No party is complete without Sweet Treats! Dessert doesnโt always have to be naughty and make you feel guilty afterwards though. Gone are the days of a party only having cake, jelly cups and chocolate crackles. They still have a place, but there is such a wide world of ideas out there to ensure a healthier and successful party. I find you have to have some really healthy foods as well as semi-healthy and that way everyone is happy.
Here are some ideas to get you started –
1 โ Fruit Cups
Very popular when put into bright waxed lined cupcake or muffin papers, so the papers donโt go soggy. By cutting the fruit into shapes, it adds a little bit of fun for the kids and is very easy to do by using food cutters.
2 โ Bite-sized Pikelets
Pikelets are always a huge success at any time of the day.ย A fun way to make them stand out and sing โEat Meโ is to divide the batter into a few bowls and add some food colouring. (Note: If adding food colouring, be sure to decrease the milk quantity slightly.) These days, you can buy All Natural Food Colouring from your local health shops and even some supermarkets. Add some jam on top of each pikelet and they will be a huge hit.
3 โ Homemade Muesli Bars
There are lots of recipes out there. For babies, find something full of fruit for sweetness and to hold them together and no sugar. For older children, find a recipe that has honey instead of full of sugar and is filled with dried fruit, oats and rice puffs. Use a piping bag to make them into muesli bar shaped logs, or use rice or food moulds to shape them into something different and fun.ย Kids love the shaped muesli bars.
4 โ Homemade Cookies
Find a recipe with less sugar. That way, you can have a few yummy fillings to make up for the reduced sugar and they are still a much healthier option. You can make the dough in advance and roll into logs, wrap in cling wrap and then freeze. Flavour some dough and leave some plain. There are so many suggestions for fillings online, but a few popular ones are jam; M&Ms; orange rind and choc chip; freckles or 100s & 1000s. I always find that making a couple of just plain batches is good for any young children or adults who want something simple.
5 โ Yoghurt Cups
Buy some cute little 100ml โ 150ml containers and place some plain yoghurt in the bottom. On top of the yoghurt, fill with assorted fruits, like blueberries, strawberries, passionfruit, mango and even do a few mixed fruit ones. These are adorable and if you buy nice plain yoghurt they will be a hit.
6 โ Scones with Jam
A nice plain scone recipe with either lemonade or a small amount of cream is great. Top with jam to make them a healthier alternative without cream.
7 โ Fruit Kebabs
Dice a variety of fruit and place onto mini bamboo skewers or food picks. Place a piece of strawberry on the top and dip in chocolate to make them look a bit cuter and more appealing to the kids.
8 โ Bite-Sized Fruit Muffins
Look for a recipe with a small amount of sugar so that you can add fruit to sweeten them up. If you make them in a mini muffin pan and they are bite-sized, the kids love them. If you make one basic mixture, then you can divide into bowls and add different fillings, such as blueberries, strawberries, orange and poppyseeds, banana and cinnamon and many more.
9 โ Fruit Smoothies using Yoghurt
Make some mini smoothies and place into bottles or cute cups. Then add a nice paper straw and a pretty label around the outside. They will not only look good but taste good too. Make the smoothie using a yoghurt and milk base and just add assorted fruits. Make sure you write the fruits on the back so you remember what you made.
10 โ Fruit & Jelly Cups
Kids love jelly cups at parties, so why not just make them a little bit healthier by adding in some tinned fruit in the bottom then top with jelly. I think half fruit and half jelly is a great ratio.
To help reduce the stress on the day, try making the following in the weeks leading up to the party and freezing them:
- Pikelets
- Muesli Bars
- Cookie Dough
- Scones
- Fruit Muffins
Hopefully, these helpful tips and food suggestions will help to reduce the stress on party day. I know itโs helped me over the years. Coming from a catering background, I picked up a lot of helpful tips to make my parties less stressful and more of a healthier success.
These healthy creative party food alternatives come courtesy of our guest blogger Melissa Porter from Trendy Lil Treats. Trendy Lil Treats supply products to assist in easy healthy eating for children; products to make life a little easier for mum and much more fun for your little ones.
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