Halloween Lunch Box

Contents:

Vegetarian Chili (2 Cups)

American Cheese (1 1/2 slices)*

Corny Corn Bread (1 Muffin)

*I used Halloween cookie cutters but you could also cut simple shapes using stuff you have around the kitchen.  Make a moon by using a small cup to cut a circle and then cutting it again with the same cup.  Use a knife to cut stars.

MyPyramid Breakdown:

1 1/2 ounces Grains

1 1/2 cup Vegetables (1/4 cup starchy veggies, 1 1/4 cup other veggies)

1.5 ounces Meat and Beans or 1/2 cup Vegetables (dry beans and peas)

1/6 Ounce Meat and Beans

5/8 Cup Milk

2 tsp Oils
64 Discretionary Calories

Quiz Answer

Your guesses were very close, but the correct answer to the ingredient quiz is Dark Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The main difference between these and regular Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is that the in the regular ones, milk shows up before milk fat on the ingredient list, meaning there is more milk by weight.

Do you have leftover Halloween treats?  If you decide to keep them, don't put them out on the table - make sure you have to put a little thought into getting them instead of mindlessly snacking.  Brian Wansink, Ph.D found that placing your candy dish 6 feet away rather than within reach can save you a weight gain of 12 pounds a year!  Check out this video.  This also applies if you take them to work to share with your co-workers.

Another cool option is Halloween Candy Buy Back.  They buy back Halloween candy for $1 per pound, then send it to the troops overseas!  Check out www.halloweencandybuyback.com for more details.

Pretzel Fingers

Finger licking good!  This would be a great fat-free snack for a Halloween party. 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Warm Water
1 package Active Dry Yeast
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 cups warm water
2 tbsp baking soda
1 tbsp coarse salt
1/2 tbsp garlic salt
35 pumpkin seeds

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, stir yeast and sugar into 1 1/2 cups warm water.  Let stand for about 5 minutes.
2. Add salt and whole wheat flour and mix well.  Add 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and mix to form a soft dough.
3. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic using additional 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour to keep if from sticking.
4. Place dough in large greased bowl, lightly grease the top of the dough, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400F and grease 4 cookie sheets.
6. Separate dough into 35 pieces and roll each into and 8 inch rope.
7. In a small bowl, mix remaining 1/2 cup of warm water with baking soda.  Dip pretzels into baking soda mixture and place on cookie sheet about an inch apart.
8. Sprinkle with coarse salt and garlic salt.  Stick a pumpkin seed into one end of each pretzel.  Bake until browned, about 14-16 minutes.
9. Eat warm, or try dipping in mustard or guacamole.  

You can use different things to make the finger nail such as almond slivers or other seeds.  You might also want to experiment with different kinds of seasoning instead of garlic salt or sprinkle with sesame seeds. 

Nutrition Information:
Number of servings: 7
Serving size: 5 fingers
MyPyramid contribution per serving:

4 ounces Grains (2 oz whole grains)

2 Discretionary Calories

What's your favorite spooky Halloween Treat?