Healthy Holiday Toddler Treats

December 17, 2020

It is the most wonderful time of the year! The holidays are officially upon us and there are so many ways to create special moments with your littlest loves during this season! One of our favorite ways to celebrate is by gathering up the littles and heading straight into the kitchen. Cooking and baking seems to be extra special this time of year and what better way to celebrate than by doing so as a family! Not only does cooking with toddlers offer lasting memories, but it also presents some awesome learning opportunities. From making a shopping list & picking out the items at the store, to measuring ingredients and preparing them together! We hope the recipes below add some delicious and festive fun to your December:

Christmas Fruit Kabobs

This first recipe is super simple and adds a little festive color to any snack time plate! Gather up an array of red and green fruits and chop them up into bite size pieces.

We suggest: green grapes, red strawberries, green honeydew, red watermelon

Carefully assist your child(ren) in patterning them onto a kabob stick in a red and green color pattern. This recipe is tasty and it helps to practice color recognition!

Santa Hat Stack

This next recipe calls for just three ingredients: bananas, strawberries and tiny marshmallows.

To make:
-Slice a banana into thin, round pieces & chop the stems off the strawberries.
-Lay one banana slice flat on a plate. Place a strawberry on top on the banana slice, flat side down. Next, top the strawberry with a tiny marshmallow. The banana will represent the white fur trim on Santa’s hat, the strawberry represents the red portion of the hat and the tiny marshmallow represents the white fur trim at the top of the hat!

Green Pita Christmas Tree

This idea is great for serving up at mealtime! Gather green pita bread or green tortilla wraps…either one will do! You will also need some guacamole and tiny, diced tomatoes. Use a cookie cutter or a knife to cut the bread into triangle shapes. Next, ask your little chef to spread some guacamole onto the bread. Top with diced tomato “ornaments” and enjoy a tasty little tree that is filled with veggies!

Snowman Pancakes

This last recipe is sure to please at breakfast time! Whip up your favorite batch of pancakes and use circular cookie cutters to cut pancakes into circles. Ask your child to stack the circle pancakes to make a snowman by placing one pancake at the bottom of their plate, one in the middle and a tiny one on top for the head. Set out a handful of blueberries and encourage your little one to give the snowman a face and buttons with the blueberries.

Involving little ones in the process of planning, gathering and preparing ingredients helps to encourage them to try new, healthy foods. Having trouble with a picky eater!? Offering a little dip on the side can encourage them to try at least one bite! Try offering a scoop of yogurt or honey for fruit based dishes or perhaps some plain cream cheese for trying veggies. For more tips and tricks on toddler mealtimes, check out this article here!

Wishing you a Happy Holiday Season filled with family, fun and food!