Pizza Crust Bones (100% Whole Wheat)

Halloween is around the corner. I keep seeing all those cute holiday treats on Pinterest; I'll bet you do, too. You know, the ones that are bright orange from artificial food colors or made from all hyper-processed ingredients? I totally get how fun they are. But I still don't really want those kind of ingredients in my house because (1) I believe they're really not good for my child and (2) I know he'll be getting enough junk when he goes trick-or-treating and (3) I think we can use real food ingredients and still make playful snacks.

Case in point: those breadsticks shaped to look like bones. Adorable! But the refrigerated breadstick dough called for in the recipe actually has straight-up junk in it (such as partially hydrogenated oils - ick). So, I decided to make the fun bones...but just use real pizza dough. Not such a major change, maybe. But it's a change that made me feel so much better about my son and his little friend eating them! 

I made the dough from this recipe for 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (the only changes I made: I used white whole wheat flour and Sucanat in place of sugar). I shaped the bones according to the original recipe. I brushed extra virgin olive oil on top, sprinkled on some grated parmesan and baked at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes; they should be a golden brown. 

They were a big hit with the kids and very simple to make. I served the breadsticks with small bowls of marinara sauce for dipping, and some turkey meatballs on the side. Don't want to make your own dough? Just buy some whole wheat (or gluten-free, if you don't eat wheat) pizza dough at your local pizzeria or grocery store.

I think I made my bones too big—they kind of look like the beef bones my sister's dog likes to chew on. But still, they thrilled the kiddies. 

For some other real food Halloween ideas, check out Healthy Halloween: Real 
Food, Real Fun (and No Artificial Food Dyes)!