Quick and Easy: Top Fun Foods for Kids that Can Replace Junk Food 
We’ve all seen at least a couple of cute ideas on Pintrest for fun food for kids, but who has the time? With work, social and family commitments, we’re all a little prone to getting busy, feeling tired and being tempted to forsake our desire for a healthy lifestyle for the convenience of junk food, but you’d be surprised by what you can whip up with minimal time and effort that will not only look great, but will actually be eaten! Like these cute little Monoprixturtles by Kristen Reece at http://ift.tt/10tfQ3N
There are multiple factors that can make food fun for kids, whether they like the way it looks or tastes, it’s easy to eat or if they can be involved in the preparation. And of course as parents we need to ensure that we are getting a good balance of nutrients into the foods we are providing for our children. Here is my top list of quick and easy fun foods for kids that can replace junk food.
Zucchini pizza bites
A great alternative to pizza that is quick, easy, healthy and due to their small portion size, they’re easy to eat, encouraging you (and the kids) to go back for more! Popular as a snack, party food, appetizers or even suitable as a hassle free dinner on its own or served with a side salad.
Ingredients:
- 1 Large Zucchini, sliced into rounds
- 2 Tbs tomato paste (salt reduced – to cut back on excess salt)
- 2 leaves fresh basil, sliced
- ¼ tsp oregano, dried and any other herbs or spices you desire
- 1 ½ oz full fat Cheese (mozzarella or cheddar) – grated or small slices
- Optional extra toppings – cherry tomatoes (6 sliced into quarters); traditional pepperoni & mozzarella; cheddar, ham & pineapple chunks; or finely diced or grated veggies.
Instructions:
- Pre heat the grill to medium heat.
- Slice the zucchini about 1/4″ thick, discarding the ends, and pop on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil or coated with olive oil cooking spray.
- Smear on some tomato paste with the back of a spoon, add herbs, sprinkle with grated or sliced cheese and add any additional toppings. Pop under the grill for a few minutes (no more that 5) until cheese is melted. Yum!
Apple Cookies
Along the same lines as the zucchini pizza bites, these Apple Cookies from Rachel Schultz at rachelschultz.com pack a nutritional punch, with lots of healthy fats (the good kind that help our brains grow), high in protein and couldn’t be quicker or easier!
Ingredients
- 1 apple
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter or other nut butter
- ¼ cup almonds, sliced
- ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
- ¼ cup coconut (shredded or flakes)
- ¼ cup chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Slice apple into thin rings and remove core.
- Spread nut butter over one side of ring.
- Top with almonds, walnuts, coconut, and chocolate chips. Enjoy!
Berry Yoghurt Ice-creams
A healthy alternative to store bought ice-creams, which are usually packed full of refined sugar and other additives the health conscious parent would rather avoid.
This recipe is fairly forgiving, you can adjust the ratios until you find a flavour and texture combination you are happy with – some can be so thick you can eat with a spoon, or as thin as a milkshake. These can be blended up quickly as a morning smoothie, adding in all sorts of other healthy extras, like chia seeds for those healthy omega 3’s, a raw free range egg if your game, or anything else you might like to sneak in that doesn’t have too strong of a flavour that will overpower the chosen fruit. Then simply freeze the leftovers to enjoy as a guilt free instant breakfast, desert or snack! You can even substitute the yoghurt for milk kefir to sneak in some extra probiotics if you have it.
Image from itsybitsyfoodies.co
Ingredients:
- 2 cups natural Greek or coconut yoghurt (or milk kefir)
- 1 ½ cups berries (Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, or any combination)
- 1 banana (ripe or frozen)
- 2 Tbs Chia seeds
- 1 tsp almond meal
- ½ tsp flaxseed
- ½ tsp vanilla powder
- ¾ cup coconut water or 100% orange juice
Instructions:
- Simply bend all ingredients for 30-60 seconds on high.
- Drink as a smoothie, divide the rest into icy-pole molds or ice cube trays with wooden stick inserted and freeze until firm, 4-6 hours.
Watermelon Cake
A Great healthy alternative to the traditional birthday cake. You can go as elaborate or as simple as you like, adding layers of various fruits and tooth picks for decoration, like this one from beautifulpicturesofhealthyfood or simply chop up a whole watermelon and throw on some berries and maybe a candle, something like this one from thecarousel.com. Or you can even ice with coconut whipped cream and decorate with toasted sliced almonds like this one from http://ift.tt/20I7eVK the options are endless.
Teddy Bear Toast 
You can’t go wrong with a staple like nut butter (or their favourite spread) on toast. The effort to cutesy it up into cute teddy bears like they have over at http://ift.tt/1u0BFv6 with a few slices of banana and a couple of sultans is very low input for a pretty great return, plus adding in a few extra nutrients in a fun way to get them to meet their daily fruit recommendation. You could also try cucumber slices with cream cheese or sliced cheese and a few bits of diced capsicum or cherry tomatoes for a vegie alternative. You can sub the white bread for sourdough for the healthiest option (and more great probiotics) or some Saladas or other dry crackers if they’re not a fan of bread.
So there you have it, a nice collection of fun healthy options for kids to keep them full and happy, that don’t require too much more time or effort than grabbing a bowl of sugary or salty junk food.
Featured photo credit: By Viktor Hanacek via picjumbo.com
The post Quick And Easy: Top Fun Foods For Kids That Can Replace Junk Food appeared first on Lifehack.
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