Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, which means that its time to whip up some special treats for you and the kids. While Valentine’s Day is always connected to sweet treats like chocolate and candy, you can create some yummy treats for the kids while still keeping it on the healthy side.
Valentine’s Day Kabobs
One way you can let the little ones indulge in a special Valentine’s Day treat, without giving up all things nutritious is by serving Fruit Kabobs with Yogurt Dip. You can find red or pink plastic skewers and then load them up with strawberries, cherries, watermelon and red seedless grapes. You can use a tiny heart shaped cookie cutter for the berries and watermelon to add to the festive look. Low-fat vanilla yogurt works great as a dip and strawberry yogurt would be perfect with your theme.
Here’s another healthy snack idea for your favorite little Valentines. For breakfast on this special day, make heart shaped muffins. You don’t need a special muffin pan either. Just fill your muffin liners with the batter and then press a piece of tin foil, rolled to 1/2inch thick between the muffin liner and the pan to shape the muffin liner into a heart.
Here’s one that’s a bit different:
Strawberry Roll-ups
You will need: 4 (6 inch) soft tortilla shells
Low-fat Strawberry cream cheese
4 T Strawberry jam
Spread the cream cheese to the edge of each tortilla. Add 1 T of strawberry jam, spread down the center. Fold in the edges of the tortilla, about two inches. Now roll the tortilla up- jelly roll style. Slice into 2-inch bites for the perfect Valentines Day snack.
Mini- Fruit Smoothies for Valentine’s Day
Kids love fruit smoothies, so why not serve them on Valentine’s Day to show your children how much you love them- in a healthy, delicious way. They’re so easy to make, you’ll find yourself whipping up a batch even when it’s not a special day. Simply combine a blend of fruits in your blender, with a little fruit juice added for liquid. You can serve them in decorated Dixie cups for little hands and decorate them with cocktail umbrellas for a special touch.
In keeping with the theme of the day, use primarily red fruits and juice. Strawberries and raspberries are great choices and you can mix in bananas without changing the color scheme. Apple juice combines well with the berries for your liquid.
Jell-O Hearts- Without the Sugar and Dyes
Kids love Jell-O, but as a Mom you worry about all that sugar and artificial coloring. Try this instead for a healthy alternative:
Boil 1 cup of water, add ½ cup of grape juice and 1 packet of unflavored gelatin. Stir until dissolved. After it cools slightly, add another ½ cup of grape juice. Pour into heart shaped molds and refrigerate until firm. If you don’t have heart shaped molds, you can pour the gelatin mixture into a baking pan and then cut out heart shapes with a cookie cutter after it is firm.
These treats will add some special fun to Valentine’s Day for you and your kids. You can make them as a surprise or the kids can join in the fun!
Recipe Sources:
Family Time
Associated Content
Bella