Healthy Easter Treats for Kids: 6 Fun Food Ideas With No Added Sugar! Well, Almost… (Kids Cook Monday)
March 25, 2013 | Posted by Stacy under Easter |
Let me be clear that my kids WILL be getting candy on Easter. No, it won’t be a crazy amount or contain those artificial food dyes that require a warning label in Europe. (As the Easter Bunny in residence, I have stocked up on Surf Sweets and Equal Exchange Dark Chocolate Eggs.) But who says it has to be all about the sugar booty anyway? (If you’ve seen the recent ad campaign with Tom Brady, you know that the UNREAL Easter bunny is rethinking his junky ways!). To that end, a round-up of fun and healthy Easter treats that will delight the wees without giving you a guilt trip:
To be honest, I don’t know whether artificial food coloring would permeate an eggshell or not. If not, I still love the idea of using earth’s colors to make naturally dyed Easter eggs. You can turn the activity into a food lesson by having your child taste whatever edible is being used as a dye. Follow these instructions from Mommypotamus, which involve soaking the eggs for a few hours or overnight. Or, you can try this faster approach from weelicious. (I found the turmeric produced brilliant yellow eggs while the lavender color from the frozen blueberries was a dud).
Strawberries dipped in Greek yogurt and adorned with natural pastel-colored sprinkles make a wholesome Easter dessert or a special snack. I used plain Greek 2% Fage yogurt with a little honey mixed in, then added a couple drops of strained beet juice to turn the yogurt pink and a natural green liquid food coloring (made with spinach, turmeric and cabbage) for a green tint. After adding sprinkles, I placed the berries on parchment paper and popped them in the freezer for about 10 minutes or so to set the yogurt. Be sure to keep them in the fridge until ready to eat, otherwise, the yogurt will start to melt. You can make this one with the kids!
This adorable Peter Rabbit Mixed-Up Garden Snack from Gourmet Mom on the Go involves placing a variety of fruits and veggies in a cupcake or muffin tin, then covering it with tissue paper. Kids must then help solve the mystery of what’s planted in the garden by “digging” through the tissue paper and nibbling the contents.
If you’re looking for a non-sugary alternative for the Easter basket, these Cheddar Cracker Easter Carrots from Creative Green Living are super cute. Just fill a baggie with Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies so it forms a carrot-like shape, then use yarn to seal the bag and create a tuft of greens.
And a few more sugar-free Easter ideas from around the web:
Carrot Croquettes from Ziggity Zoom
Deviled Egg Chicks from Low So Paleo
Packing Up the Easter Baskets Without Candy Overload from The Simple Moms
Bunny Bucks Printables from Design Editor
Do you have a healthy Easter food idea or recipe to share? I’m always looking for ideas! Please leave it in the comments section below.
Thanks for the link back.
Graet info
Thanks
Last year we just put blueberries inside of our Easter eggs. Our daughter loves blueberries so this worked really well. It also requires no prep time.
Annie, I love that idea! I used to do it when my kids were younger but you’ve inspired me to incorporate some fruit into our eggs this year as well. Thank you!
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All the above food ideas are really awesome. I am very much like those kinds of ideas. As a mother I am always try to provide healthy snacks to my kids. That’s why your above ideas assists me very much for serving better snacks to my kids.
Thank you, Emilie! Like the looks of your healthy kids’ meals. Nice to have some alternatives!