Healthy Holiday Snacks!
Nothing beats the holiday baking season — all those tarts, cookies and treats make this joyous holiday even sweeter. Although those sugary snacks are hard to resist, sugar overload can burn your little ones out — check out some of these adorable, festive snacks that will help keep your child’s energy high during the most exciting time of the year!
Strawberry Santa Hats
This is an extremely easy, cute way to make fruits festive. Simply take a strawberry, cut the top off and dip it in whip cream so that there is a layer of whip cream around the entire top section. Then, flip the strawberry over and put a dab of whip cream on the pointed bottom part of the strawberry and — voila! You have a healthy Santa themed snack.
Healthy Hot Chocolate Mix
If you and your family love to indulge in a nice cup of hot chocolate on a cold day, consider making your own yummy hot chocolate mix! Ditch the syrup laden and sugar loaded store bought mixes for a healthy-at-home alternative. Simply mix 6 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, a half a cup of dry milk powder, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, 1 teaspoon of salt, and three quarters of a cup of baking stevia together until all the ingredients are well blended. At this point all you have to do is pour the mixture into a mason jar for later use — and simply prepare it as you would any powdered hot chocolate mix when you’re ready for a low-sugar treat.
Snowman on a Stick
These adorable fruit kebabs will pack a variety of fruits into one easy, bite-sized snack for your little ones. Simply cut three pieces of a banana, and slide them onto a kebab stick for the head, middle and bottom of the snowman. Then, use mini chocolate chips for the eyes and buttons! Finally, cut an apple wedge for the hat, and stick a small grape on top for the pompom, and your Snowman on a stick is ready for snack time!
“Reindeer” Chow
Deliciously crunchy snack mix is a great on-the-go treat for kids during the holidays! Mix together 2 cups of Chex cereal, 2 cups of cheerios, 2 cups of pretzels, 2 cups of pecans, 2 cups of peanuts and 1 cup of dried cranberries. Melt a cup of butter and stir in 2 tblsp of maple syrup & Worcestershire sauce, a half a tsp of cayenne pepper and 2 tsp of Cajun seasoning. Pour this mixture over the dried food mixture, and stir until coated. Then spread the reindeer chow on a baking tray and bake for one hour at 350 degrees F — tossing it around every so often to ensure it is evenly cooked. When its finished, pack it away in a cute snack container — maybe one of these awesome Sugarbooger ones — and you are ready to go anywhere during the busy holiday season.
Pineapple Coconut “Snowballs”
These adorable snowball snacks are the perfect serving size for tiny tummies and are easy to prepare! Take an 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple and drain it with a fine strainer to push as much juice out of the pineapple as possible. Then, take an 8 ounce package of softened cream cheese and mix the pineapple with it, making sure to beat it. Refrigerate the mix for half an hour until it firms up, and roll it into 1 inch balls, finally rolling it in flaked coconut, which you will need 2 and a half cups of total. Refrigerate the balls overnight or for 6 hours and serve! This snack is low in sugar and light on the tummy as opposed to many other rich holiday treats.
Chocolate Cinnamon Meringues
With all the cookies and baked goods going around during the holidays, we realize that it will be at times difficult to resist, and to encourage little ones to eat fruits and other healthy snacks. If you find you just can’t kick your craving for a sweet baked treat, check out these amazing, low in fat, low in sugar chocolate cinnamon meringues! These delicious cookies have almost no saturated fat but taste delicious and are sure to satisfy your Christmas cravings. Check out the recipe, and many other wonderful holiday recipes, here.
We hope that these sweet, healthy alternatives will help keep your family’s holiday season healthy and happy — and smooth the transition into a new year of healthy eating that is sure to be just as enjoyable!