Planning and organizing a kids’ party is no mean feat, especially if you want to keep it healthy. You could take all the stress out and book a professional cater. But if you insist on the DIY approach, you’ll have to get creative.
Scroll down and find a range of ideas for healthy foods and drinks you’ll have no trouble rustling up for any upcoming parties. But first, here’s a tip to get you in the right frame of mind.
Prepare the house
Before inviting a rowdy crowd of kids into your home, it’s wise to make sure that you can provide a safe environment for everyone to have fun, that means:
- Rearranging the furniture so there’s enough space to play
- Covering the carpet to protect against spills
- Storing fragile items and electronics in a safe space
- Making sure everything is nice and clean
You should also make sure that any pets have a safe space to hide. There are lots of sounds that cats hate and dogs can become over-stimulated in busy environments, so it’s best if they have a spot to relax.
Put on your creative hat
Kids’ parties should be fun-filled and energy-packed from start to finish. You will need three things to keep the food fun, creative and attractive: color, creative add-ons, and simplicity.
The food (just like everything else at the party) should be full of color. But rather than relying on artificial pigments, turn your attention to natural (and healthy) coloring agents like beetroots, spinach, and turmeric. You can also combine fruits of different colors to make delicious rainbow salads.
Try coming up with some creative add-ons like sprinkles. They make all foods fun to eat. From birthday cake flavored popcorn to sprinkled healthy doughnuts, cupcakes, and cookies, these snacks are so much more fun! If you want healthy sprinkles, you can freeze-dried strawberries, crush them, and generously spread them all over.
Keep it simple; think of in-season veggies and fruits like bananas, strawberries, apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, avocados, and many more. The kids will dig it.
Now that you have the right frame of mind, let’s get the menu rolling.
Chocolate-covered fruit lollies
These fun and delicious sweets are so easy to make and so yummy. You will wonder why they haven’t been a staple of your parties before!
Just melt some dark chocolate and dip in a peeled fruit on a skewer. Roll the lolly on broken nuts (or sprinkle with the dried fruit). Then let the whole thing cool on a sheet of greaseproof paper, in no time they’ll be ready to serve.
Apple doughnuts
Sticking with the starter menu, a great way to add some variety and spice up your chocolate-covered fruit lollies is to make some delicious apple doughnuts, you could even use them as a fun alternative to whole apples in an apple bobbing game!
Ingredients
- A couple of green apples
- Peanut butter
- Melted dark chocolate
- Muesli or broken nuts
Method
- Chop the apples horizontally into doughnut-shaped slices and place them on a platter
- Spread on some peanut butter, and melted chocolate and sprinkle some natural muesli or pieces of nuts
- Serve when cool
Cool veggie-chips
These homemade chips keep the kids’ tummies from rumbling and their taste buds happy. Here’s what you need and how to prepare:
Ingredients
- A large white potato,
- A small sweet potato
- One parsnip
- One medium beetroot
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- salt, to taste
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line two large baking trays with baking paper
- Using a mandoline slicer, cut the veggies into thin round slices
- Place the veggies in a large mixing bowl, and sprinkle the onion, garlic powder, and oil.
- Gently toss until there is an even coat
- Spread the veggies over the oven trays and bake for 45-60 minutes, turning halfway, until golden
- Remove from the oven, season, and serve when cool
Drinks
When it comes to a successful kids’ party, the food is only half the battle, to really impress your guests there’d better be a wide selection of thirst-quenching drinks! Here are a couple of healthy drink ideas that should be a perfect fit.
Pumpkin apple fruit punch
This unconventional but tasty drink will keep the kids guessing exactly what’s in it.
Ingredients
- ½ cup honey
- 4 cups apple juice
- 2 cups sparkling water
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
Method
- Mix the pumpkin puree, honey, and apple juice until there is an even mixture
- Add sparkling water and top off with ice
Watermelon lemonade
There’s no way watermelons would miss making it to this list – they’re so refreshing and full of flavor, not to mention packed with nutrients and healthy vitamins. Here’s how to rustle up a tasty watermelon lemonade:
Ingredients
- 4 cups of cut-up watermelon, seeds removed
- ¾ cup honey
- Juice from 8 lemons
- 2 cups sparkling water
Method
- Mix the honey and lemon juice and stir until dissolved
- Place watermelon in a blender and process until smooth
- Mix the blended watermelon and sparkling water into the honey/lemon juice
- Serve chilled
Homemade fruit soda
If you’re in a hurry, and don’t have the time to chop up any veggies or fruit, try making this quick-fix drink to keep your guests smiling.
Mix a generous helping of fruit syrup into your favorite brand of sparkling water. Add a dash of lemon to give it an extra zesty tinge, and voila! The kids will forget all about those sugary, unhealthy sodas.
That’s a wrap
Getting the young ones started with the right stuff is an excellent way to help them maintain healthy diets. These food and drink ideas are low in calorie and sodium content.
They will also keep your kids’ party fresh and kicking. All you need to do now is figure out the venue, decor, music, activities, and post-party set down.
At PartyWizz, we’re on mission to help people create fabulous parties with the minimum amount of time and stress. We pride ourselves in working with the best entertainers in each category – magicians, face painters, balloon modellers, princess parties, arts and crafts and more.
