Advice for Church V-day Party (Looking for Healthy)

My daughter has diabetes and we are always thinking of stuff like that.
I'll just suggest the foods we use and depending on the holiday you can jaz it up.
Pudding(comes in all colors) with calcium and protien too!
Use Graham cracker sticks for dipping. Crackers and cheese
raisins, peanuts, yougert covered pretzels, craisins are red!
Strawberries are always a hit, just dip em in melted white chocolate with a little red food coloring to make it pink then let it harden in wax paper lined cookie sheet, and take it right on there, apples are great, put em in some vit c (or emergen-c) in water to keep white
good luck
T. M

You could always try cutting cheese with a small heart cookie cutter. They would be cute and all kids like cheese right?

I would suggest going to Target, Sprouts or Whole Foods and perhaps picking up organic treats. They are always far less in sugar and a much healthier alternative. Target carries there own brand of organics called "Archer Farm Organics" and is very affordable. Sprouts doesn't have an abundant selection. Whole Foods is the priciest but with plenty to choose from.

:O)
Good Luck
:O)

You could use uncooked spaghetti noodles as spears.
Also, check out the website familyfun.go.com they
have alot of cute ideas. Or you could also get a
heart cookie cutter and cut-out cheese (lunchmeat)
hearts or even small PB&J heart sandwiches if you
get a smaller heart cookie cutter.
Have Fun!

Do the strawberries plain even. The whole heart thing is fantastic all by itself in my opinion even without the arrow if you're worried about weapons. Fruit is fantastic and healthy! yay for fruit!

Sounds like there are going to be lots of sweet things there! How about sending in individually wrapped cheese sticks? Or something else savory like those goldfish crackers. And you're right about the spears...I would stay away from them in a school environment. Or how about making whole wheat turkey sandwiches then use a heart shaped cookie cutter on them? Keeps with the theme of Valentines, but isn't a sugarbomb. It's a bit more high maintenance for you, but I bet the kids would love them!

Hi H.. I already responded once, and I see that you have gotten A LOT of answers. I got this e-mail today though from Family Fun that healthy valentine alternatives and thought of you. Here is the link just in case you still need help. http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/special/specialfeature/va...
It has a lot of different recipes, but just scroll down and you'll see "fruity snacks and treats". Have fun!

I have made sandwiches and used a heart shaped cookie cutter to create heart shaped sandwiches. You could purchase small heart cookie cutters and cut heart shaped cheese from cheese blocks. Using cookie cutters creates an endless, easy, quick holiday enjoyment.

try freezing the strawberries on a plastic spoon with some sugar free juice.

or there's this new book out by jerry seinfelds wife. it's a cookbook that disguises healthy foods in fun snacks like cookies and things. might be worth a try.

if all else fails, just take a healthy veggies tray. a lot of kids i know go for the broccoli and carrots and other veggies because they were raised to eat healthily. My own daughter prefers to eat baby carrots strait out of the bag over anything sweet. A lot of parents are more health conscience these days and pass that on to their kids. good luck!

Hi H. --

I don't know if you can get this in time for the party but I have recently discovered some wonderful healthy food that my kids and I (I seemed to have had an aversion to green - anything - since I was little!) absolutely LOVE. The Wholefood Farmacy has organic whole food that are in conveinent packages and wonderful snacks. My kids love the veggielicious, or any of the corn snacks....

Here is the website www.tebfitness.wholefoodfarmacy.com.

I hope that helps - if not for the party - just for your family in general!

Good Luck!!
J. S

I know that the school district my children are attending will not allow food to be brought in from home that is not packaged. I believe this is a reason you see a lot of junk heading into the classroom. If that is the case, some of the suggestions I have are yogurt cups, dried fruit, 100 calorie snack packs, etc... Hope this helps!

I am with you on that one. I get so frustrated with the food that is given to children at holidays. I too am looking for healthier alternatives. I think that the strawberries would be really cute just collect the sticks after they are finished. If you think of anything else please let me know. ____@____.com

Spears sound like a bad idea. Would also worry about kids with strawberry allergy. But fresh fruit is a good idea.

