Fruits and veggies are a healthy snack any time of year.
When family and friends get together for a celebration, food is usually a major part of the festivities. If you're watching your waistline or just trying to live a healthier lifestyle, holidays are a difficult time to stick to your guns and keep crunching on those broccoli florets. But you don't have to feel left out; prepare a healthy and tasty holiday snack to share. Present the snack in an interesting way to match the holiday theme to make it even more festive.
Christmas Tree Kabobs
Make a Christmas tree out of fruit kabobs to get a serving of your daily fruits at a holiday party. Slice the top and the skin off of a pineapple and cut a few rings off of the top. Use star cookie cutters to make little pineapple stars out of the rings. Thread other fruits onto short kabob skewers; apples, grapes and strawberries work well. Top some of the fruit kabobs with the stars and stick them into the peeled pineapple, angled upward so the fruit doesn't fall off.
Spooky Snacks
Present some ordinary foods in unusual ways to keep kids coming back for more of your healthy snacks on Halloween. Make jack-o-lanterns by cutting pumpkin shapes out of cheddar cheese with a pumpkin cookie cutter and slicing up salami in triangles and a crescent for eyes and a mouth. Serve up some spooky witch's fingers by dabbing a bit of peanut butter on the end of carrot sticks and pressing on an almond sliver as a fingernail. Vampire jaws are easily made out of an apple slice covered in peanut butter or jelly with two almond slivers for fangs.
Bunny Food
Easter snacking doesn't have to be all chocolate and marshmallows. Cut down on the amount of unhealthy snacks in the house by filling plastic Easter eggs with nuts and dried fruit or cereal to nibble on instead. This might be the only time of year kids will get excited about a platter of lettuce and carrots --- encourage them to eat like the Easter Bunny does. Add some fiber and protein to your jellybeans and M&Ms by making your own granola and trail mixes that include some sweet and some salty treats.
Food for Fireworks
Fireworks are the main event at many Fourth of July parties, but your snacks can still take the cake. Prepare a large platter with fruit laid out in the pattern of a flag. Use blueberries for the blue in the upper left, cauliflower for the white stripes and tomatoes or strawberries for the red stripes, or use any combination of red, white and blue fruits and veggies. Cut mozzarella or Swiss cheese into small squares and pair each slice with a wheat cracker. Cut tomatoes into thin strips and arrange them in an "x" like a little sparkle on each one.
Tags: fruit kabobs, peanut butter, them like, time year