Halloween Eats! And Costumes!

It's my favorite holiday! Halloween! I've been doing the Halloween season right this year with lots of pumpkin dishes, costume parties, a visit to a haunted house and terror trail, and even a Halloween-themed playlist for my runs.

This past Saturday, my friend Andy had his annual Halloween party. My bestie Greg, who lives in Indiana now, was in town, so we got all dressed up — him as some kind of psycho killer, me as the Notorious RBG (a.k.a. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg).

As for actual Halloween today, I started with a post-run green smoothie, but I accidentally deleted the photo. I think you know what a green smoothie looks like though, right? This one was chocolate peanut butter with spirulina and maca, and it was a very dark shade of green, like camo or, better yet, witches' skin!

For lunch, I had my traditional Halloween hot dog! My Me-maw used to have Halloween parties every year, and we'd eat chili dogs and hand out Halloween candy. She doesn't have her parties anymore, but I still have to have my hot dog. This one was a Field Roast Frankfurter with dijon and pickle relish, side of Beanfield's nacho chips and salad.

When I got home from work, I suited Maynard up into his Halloween costume and we went for a walk. He's a little too fat for it these days, but we made it work. Then I handed out candy for an hour or so. Not many trick-or-treaters this year, so I have a ton of leftover Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, and mini Oreos (all vegan!).

Each year, on the evening of Halloween, I celebrate Samhain — the time when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead are at their thinnest. It's a great time to honor, remember, and celebrate those who have passed. I light candles for all my dead friends, and then I enjoy a nice homemade meal with them. I typically make this South American seitan stew by Bryant Terry, but some years, I need to change it up. This year, I made Weekend Seitan Chili from House Vegan's Fall Fomo No Mo.

This chili is fantastic! I typically use either TVP or burger crumbles (or sometimes just beans) in my chili, but homemade seitan is so much better. I enjoyed this bowl with a gluten-free dinner roll (yes, with seitan --- all about balance) and a slice of leftover pumpkin ice cream cake from my birthday (it was stashed in the freezer).

That was all washed down with a Leinenkugel's Harvest Pumpkin Shandy!

And it wouldn't be Halloween without a jack-o-lantern and roasted pumpkin seeds. I carved my lantern up tonight and roasted the seeds with a little Earth Balance, Cajun seasoning, and sugar. Perfect snack for tomorrow!