Dietitian Spotlight: Spooktacularly Light Dinner

It’s that time of year again for tricks, or more likely treats.  While enjoying some of those treats can be fun, not all treats have to be full of sugar.  Consider this fun lunch or dinner idea to get everyone off to a good start.

These Candy Corn Tostadas have just a few simple ingredients and are easy to make.  The cheese is a tasty way to sneak in some protein and calcium.  Concerned about the fat and calorie content in cheese?  Choosing the low-fat, 2% cheese is a great option to reduce both of those. Using corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas puts less calories on your plate, while also adding some fiber and magnesium.

Adding Carrot “Pumpkins” is a great way to get your family some veggies. Simply by cutting a few notches in the carrots before slicing, kids have fun with the different shapes and seem more willing to eat them!  

The Orange and Black Skewers are easy and fun to make.  Even the younger ones will have fun building these.  And when kids help prepare meals, they are more likely to eat that meal!

But this meal isn’t just for kids, it’s for the kid in all of us!  By enjoying a good, nutritious meal that is packed with fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals, it helps all of us to enjoy a few treats, rather than turn those treats into meals!

Candy Corn Tostadas

Ingredients:

2 cups Orange cheese of your Choice (we liked Cheddar)

2 cups Yellow cheese of your choice (we liked Colby Jack)

2 cups White cheese of your choice (we liked Monterey Jack)

8 Corn tortillas

Butter

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place a single buttered corn tortilla on skillet, butter side down.  Sprinkle ¼ cup of the white cheese in the middle of the tortilla, then 1/4 cup of the orange cheese, then ¼ cup of the yellow cheese on the outside ring.

2. Cook the tostada until the cheese melts.  Remove to a plate.  Cut into triangles and serve.

3. Repeat steps one and two for each tortilla.

Carrot “Pumpkins”

Ingredients:

3-4 carrots

Directions: 

1. Using a sharp knife, cut slits lengthwise down the carrot.  

2. Carefully make a perpendicular cup from the edge of the carrot until it just intersects the first cut you made.  Remove the wedge shaped section of the carrot that you just cut.  

3. Repeat on the other side of the carrot.

4. Slice the carrots into rounds or little pumpkins!

Orange and Black Skewers

Ingredients:

1 (6 oz.) container of blackberries

1 cantaloupe, sliced and cubed

Skewers

Directions:

1. On one skewer,  place one blackberry and then one cantaloupe cube.  Continue to repeat until the skewer is full.

2. Repeat with each skewer.