Holidays, such as Christmas, Valentine's Day and Halloween, often focus on candy as treats. If you do not want your child to eat unhealthy and commercially prepared holiday snacks, you can make your own healthier foods at home. Using holiday themes and colors will enable you to prepare eye-catching and tasty snacks that your child will enjoy while also getting a dose of nutrition as well.
Shaped Sandwiches
Using holiday themed cookie cutters will allow you to create sandwiches based on what you and your children are celebrating, Jessica Strand et al. note in their book, "Kids in the Holiday Kitchen." Dig out Christmas trees, Santas, snowmen, hearts, pumpkins and ghosts and be creative. Make a peanut butter and jelly or grilled cheese sandwich and lay on a flat surface. Use a cookie cutter and press firmly through the entire sandwich. Decorate with black olives as jack-o'-lantern faces or snowmen eyes and buttons. Halved grape tomatoes can be used for Christmas tree ornaments.
Vegetable Platters
Vegetables are often overlooked on a holiday table because it is more enticing to children to choose the sugary and high-fat options instead. Creating a themed vegetable platter will make the vegetables more attractive and may encourage your child to eat more. Choose vegetables in colors that go with the holiday you are celebrating. Create a red heart using red bell peppers and sliced tomatoes. Make a Thanksgiving turkey by using colorful bell peppers as feathers surrounding a halved pear. Broccoli can be made into a holiday wreath and banana slices can be arranged in the shape of a snowman.
Dipped Pretzels
Dipping pretzels in plain yogurt and decorating with sprinkles is a simple snack that can be made according to the colors of the holiday you are celebrating, notes Perpetual Preschool, a website that offers themed snack ideas for early childhood classrooms. Use large rod pretzels and dip in plain yogurt about 3/4 of the way up. Lay on a platter and allow children to decorate with colored sprinkles. Use red, white and blue for Fourth of July, pink and red for Valentine's Day, orange and black for Halloween, and blue and purple for Easter.
Shaped Gelatin
Gelatin is another simple and kid-friendly snack food that can be made into holiday treats using different colors and shaped cookie cutters. Choose sugar-free gelatin in colors for your holiday. Yellow, orange and red work well for Thanksgiving, and red and green can be used for Christmas. Add fruit that has been chopped very small to add nutrients to the snack. Bananas, peaches and blueberries work well. Make the gelatin according to package directions, adding the fruit before refrigerating. Pour into cookie sheets and allow to set. Use small holiday-themed cookie cutters to cut the gelatin into shapes.
References
- "Kids in the Holiday Kitchen"; Jessica Strand, et al; 2008
- The Perpetual Preschool: September - August Holidays
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