meals. We’re on a tight budget currently so we’re not able to eat as much fresh fish and expensive meats as in the past. That’s where veggies come in! There are a lot of ways you can replace a main entree (meat) with a veggie and it doesn’t feel like you’re being forced to eat your veggies as a kid.

Cauliflower is my new favorite vegetable because it can be used in so many different meals. Honestly, you could eat cauliflower for breakfast, lunch and dinner and have such varied tastes that you wouldn’t realize you were eating the same food. I’ve rounded up the best of the best from the internet for you to give a try as we head into the new year and stay on track during the holiday season.

Top Cauliflower Recipes

Breakfast

Top Cauliflower Recipes

3 Ingredient Cauliflower Hashbrowns

low carb cauliflower breakfast casserole

Low Carb Breakfast Casserole

Appetizer

cheesy cauliflower nachos recipe

Cheesy Cauliflower Nachos

cauliflower crust stromboli recipe

Cauliflower Crust Stromboli

cheesy cauliflower muffins recipe

Cheesy Cauliflower Muffins

cheesy cauliflower breadsticks

Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks

garlic roasted cauliflower bites recipe

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower Bites

Sides

loaded cauliflower recipe

Loaded Cauliflower

cilantro lime cauliflower rice

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

roasted cauliflower salad recipe

Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing

roasted cauliflower steak recipe

Roasted Cauliflower Steak

curried cauliflower rice kale soup

Curried Cauliflower Rice Kale Soup

mock potato salad cauliflower reicpe

Mock Potato Salad

cauliflower stuffing recipe

Cauliflower Stuffing

roasted red pepper soup recipe

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Entrees

honey garlic cauliflower recipe

Honey Garlic Cauliflower

siracha and lime cauliflower tostadas recipe

Siracha and Lime Roasted Cauliflower Tostadas

 

chicken enchilada rice bowls recipe

Chicken Enchilada Cauliflower Rice Bowls

allo gobi

Aloo Gobi – Cauliflower Potato Curry

cauliflower fried rice recipe

Cauliflower Fried Rice

cauliflower fajitas recipe

Cauliflower Fajitas

mushroom risotto recipe

Mushroom Risotto with Cauliflower Rice

bacon cheeseburger cauliflower casserole recipe

Bacon Cheeseburger Cauliflower Casserole

baked sweet and sour cauliflower recipe

Baked Sweet and Sour Cauliflower

In what ways do you try to get more vegetables in your meals? It’s a great way to save money and be more heart healthy!

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Gooey Granola Bars

Hi guys! I wanted to share with you one of my favorite Kid Chef recipes to get your kids involved in the kitchen. Laura posted this granola bar recipe at Heavenly Homemakers and I knew it looked like a super yummy snack that would be a great recipe for my kid chef!

Gooey Granola Bars

The title is extremely accurate. These granola bars are super gooey which is a great sensory activity for toddlers. This recipe is super easy and customizable. You can have your kids choose what additions to make to the recipe. There is only one part that an adult would need to help with, depending on the age of the kids.*

Gooey Granola Bars

Ingredients Needed:

  • 1/2 c peanut butter (or other nut butter)
  • 1/3 c honey
  • 1/4 c coconut oil
  • 1 c oats
  • 1 c (total) of any combination of : sunflower seeds, chocolate chips, dried fruit, coconut flakes etc.

Gooey Granola Ingredients

Continue Reading about Gooey Granola Bars →

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Top 5 Bean Recipes

We’ve been having beans in almost every meal, including breakfast! I’ve never disliked beans (it’s actually my nickname) but it gets old trying to incorporate them into every meal. Beans are a slow carb (complex carbohydrate) so they stick with you longer and make you a less hangry person. There are over 40,000 different types of beans but only a handful are cultivated for mass consumption. They’re full of fiber, protein and iron which help with cholesterol and energy.

Everyone knows the old children’s rhyme ‘Beans, beans the musical fruit’ but do you know why? Beans contain oligosaccharide, a sugar molecule also found in cabbage, that can not break down in our digestion, therefore producing flatulence as a byproduct. By thoroughly rinsing beans you can lower the amount of toots! For a little more info, check out this article.

beans pinterest

Now that we have a background on why beans are good for our bodies, here are some of my favorite ways to integrate beans into our meals.

My top go-to meal for beans is chili in the crockpot. It can be made a ton of different ways and I always have the ingredients on hand. I switch it up depending on what I need to use up, so sometimes it’s a 3 bean chili (chili beans, white beans, kidney beans), sometimes it’s a chicken and white bean chili, and sometimes it’s a standard beef and chili beans kinda chili. Check out Weight Watchers’ Chili.

3 bean chili

Our second go-to meal is the burrito bowl. My husband would be ok with us eating this 3 times/day everyday. Again, we throw in the bowl what we have on hand and it can be mixed up according to your tastes. We put Tyson  steak or chicken, Ro*Tel, black beans and guacamole on a spinach/romaine mix. You could always add cilantro rice, corn, cheese, salsa, or sourceam too! No body does it better than Chipotle though!

burrito bowl

Another super yummy dish is this Garlic Shrimp and White Beans meal by Bon Appetit. If you like garlic, you’ll be obsessed! It takes a little bit longer to cook, so we’ve only had it twice, but it’s worth the time. If I want to cook something special for my husband as an ‘I love you’ this is one that I cook.

garlic-shrimp-and-white-beans

 A tride and true heart warming soup is Ham and Bean soup. There aren’t a ton of different ways to cook this soup, which means there aren’t a ton of ways to mess it up. 😉 I have a recipe that my Mom passed down that I love. Mama B at My Edible Journey had the great idea to make this soup after Easter with the leftover ham!

ham-and-white-bean-soup

The final delishous way to introduce beans into your meal is through Stuffed Peppers. I remember my parents making these for dinner and only eating the insides of the pepper. This is another meal that can be customizable for different people in the family by making them vegetarian, Italian, beef, chicken, or jalepeno! Check out Kayln’s Kitchen or Manly Kitchen for more recipes!

peppers 2

BONUS! Here’s a great snack food that you don’t often think of as a bean. Amanda at Pickles and Honey made these AMAZING Cool Ranch Roasted Chickpeas that are SO good! I always see chickpeas (garbanzo beans) with spicy flavors but these were perfect for the girl who can’t have chips!

chickpeas

Anyone else have ‘Beans, beans the musical fruit’ stuck in their head now? Are you guys bean fans? I LOVE baked beans with my favorite meal of hotdogs! What other ways do you include beans in your dinners?

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