Sugar, chocolate, more sugar and more chocolate. Visit a supermarket in the run up to Halloween and you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all about the sweet stuff – and the sweeter the better.

The shelves are literally jam-packed with chocolate and sweets, but what if you want to take part in the fun without pumping them full of sugar at the same time?

Dressing up for a Halloween tea has become a tradition in our house, followed by trick or treating in our local area where the neighbours really go in for Halloween (we’re talking dry ice and ‘graves’ in front gardens and everything).

This year will be no different, but what I would like to be different is what we eat for our Halloween tea – especially with the baby now eating solid food too.

So, as part of our ongoing partnership with Simplyhealth and their #MyEveryStep campaign, which is all about the little steps we can take to be a bit healthier, I’ve come up with 5 easy peasy healthy Halloween treats for our Halloween tea. They’re all no-cook, so perfect if you’re a busy parent, all but one of the treats is made with just two ingredients, and they’re lunchbox-friendly too.

5 healthy Halloween treats for kids

1. Monster sandwiches

What you’ll need:

• Sandwich thins
• Their favourite sandwich filling
• A sharp knife

What to do:

Start by cutting out eyes on one half of the sandwich thin (triangular shapes work really well). Spread their favourite filling on the other half (heart-healthy smoked salmon is brill because it’s orange, as is reduced-sugar strawberry jam because then the jam eyes glisten, or Marmite because it’s black). Place the sandwich thin with the eyes cut out on top of the filling and cut a zig zag line across the sandwich to make the mouth. Et voila – monster sandwiches!

2. Witches broomsticks

What you’ll need:

• Bread sticks
• Cheese strings
• A sharp knife

What to do:

Start but cutting your cheese strings into thirds for the broom bristles. Then carefully score each piece of cheese string two thirds of the way up all the way round. Make an incision in the top of each piece of cheese string for the breadstick, then pop the breadsticks in the top. And there you have it: easy peasy witches broomsticks they’ll absolutely love!

3. Vege skeleton

What you’ll need:

• Cucumber
• Pepper
• Mushrooms
• Baby corn
• Celery
• Lettuce
• Cherry tomatoes
• Houmous
• Googly eyes

What to do:

If you’ve got a bit of time on your hands you can really get creative with this one, plus with a bit of luck you’ll get them to eat vegetables they wouldn’t usually touch with a barge pole. Start by making a head and spine with cucumber slices, then add pepper on either side for ribs. Mushrooms are the perfect shape for hips, and anything long works great for legs and arms: baby corn, celery or carrot sticks – whatever you’ve got to hand. I used lettuce for hair and cherry tomatoes for feet, but again, whatever you’ve got in the fridge will work equally well. Finish your vege skeleton off with a pair of googly eyes (you’ll find them in the baking section of the supermarket) and serve with a dip.

4. Satsuma pumpkins

What you’ll need:

• Satsumas
• Celery

What to do:

Peel the satsumas, doing your best to keep them whole. Cut the tops off your celery stalks, ideally keeping some of the leaves intact. Stick the pieces of celery in the top of the satsumas, and that’s it: satsuma pumpkins done!

5. Banana ghosts

What you’ll need:

• Bananas
• Googly eyes
• Cocktail sticks

What to do:

Peel your bananas and cut them in half (save this one to the last minute, just before serving, so the bananas don’t go brown). Pop a cocktail stick in the bottom of each banana (just be careful for sharp ends when they’re eating them if you’ve got a baby like me). Then fix a pair of googly eyes to each banana (I used a spot of edible glue). Simple but effective!

So, there you have it: 5 healthy Halloween treats for kids boasting all the colours of the rainbow and made with nothing but fresh fruit and veg (and one or two googly eyes!)

I’ve tried all five ideas out on our three and I’m pleased to report there were clean plates all round – even the lettuce hair got eaten, and lettuce is something they’d usually approach with extreme caution.

Do you find it hard coming up with healthy treat alternatives at Halloween? Will you be having a Halloween party or tea in your house this year? I’d love to know what you’ve got planned!

This post was written in collaboration with Simplyhealth. I’m proud to be supporting their #MyEveryStep campaign, shining a light on the little steps we can all take to leading a healthy life every day. As always all opinions are my own and based on my own honest experience. To find out more about Simplyhealth’s #MyEveryStep campaign follow @SimplyhealthUK on Twitter and Instagram.

If you liked this you may also enjoy reading:

10 simple ways to look after yourself as a mum

5 healthy lunchbox ideas for kids

10 fun ways to exercise as a family

Linking up with these fabulous blogs!