If you are looking for a healthy option for Halloween, let me suggest these Easy Spider Halloween Snacks. They come together quickly and are loaded with healthy goodness.
This post was featured by Twinkl in their Best Halloween Desserts Guide.
Why You Should Make Them
Healthy foods are an important part of a staple diet, but that doesn’t mean they have to be boring. These Spider Energy Balls are so versatile and customizable. You can get really creative while you make them!
If you know you’re going to be running around prepping Halloween party foods, you might want to have some healthy energy balls available to you to give you a little bit of a boost. Prepping for a party can be exhausting and you don’t want to forget to eat.
Ingredients
- Almonds - Almonds are incredibly nutritious because they are full of antioxidants and healthy fats, as well as tons of vitamins and minerals.
- Freeze Dried Fruits - I like to choose raspberries for their fun pink flavor, but you could pick any freeze dried fruit you enjoy!
- Shredded Coconut - Shredded coconut has been known to have heart healthy benefits, as well as aiding digestion.
- Oats - Oats are full of fiber and promote good digestion, stabilize blood sugar, and reduce cholesterol.
- Honey - This helps to bind all of the energy balls together, plus honey has some amazing health benefits.
- Pretzles- these are used for the legs.
- Candy eyes- I realize these are not that healthy, but they make the cutest eyes!!
How to Make the Energy Balls
- Start by adding the whole almonds to a food processor or blender. Pulse them until you are left with only very small pieces. Add in remaining ingredients, except the optional water. Pulse until combined. You might need to add water if it is too dry. I needed a few teaspoons as my dates were a little old, and not as moist as they started out being.
- Form into balls. I like to use a small portion scoop for consistent sizes.
- Allow to chill until the balls are set. I threw mine in the freezer for a bit to speed up the process.
- Now, press the candy eyes gently into place. To make them even more spooky, you can use a lot of eyes!
- Break off the curves in your pretzels for legs. It is tricky to get them in, so be careful. We finally decided, after plenty of trial and error, to make the spiders where the body sits on the surface, and the legs sticking out from there. That way the body holds the weight, instead of the legs.
Are Energy Balls Good for You?
Energy balls can be very good for you, depending on the ingredients you use. If you load your energy balls up with sugar-containing ingredients, they probably won’t be super healthy.
However, if you load your energy balls with ingredients high in healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, you should have a positive health benefit.
Some examples of healthy ingredients include shredded coconut, almonds, honey, and freeze-dried fruit. Each ingredient has its own health benefit.
You could also add your own favorite ingredients to make the energy balls tailored to your own health needs. As an example, if you need more omega-3’s you could use walnuts instead of almonds.
Storing Energy Balls
You might be wondering if you can batch cook these energy balls and store them for later. The great news is that you can! Your energy balls will last for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. As a result, you can make a ton of them ahead of time and stock up your fridge.
Energy balls are great for a late afternoon snack, kids' lunches, party appetizers, and so much more. While these specific energy balls are Halloween-themed, the sky is really the limit with how you can customize and use this recipe.
Why Use Freeze-Dried Fruit?
Freeze-dried fruit is my go-to fruit ingredient for these energy balls because their flavor is more intense. While you might think fresh fruit would be a better idea, it could actually ruin your energy balls with its high water content. Freeze-dried is a dry ingredient that tastes wonderful while also creating the right texture.
You can use any number of freeze-dried fruits in your energy balls. I personally really enjoy raspberries and strawberries. An extra bonus of these two fruits is the beautiful pink color they add to the energy ball.
FAQ
There are a number of great sweetener options. You could choose to use agave nectar, maple syrup, or even brown rice syrup. Just be sure that whatever sweetener you use has the health benefits you are looking for.
You could use figs, cranberries, dried blueberries, raisins, or anything really. As I explained, the sky really is the limit with this recipe. You aren’t limited to what is in the recipe and you could make these truly creative and tailored to your exact needs and tastes.
Of course not. The coconut is just for flavor and its added health benefits. But if you are truly opposed to coconut, it won’t hurt you to just omit it. You can also add alternative ingredients to your energy balls.
Other Halloween Posts
Spider energy balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole almonds
- 1 cup whole, pitted dates
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 3 tablespoons honey or sweetener of choice
- ½ cup regular oats
- ⅓ cup freeze dried raspberries you could also use freeze dried strawberries if you prefer.
- water add a small amount if needed.
- pretzels
- small candy eyeballs
Instructions
- Start by adding the whole almonds to food processor or blender. Pulse them until you are left with only very small pieces. Add in remaining ingredients, except the optional water. Pulse until combined. You might need to add water if it is too dry. I needed a few teaspoons as my dates were a little old, and not as moist as they started out being. Form into balls. I like to use the a small portions scoop for consistent sizes.Allow to chill until the balls are set. I threw mine in the freezer for a bit to speed up the process. Break off the curves in your pretzels for legs. It is tricky to get them in, so be careful. We finally decided, after plenty of trial and error, to make the spiders where the body sits on the on the surface, and the legs sticking out from there. That way the body holds the weight, instead of the legs. Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it!