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Planning a Toddler Christmas Party? – Get Some Healthy Party Snacks Ideas
You are invited to your toddler Christmas party at the nursery, and need to bring some party treats for the kids. Or throwing a Christmas party for your child’s friends and neighbours? I guess many parents would go for some mince pies and cakes, but I will give you a healthier choice. And I bet your little ones would enjoy it even more!
Squash Delight
Simply cut a butternut squash (get organic one from your local market) in small, approximately 5 x 5 cm pieces, and put them in a tray. Then add ½ cup water and bake for around an hour or until soften. Leave to cool and serve with some honey topping (for children over 12-months old).
Fruit Oaty Cookies
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
2 ½ cups quick oats
1/3 cup honey OR ½ cup sugar
1/3 cup oil OR applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp cinnamon
Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and allow to sit for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet, flatten into cookie shape. Bake for 20 minutes or until brown. You could also add 1 cup of chopped soaked dried dates/apricots/blueberries & reduce the oats to 2 cups.
Mini Pastries
1 pack, approximately 300g homemade or ready-bought parties
4 eggs
200g cottage cheese or Greek feta
200 spinach leaves
200 butternut squash
50ml pure sunflower oil
1/2 cup natural yogurt
This will make 3 styles pastries: cheese and eggs, cheese and spinach and squash ones.
- Spread a package of thin pastry sheets on the table, making sure they lay flat and are defrosted to room temperature.
- Boil spinach and squash in separate pans, remove from water and leave to cool.
- In a bowl mix crushed feta cheese with 2 beaten eggs. Divide mixture into two, and add spinach into one of the halves, and yogurt to the other half.
- In separate bowl mix butternut squash with 2 beaten egg.
- Grease and line the pan a thin layer of oil and flour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 to 400F
- By lifting half a sheet at a time, drip with the brush a few drops of oil in between the sheets you are going to use for the first roll. This way when baked, the pastry sheets stay separated and crisp. Do the same for the top sheet too on which you will put the filling.
- With a spoon, spread a row of the mixtures just inside the outer edge of the pastry sheet. Next, gently lift and roll the first roll from one edge to the other – being careful not to press so the pastry stays crisp and airy.
- Place the first roll in the pans outer edge.
- Repeat this process and complete the spiral in the pan from the outer edge to the centre. Make 3 trays with the 3 different mixtures, you can then bake them together.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust becomes golden from the top and bottom. Leave to cool and serve in small bite-sized portions.
It may seem time and effort involving, but it’s actually straightforward and easy to make. And if you ask you little pumpkin to help you out, it would be great fun and another way to spend more time with your child, to educate and to enjoy yourselves!
Funky Sandwiches
Get creative and make some funky mini sandwiches. While it’s a Christmas Party, get in the theme and, using fresh organic vegetables and homemade spreads, create a wonderful Christmas tree, Santa or a sparkling star!
Fruits
Don’t forger to add some fresh fruits like bananas, kiwis and grapes (all cut in pieces and ready to eat), as well as some dried fruits like apricots, prunes and raisins to the table.
Juices and Smoothies
Get some fresh fruits and vegetables to squeeze and prepare delicious and packed with vitamins homemade juices and smoothies. Get creative and make them in different colours – the orange one, the red one, etc. Use your imagination (and taste), or get some great combination ideas:
- The orange one: oranges, mango and carrots
- The yellow one: pineapple, apple and melon
- The red one: strawberries, raspberries and
- The green one: green apple, kiwi, and green grapes
- The blue one: blueberries, prunes and blackcurrants
Not enough time to prepare all homemade snacks? - Here are some ready-to-eat healthy snack and smoothie ideas:
Organix Oaties Biscuits
Organic Oaties containing wholegrain oat flour and sweetened with grape juice. Oaty biscuits are made with the goodness of wholegrain oat flour to increase fibre and vitamin levels. With no nasty additives and no sneaky sugar, they are a totally trustworthy food to get excited about.
Organic Alphabet Biscuits, containing grape juice and a blend of wholegrain cereals, sunflower seeds and currants are an easy way to a healthy, tasty treat-easy as ABC! They're made with real sunflower seeds and currants, and half the flour we use is wholegrain, added to increase fibre and vitamin levels. What's more, they contain no nasty additives or sneaky sugar-they're naturally yummy!
Organix Cereal Bars, coming in different varieties. Try those:
Blackcurrant: A blend of organic wholegrain oats, raisins, coconut, apple & blackcurrant. They are full of healthy wholegrain oats and juicy raisins, so they're a good source of fibre. What's more, they contain no added sugar, hydrogenated fat or nasty additives.
Apple and Orange: A blend of organic wholegrain oats, raisins, apple juice, coconut & orange. Filled with 100% organic ingredients and bursting with zesty orange, these cereal bars are the perfect snack for your toddler's Christmas party! And they taste yummy too!
Organix Mini Fruit Boxes and Fruit Bars, containing nothing but organic fruit. They have no artificial additives or added sugar - just a delicious natural sweetness that children love. Date and Apple fruit bars are simply made by blending delicious organic dates amd apples and contain no artificial ingredients and no added sugar or concentrates. Great snacks that count as 1 of your child’s 5 a day.
RDA Organic Kids Sqqquishy and Squeeezy
Each yummy RDA Organic Sqqquishy and Squeeezy contains 100% pure organic fruit, providing kids with their recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Vitamin C and one full portion of fruit. Nothing added, nothing taken away! Coming in two varieties: blackcurrant, apple and banana sqqquishy, and mango, apple and orange squeezy. This Kids range is a recent winner of the Junior Q Award and ‘Best New Children’s Drink’ at the Beverage Innovation Awards - lunchbox friendly, 100% organic with no added sugars, concentrates, additives or preservatives. Recently launched in flexible packaging with easy to use safety cap.
Follow those 5 main rules:
- Go for homemade treats where possible. They are fresher, taste better and you know what’s in them! There are still healthy ready-to-eat options, though (see above), but be selective and read the labels carefully.
- Prepare food and juices on the day, but make sure you don’t leave everything for last minute. Homemade fruit oaty cookies and squash delights might be might be the first ones to bake, then put prepare and put mini savoury pastries in the oven. On a later stage make some funky sandwich bites, and leave squeezing some fruits to make delicious juice for just before the party starts.
- If you don’t have enough time for all homemade treats, buy some ready-made ones, but go for organic and contain no artificial colours, preservatives or sugar.
- Make sure you serve food in small bite-sized portions, easy for those small hands to grab and hold.
- Don’t forget the allergy notes. Allergy information is of extreme importance, especially when catering for children under 5-years old. Either make some allergy labels to stick to the plates, or inform parents on arrival. Avoid peanuts and any nuts. Other main allergy-causing products are diary, eggs, soy, wheat (and other gluten-containing grains), berries.
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