Halloween movie season is officially here, and I’ve been whipping out our favorite films, picking specific nights to watch each one. At our house, we take October very seriously, and movie nights don’t consist of just a bowl of popcorn.
We come up with elaborate, yet easy to make foods that fit the theme of that night’s flick pick. Occasionally we’ll cheat and steal a Pinterest idea or buy something from the store. I’m not a recipe kind of gal, so I’ll share my ideas and you can fill in your favorite way to make that dish.
Photo by Karyn Wofford
Corpse Bride
This is my favorite Halloween movie…yes, I like it more than Nightmare Before Christmas!
• Emily’s Eyeball Eggs- Corpse Bride’s faulty eye inspires this dish which consists of making traditional stuffed eggs, but covering each stuffed half with a hollowed half to make it look like a whole egg again…or an eyeball. Use a toothpick to secure a halved olive for the eye’s center.
• Corpse Cupcakes- If you can make killer chocolate cupcakes (no pun intended) this one’s for you. Vegan, gluten free or store bought, anything goes. Dig up a little bit of the center to give it that graveyard look, then insert a boney arm, which you can find around any cake decorating department during October.
• Grape Maggot- I couldn’t forget the wise worm, Maggot, that lives inside Emily’s head. Line some green grapes on a toothpick, then secure chocolate chip eyes with a little cream cheese.
Nightmare Before Christmas
Now for my second favorite movie.
• Jack Skellington Cheeseball- I love the versatility of a cheese ball, you really can mix and match any kind of cheese. Cashew cheese is an awesome option for vegans…Treeline is a great brand. Use black olive pieces or seaweed to create Jack’s simple face. Serve with Late July’s Summertime Blues Multigrain Chips for that spooky Tim Burton look. These chips are organic, vegan and undoubtedly delicious! For a bolder pop of flavor, give their Multigrain Dude Ranch flavor a whirl, they taste similar to, but way better than artificial Cool Ranch chips.
• Ghoul Eyes- Halloweentown is bustling with eccentric monsters with creepy characteristics. Clear cups layered from bottom to top with raspberry pie filling, vanilla yogurt, a kiwi slice and a chocolate chip in the center mimic the googly eyeballs of the townspeople.
Photo by Karyn Wofford
Hocus Pocus
This film about a spell casting, witch trio is a family friendly classic that I was introduced to only a couple of years ago. It’s very spooky and traditional.
• Warty Watermelon Witch- This one takes some carving skills, but is no more difficult than creating a Jack-o-Lantern. Slice the top of the melon off, scooping out all of the insides for use later. Carve a fun witch face, just be creative, making the mouth extra wide. Carve a bit off the bottom so the melon will sit upright on a plate. Replace the top. Scoop watermelon and any other fruits you want to mix in into the witch’s mouth, allowing a large portion to cascade out of the mouth, onto the plate.
• Melted Witch Soup- Buy or make your own pea soup, then add in other “witch parts” like olive eyes or bell pepper warts, whatever suites your taste.
• Peanut Butter Cup Witch Broom- For those who don’t have much time, insert all natural pretzel sticks into Justin’s mini peanut butter cups for a cute, quick treat.
BeetleJuice
We always start out the season with this one. Everyone loves it.
• Purple Potato Bugs- I stole the initial idea from Pinterest, then modified it a bit. Buy a bag of those tiny purple potatoes, but small, yellow potatoes work if you can’t find them. Purple just looks cool! Toss them in olive oil then bake until tender. Insert slivered almonds for legs and pipe on sour cream eyes after they cool. Get creative and add your own touches, like melted cheese for stripes and herbs for antennas.
• Shrunken Head Apples- Who could forget the shrunken head guy from Beetlejuice? Recreate this little guy by peeling apples and carving faces into them. The faces can be very undetailed and not very good, they’ll still produce cute results. Dehydrate the apples in the oven or a dehydrator.
• Beetle Juice- A no brainer, I know, but serving up a good “beetle juice” punch is easy and festive. I like the combo of sparkling water, pineapple juice and cherry juice.
It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
It’s not the holidays without good ol’ Charlie Brown.
• Great Pumpkin Oranges- These are so easy it’s hard to believe, because they look awesome. Peel oranges and insert little celery pieces at the top. Voila…the Great Pumpkin in snack form. Kids love it and so do I.
• Great Pumpkin Seeds- I’m really getting elaborate here. Bake your own yummy seeds with a variety of flavors, like garlic, sea salt and black pepper. Go sweet with maple syrup and cinnamon! The kids can help with this too, then carve the pumpkin when you are done. Set it on the table for the movie.
• Anything Pumpkin- Instead of rambling on with the obvious, anything pumpkin goes…pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pasta…you get the idea.
Photo by Karen Wofford
The Addams Family
Whichever version you are a fan of, The Addams Family is a Halloween favorite.
• Thing’s Finger Sandwiches- Any sandwich will do, then cut them into tiny “finger” sandwiches. I always make a cute sign for these so everyone gets the reference to the character “Thing”, a hand creature who is pretty much the family “dog”.
• Morticia’s Mash- Purple potatoes come into play again to make creepy mashed potatoes. I sliver black olives for “legs” and place them around halved olives to create little spiders throughout the top of the potatoes. Serve in individual cups for a cute display.
• Gomez’s Love Potion Punch- Grape juice, sparkling water and strawberry halves make up this punch. For a very “Addams Family” look, you can add some dry ice while being sure to scoop with a ladle. You cannot touch dry ice with your bare hands and kids should stay very far away, because it can cause burns. But adding it to punch creates fog and a bubbling effect, which is awesome.
I hope this gets you in the Halloween mood. Maybe you have your own natural, spooky food ideas that skip the typical food coloring and artificial flavors. Share them with us in the comments!
Karyn Wofford is a type 1 diabetic, EMT and Certified Wellness Specialist. For years she has educated herself on wellness and natural, wholesome living. Karyn’s goal is to help people be the healthiest they can be while living fun, happy lives.