Just because you want to serve up more health conscious snacks need not mean that your guests are not served up truly gruesome foods. MyHealthPortal has found some truly ghoulish recipe ideas with the health conscious patron in mind. Try some of these ones out:

Label a bowl as BLACKHEADS AND SCABS and mix together some raisins and dried cranberries to serve in it.

To whip up a batch of green slime, mix together orange juice (with cells), water and some blue food colouring, until you have a green sludge, and serve in a pitcher or crock pot .

To emulate the witches mode of transport (broom), take some bread sticks and a fruit roll. Cut the fruit roll into pieces about 2 inches long, then make a fringe on one side by cutting into it (make sure you leave ¼ inch strip on the other side), wet the top edge with a little water and wrap it around the bread stick to form a broom. Place them on a plate with some ground nuts to look like some dust.

Label a bowl as HALLOWEEN WANDS, and serve up pretzel/bread sticks along with a cream cheese dip.

Toxic waste will make a nice label for a punch. Mix together 1 litre of pineapple juice and 1 litre of lemonade/sprite and chill until ready to serve. Just as your guests arrive, add some lemon/lime sorbet and see how it goes down.

I once made some mummy dogs for my daughter. Wrap cocktail sausages/franks with streaky bacon and secure with tooth picks if you want to. Place into a preheated oven at 180 degrees C, and leave until the bacon is well cooked. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving them with a bowl full of both ketchup and mustard which you label BLOOD AND PUS POOLS.

For a light meal make up a bolognaise sauce using mince and your favourite sauce mix. Cook some spaghetti which has been cut into 2 inch pieces according to the package instructions. Make sure that there is enough sauce to make it look as though the spaghetti bits (worms) are swimming in a pool of blood.

Spread some vegetable sticks of your choice (carrot, cucumber, celery etc) with peanut butter and place on a bed of shredded lettuce. Garnish with some carefully placed raisins to produce bug infested logs.

Mix together some marmite and some butter and spread it over some round savoury biscuits (e g Cheddars). Break some pretzel/bread sticks into smaller pieces and attach 8 to the biscuits (4 on each side) to form legs. Then place another one of the biscuits on top to form the body. Put a dollop of marmite mix on top and place two raisins to make eyes. These spider biscuits will not hang around long.

A non cooked cookie? How quick and easy can that be. Take some crushed biscuits, some instant pudding and some whipped cream and these will be devoured before your very eyes. Add half of your whipped cream and half of your crushed biscuits to the instant pudding of your choice, and mix well. Line some cookie cups with some of your left over crushed biscuits, spoon over some of the pudding mix and then drop on a dollop of left over whipped cream. Place in the fridge to allow to set before serving.

What could be a better treat for a ghoul than flesh on toast? Spread a little cottage cheese onto small pieces of toast (or crackers if you prefer). Take some smoked salmon which has been cut into small strips and place it on top of the cheese. Serve with chopped olives and pickles in a bowl labelled BEST FINGERNAILS IN TOWN.

To make putrid pinkies, wrap some salami slices around some pickles spread with a little cream cheese and secure with a toothpick. Leave a little of the pickle sticking out of the end as a putrid pinkie. Serve with some chilli sauce.

Serve chicken wings on a plate with a dip made of cream cheese, course mustard and chopped pickles, and call them BAT WINGS DELUXE. Garnish with lettuce or fresh chives.

Tomb stone sandwiches can be whipped up at short notice and will certainly knock your guests over. Cut out tombstone (or coffin) shapes from slices of brown bread, meat cuts and cheese slices. Spread the bread with a little low fat mayonnaise, and then layer on the meat cuts and the cheese. They may be secured with tooth picks if you wish. Write RIP on the top piece of bread using marmite with a toothpick. Serve on a plate with a bed of shredded lettuce.

How about some jack o pizza? Take ready made mini pizza’s and add a layer of savoury mince (made before time according to your favourite recipe). Cut a jack o lantern shape out of cheese slices and place on top. Put in a preheated oven at 100 degrees C and cook until the cheese is soft but has retained its shape. Serve immediately.

Eye of sweetheart is so easy. Melt some chocolate and put a spoonful into a cookie cup. Place a marshmallow on top and decorate with a smartie (secured with a little chocolate) to make the iris. (This one may not be so healthy but it sure will be a hit).

If your spread some mini bagels with a little cream cheese and then cut out some tongue like shapes in cold cuts, and place them in the hole of the bagel, you will have successfully created some goblin tongues. These will surely set some other tongues wagging.

Vampire fangs! Core, peel and cut some apples into slices. Dip the slices into some lemon juice to prevent browning. Shape the slices to look like fangs and then dip them into lemon juice again. Sprinkle with a little castor sugar to counteract the acidity of the lemon juice. Put some pureed strawberries into a little bowl, to use as a dip, and arrange the fangs around it.

For a variation on brain food, take some ready made but non iced cup cakes. Mix up some butter cream icing and add some food colouring to get your desired colour – pinkish or greyish. Pipe the icing onto the cup cakes in zigzags to look like brain matter. This is bound to make your guests think twice.

Goblin warts will be a blast. Melt some white chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from the heat and add some green food colouring. Then drop in some raisins. Take them out with a spoon and put them on a baking sheet to set. Serve in a bowl labelled FRESH GOBLIN WARTS.

Dracula’s eyeballs are easily acquired. Take some boiled eggs. Cut them in half and place them cut end down on the plate. Using a toothpick, draw lines on the exposed whites with red food colouring. Cut up some olives and use the slices to make the iris of the eyes. Squirt ketchup around the base of the eggs to look like blood around freshly acquired eyeballs.

Using some ready made bread dough, form short lengths and tie knots in the ends to make bone like shapes. Brush with a little melted butter and sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake in a moderate oven ( 180 degrees C) until golden. Serve with dips of ketchup, mustard etc (labelled as in the recipe idea for mummy dogs above).

This one will really gross you out! Melt some white chocolate, remove from the heat and add some green/yellow food colouring. Add a cup of peanuts and some shredded shreddies. Spoon out small heaps onto a baking sheet and allow to set. Serve on a plate garnished with lettuce leaves. Candied bug guts galore!

With treats like these and more, your guests are bound to be impressed whether they are 5 or 15 or 50. Have a happy Halloween from all at MyHealthPortal.