My girlfriend has a bakery in Fresno, CA called Valley Lahvosh Baking Co. They put out these great crackers that are shaped like hearts and not too sweet. They make the original crackerbread topped lightly w/sesame seeds and 'sweetheart' crackers that have cinnamon and sugar on them. Great for upcoming kids Valentine's day parties. You can contact them at 1-800-480-2704.

Crackers with heart shaped cheese (velveeta spray bottle) or your basic block of cheese with a small heart cookie cutter.

For Kids...
Ants on a log: celry, with peanut butter, and raisins.

For Adults:
make 7 layer dip with healthier stuff (fat free refried beans, low fat sour cream, salsa, guacomole, low fat cheese, olives, green chillies, sliced tomatoes
fruit kabobs (strawberries, grapes, banana, pinapple, apple on a skewer)

Do Melon Hearts. Using a small heart cookie cutter to make the shapes. You can even use popsicle sticks as an alternative to the spears. Vanilla yogurt makes a great dip.

You could do a mixture of marshmallow cream and fruit on the bottom strawberry yougurt and use it as a fruit dip. It is pink in color so it fits the theme.

What about using cut, plastic drinking straws or even coffee stirrers instead of the spears?

How about little meat/cheese sandwiches cut out with heart cookie cutters? Just make regular sandwiches and have your son help you cut them out. :) Peanut butter and jelly would work too, but you'd have to beware of peanut allergies.

H., Having been a teacher for 25 years the strawberries are a great idea. Why even do the spears???
I know! It was for the visual affect of Valentine theme....believe me those little ones will love the strawberries, even without the spears!!!!! AND what could be sweeter, you have the red right!!!!! I am sure they will all be gobbled up even if they are not cut in half!!!
Great finger food for those little hands!!!
Betty

yes, with that age group you do have to be concerned with anything and everything being used as weapons. Especially, eyes being poked. The strawberries are
a great idea though, most kids love fruits, you can also use apples and slice them length wise and give them a cookie cutter and let them cut the heart out themselves. My son, now 12, would take a fruit over the candy any day, even when he was 5.
They also love string cheese, you can have them tear it off and form it into
hearts and talk about asking Jesus into your heart, or how Jesus loves them with all their heart.
Hope that is helpful,
Take care,
K.

A great treat that I have brought to school parties that is always a hit is mini bagels sliced in half and spread with pink strawberry cream cheese, top them with a slice of strawberry (or a whole strawberry). The kids will gobble these up! this has been a classic school party treat in our family for almost 20 years. You might even be lucky enough to find a bakery that will make you some custom small sized bagels with blueberries, or whole wheat! Hint: dont spread the cream cheese too early before delivering the bagels or the cream cheese will get dried-out. ~H.~ Mother of 7

My daughter has to bring a snack to her kindergarten class once every month and I try to make it healthy and fun. One snack day we made a wonderful fruit salad that had blueberries, strawberries, grapes, manderine oranges, bananas, and some blackberries. I brought little Dora dixie cups with spoons for everyone to enjoy it, you could use festive heart cups for your theme.

The strawberries sound like a good idea. If you are worried about the spears, the kids probably don't have to have them. You can also try taking cheese and using a cookie cutter that is shaped like a heart and putting it with crackers (kids LOVE the shapes).

I was a teacher before a stay at home mom this year and kids love miniature anything, so maybe a miniature bottled water for each kid... they can wash down their sugary snacks...
Good luck!! ;)

what about Jello-jigglers made with sugar-free jello and KNox.... then cut them out with a heart chaped cookie cutter.... you could even put a half cut strawberry to be a little heart inside...all kids love jello and " knox block" do not need to be kept cold like jello....

Have you checked out Jessica Seinfelds book "Deceptively Delicious?" She sneaks all kinds of healthy stuff into her sweets in the form of puree's. For instance in her chocolate cake she puts pureed beets! It's brilliant. I have to admit, I haven't tried any of the recipes yet. I have yet to organize my kitchen and meal-planning to accomodate all of the purees. Let me know if you try it. Good luck.

