Halloween is a spooky time of dressing up and passing out candy to children in our neighborhood. But the amount of candy and junk food involved can be frightening. Candy and sweet treats are a huge part of any Halloween celebration and trick-or-treat tradition. Consider healthy, fun and spooky alternatives for your kids and neighbors:

Boo-nana ghosts (Banana ghosts): Peel and cut in half a banana. Use chocolate chips to create mouth and eyes.

Clementine pumpkins: Peel a clementine orange. For the stem stick a 1 in piece of celery on top of the orange.

Mummy raisins: Take a box of raisins and criss-cross masking tape across the box to cover the entire box. Glue googly eyes or draw two eyes with a Sharpie marker to make an adorable mummy.

Apple monster mouths: Cut an apple into four pieces. Remove a wedge from each to serve as the mouth. Cover the mouth with peanut butter or nut butter. For the tongue, cut a strawberry into 3-4 pieces lengthwise and place on the peanut butter. Fill it with teeth of slivered almonds or sunflower seeds. Add one, two or three eyes with some mini marshmallows cut small and chocolate chips to make these scary monster mouths.

Breadstick rattlers: Unroll a tube of refrigerated pizza dough; cut into 12 strips and roll to taper one end to create the tail and flatten the other end to create the head. Wrap each strip around a greased chopstick. Brush with olive oil sprinkling the body with poppy seeds and the tail with sesame seeds. Add peppercorns or olives for eyes. Remove chopstick. Place breadsticks on two parchment paper lined baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown, 15-18 minutes. Cut a v-shape at the end of a dried chili pepper to make a tongue. While still hot, use a toothpick and carefully thread the dried chili pepper tongue into the tip of the flat end of the breadstick head. What a scary sight!

But what do to do with all that candy? Our suggestions are for the kids and parents alike to enjoy the candy after going out trick-or-treating and close inspection but then consider donating the candy to your local food pantry, children’s hospital or bring it to our Dorosti Dental office at 2695 Maysville Pike in Zanesville, OH. We will donate your candy to the troops and you will receive a special treat. Remember to brush and floss after enjoying your sweet treats. Happy Halloween!

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Stay on top of that ghoulish bacteria that wants to live in your teeth!  Now is a good time to schedule your post-Halloween check up! Call Dorosti Dental today for your appointment! 740/452-3697.