Fall Sweets for Your Special Needs Sweetie

Teaching children and teens with special needs to read a recipe, make a shopping list, and then actually shop for items on that shopping list are all very important life skills.

I hope you will use the fun fall recipes below to teach your child or student these three essential life skills.

Orange Jack 'O Lantern Fruit Cups

This healthy snack is sweet but packed with vitamins and fiber. One orange will make one fruit cup.

This treat is perfect for children that are gluten and dairy-free.

Instructions

1. Wash oranges using mild soap and cool water.

2. Dry each orange with a paper towel.

3. Cut the tops off each orange.

4. Gently cut around the inside of each orange to loosen the orange segments inside.

5. Use a spoon to dig out the fruit, and place it aside.

6. After the inside of the orange is scooped out, carve a face on the outside of each orange.

7. Wash, peel, cut up various pieces of fruit.

8. Fill each Orange Jack 'O Lantern with equal amounts of fruit.

9. Place the lid on top and serve.

10. For my fruit cups, I used blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, and orange slices. Of course, you can fill the cups with any fruit your child loves.

Apple Monsters

If you want to incorporate a family activity into this recipe you can. I made this treat for my kids using the fresh apples we picked at a local orchard. But this snack can be made using any apple your child likes and of course the apples can be store-bought.

One medium-sized apple will make two monsters.

Instructions

1. Wash off the apples and dry them with a paper towel.

2. Cut each apple in half and cut out the core.

3. Place an apple half, the white part facing down, and carefully cut out a mouth shape.

4. Spread your child's favorite nut butter (e.g. peanut butter, sunflower butter, almond butter, etc.) all over the white part of the apple. I use sunflower butter because peanuts upset my tummy.

5. Add a strawberry slice for a tongue.

6. I used sugar-free mints (e.g. Spry or TicTacs) for the teeth but you can also use sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.

7. Place a dot of nut butter on the back of two candy eyes and place them on the top of the apple. If you don't have candy eyes available you can use cheerios, chocolate chips, or any other small, round edible item you have in your pantry.

8. Embellishments can be made using mint leaves for eyelashes, etc.

Source: Parisi, J. (2019). 8 Healthy Halloween Treats For Kids | HelloFresh. Retrieved 23 October 2020, from https://blog.hellofresh.com/8-healthy-halloween-treats-for-kids/

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