Healthy Recipes

The one thing you really need to make a children's party a success is lots of food! Children are always busy, so it makes it easy for you to plan for small finger foods. This gives them the ability to run up to the refreshments table, grab a bite to eat and go back to what they were doing. Try to serve a wide variety of snacks so they have a good chance of discovering one or two items they really like.

You can also serve up each child with a plate of their own treats that have a little of everything. This works well if you know what each child likes. It also keeps the food in one area. You have to admit that the best thing about feeding kids at a party is you get to use your imagination. Make foods that have interesting shapes or have favorite flavors.

Sandwiches work as good for kids as they do for adults. These foods are easy to handle and eat. Make up a bunch of small finger sandwiches using different spreads. Stay away from nut spreads just in case someone has allergies. Cut up the sandwiches with cookie cutters to make them extra fun and set them out on a colorful tray. Try cutting them into dinosaurs, circles, trees, cars or other fun shapes.

Every kid loves pizza. Make up some pizzas and cut them into bite sized pieces that they can easily pop into their mouths. They will taste a lot better than frozen pizza rolls and you will not have to worry about toppings being too hot like you can with fillings. Keep the pizzas simple... cheese is a perennial favorite with kids. You can also add a little chopped pepperoni or ham to make them more interesting.

Got dip? Kids love to dip food. Serve up a big bowl of dip with fruit or veggies that they can enjoy. Chips are great with dip too as long as they are nice and sturdy. No one likes to eat from a dip bowl full of broken chips. For a healthy choice, think about serving hummus as a dip. It is delicious and fun.

A real fun food is pigs in a blanket. Use the tiny smoky sausages and roll them up with a little cheese and some biscuit dough. Bake them until done. These treats are great for little hands and fun for them to eat. If the kids are older, you can serve them on toothpicks or cut up cooked hot dogs or other foods and put them on sticks.

All of these easy party appetizers are simple to throw together on your own. You do not need to worry about expensive caterers. Do not forget a few sweet treats like cookies, small cakes, or sweetened popcorn. Make sure they have juice, punch, or other beverage on hand for when they get thirsty.

Hosting a children's party can be very easy. With plenty of fun foods, the kids will remain happy and busy. Preparation will be simple as many of these items can be made ahead of time. All you need is a little planning and some great finger foods.

By Christine Szalay-Kudra

Labels: eat healthy food, fast healthy food, healthy eating food, healthy fast food, healthy food, healthy food eating, healthy food pyramid, healthy food recipes, healthy foods, the healthy food