DD Fitness: Spooktacularly healthy halloween recipes

This week our fitness columnist and owner of Rushe Fitness Emmet Rushe provides healthy Halloween recipes on your bank holiday Monday.

We are coming up to Halloween. It is one of the best times of the year and is great fun for children and adults alike.

People will be having parties to celebrate and there will be all kinds of tricks and treats, especially treats.

I am going to give you some recipes that I usually keep exclusively for my clients, that you can use over the weekend that will be the perfect treat and there won’t be any tricks after eating them.

You can get these and more in the free 130-page cookbook that you get when you sign up to my Christmas Countdown challenge.

They start on October 30th and there are limited spaces available.

Butternut Squash Soup

When it is cold outside, this will keep you warm inside

Makes 8 – 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced in 2-inch cubes
• 8 cups water or stock

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, warm the butter
2. Caramelize onion in the pot, sautéing 8 – 10 minutes until golden brown
3. Add the squash cubes and carrots. Cook for 10 more minutes until the outside of the squash cubes are a bit soft.
4. Pour the water over the onion/squash mixture
5. Bring the entire mixture up to a boil and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes until squash and carrots are soft.
6. In a blender, puree soup in very small batches (as not to scorch yourself and have soup splattered on your ceiling) at low, then working up to high speed until mixture is smooth and creamy.

Serve piping hot!

White Chocolate & Red Berry Vampire Cookies

These cookies are cram-packed with dried berries, crunchy nuts and tiny white chocolate morsels.
I dare you to eat just one!

Here’s what you need:

• 4 cups crushed almonds
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup mini white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried red berries