Strawberries and bananas are soft enough that you can "spear" them with regular drinking straws. That way you can have fun looking skewers, the fruits are something most kids enjoy, and there's no danger of anyone being hurt with straws. You could do just strawberries, or alternate berries with chunks of banana. Cut the straws in half if you need smaller servings.

Tie a red yarn pompom around a mini box of resins.

You could cut pieces of cheese out with a small heart shaped cookie cutter for a healthier snack.

Hi H.,

Here is the link to a Valentine's recipe that is decadent yet healthy at the same time. It is dried fruit covered in anti-oxidant rich dark chocolate. My kids love it!

http://www.elanaspantry.com/2008/01/18/cranberry-apricot-...

There are lots of other healthy recipes on that site. Hope this helps!

E.

H.- how about strawberry muffins? Or even strawberry fruit leather from Sprouts? Personally my son is allergic to strawberries and I know you can't cater to everyone, but I am sure he is not the only one with the allergy, so you may also want to keep that in mind too. You could always get the kids red fruit snacks. COSTCO has that "real" fruit snacks and all of the packets are red and purple I think- you could bring just the red ones and even put cute little red bows on them. Good Luck.

I think halved strawberries are a great idea. Why not put them in little plastic or Dixie cups?

I think Strawberries is a wonderful idea! How about pretzel sticks as the "spears"? Enjoy!

I love your idea. I have also found that kids love trays of cheese, crackers and meat are also alwas a big hit.

Bring a fruit plate - you could always make it festive looking with red jell-o hearts..

Ritz crackers and cheese are a favorite snack at our parties. I use a little heart shaped cookie cutter to make cheese cut outs. Get a couple different kinds of cheese and two different sizes of cookie cutters. Stack the cheese by size on each cracker, the kids will love it.

Use the big pretzel sticks and dip the top part in peanutbutter than roll in sprinkles (you can also dip the tip in chocolate and roll in sprinkles, but just a tiny bit).

A fruit platter would be a nice addition and also a cheese/cracker platter. I don't know that you can buy heart shaped crackers, but you could cut the cheese with teeny tiny heart shaped cookie cutters in the shape of a heart

Also, zucchini bread or other quick bread using wheat flour and applesauce baked in a heart shaped pan would be nice.

Heart shaped wheat bread sandwiches (bigger heart cookies cutters on these :)).

Just the strawberries sliced alone, no spears would be good. I love the strawberry idea.

If all else fails, just buy a ton of red toothbrushes :)

Good luck!

~B.

I agree with hubby, another option is to take an orange small microwave it a few mintues until its soft and take an old fashions peppermint stick ( small) you may have to break it in two) stick it intothe orange and they have peppermint orangejuice, when you suck on the pm stick the inside of the stick desolves and the jucie come up, like a straw. I have done this for my boys class since they were kndgd. usually Christmas parties, but could be used for other seasons. they can peel the orange and have a healthy treat too.

I am so glad to find other parents who want to provide healthy snacks for class parties! It was a huge challenge to overcome last year when I was the room mom for my daughter. I saw a great idea in the Family Fun magazine at the library yesterday where they udes a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut watermelon! First of course you would need to slice the watermelon then do the cookie scutters. They too used spears to make an arrow going through using oranges for the tip and tail. I plan to leave the spears at home and cut lots of hearts!

Go to www.familyfun.com and see what they have. it is a great magazine that i have gotten for some time now. they have some really good ideas. Happy V-Day
God Bless
A.
www.romance2nite.com

I like to do cheese and crackers. You can slice the cheese and then use a small, heart-shaped cookie cutter to make the cheese into heart shapes. Those Sociable crackers (I think that's what they are called) come in fun shapes, too. Good luck!!

I think you can go with the strawberries, just leave out the spears. At my kids' Valentine's day parties I've seen cheese slices cut with a heart shaped cookie cutter, or you could do cream cheese & jelly sandwiches cut with the cookie cutter.

We have this issue at our Co-Op pre-k (no sweets allowed) - for my son, we tie a bundle of organic honey sticks with a valentine ribbon for each child - most kids love honey sticks and it is a healthy alternative, but still a sweet treat! Vitamin cottage and Whole Foods sell multi-flavored honey sticks (tubes of honey)