Candy canes, gingerbread, cookies of all shapes and sizes, marshmallows floating in mugs of hot cocoa… sugary treats abound this time of year. A little bit of indulgence is OK, but between the holiday parties and sugary foodstuffs, it’s easy to feel like the entire month of December is a junk food obstacle course! If you need a break from the sugar rush, here are some healthy holiday treats and simple snacks that are fun-to-make.
Healthy Holiday Treats for Kids of All Ages
Christmas Tree Pizza
Lunchtime looks delicious with this fun Christmas Tree Pizza idea shared by Caro & Co. Use our recipe for healthy Whole Wheat Pizza Crust and cut out tree shapes before baking. Decorate with your favorite holiday-inspired toppings. Here, sliced olives form garlands. How about topping the pizza in leaves of spinach and decorating with “ornaments” made from red and yellow bell peppers?
Snowman Hard-Boiled Eggs
Why did the snowman take a dip in boiling water? Because he was made from hard-boiled eggs! These adorable snacks from Roxy’s Kitchen are cleverly held together with a stick of dry spaghetti. Carrot slices form hats, sprigs of parsley shape the arms, and buttons and eyes are affixed with black peppercorns (you could also use black sesame seeds). Take it a step further and use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons of zucchini for scarves!
Santa’s Belly Cheese Snacks
Ho-ho-ho! Santa’s belly is coming to town. Cute Food for Kids wrapped holiday cheer around Babybel individual cheese snacks and used construction paper to craft belts and buckles.
Snowman Snack Platter
This snowman is playing in a winter wonderland! We love this fun, open-faced sandwich idea from Creative Food. Use a cookie cutter to cut out circles of bread and cheese. Add a hat and scarf made from bell peppers, and a sliver of carrot for the nose. This snowman has eyes, a mouth, and buttons made from plum, but you can use black sesame seeds. Popcorn snow is the finishing touch.
Reindeer Pancakes
Add extra holiday cheer to your morning with these Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer pancakes from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons. For a healthier version use Greek yogurt instead of whipped cream, turkey bacon, and our recipe for Cashew and Oat Hotcakes or Multi-Grain Banana Pancakes.
String Cheese Snowmen
When it’s too cold outside to build snowmen, let the kids build them inside! To make these cute snacks for her son’s preschool class, DigiCrumbs used black card stock for hats, blue ribbon for scarves, and black and orange markers to draw faces (we recommend food safe markers).
Tortilla Snowflakes
These pretty snowflake-shaped tortillas are dusted with a light sprinkling of Parmesan. They’re simple, savory, and kids of all ages will have fun cutting out snowflake shapes. Get the how-to from Carpé Season. Make a sweeter version by substituting cheese with shredded unsweetened coconut, or just same some calories by adding a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Fruity Holiday Snacks
Fruity Candy Cane
Delight your kids with this candy cane from Rabbit Food for My Bunny Teeth. All you need are strawberries, a banana, and a knife!
Kiwi Raspberry Christmas Tree
We created an all-fruit version of the Christmas Tree Crudité plate using sliced kiwi fruits to form the tree, with bright red raspberries as ornaments. You could add a slice of star fruit, or any fruit cut into the shape of a star, to create a tree topper. Serve alongside the honey-sweetened vanilla yogurt sauce in this fruit salad recipe.
Grinch Grapes
Grapes get a dose of holiday cheer, just like the Grinch did in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with cute hats made from hulled strawberries and a slice of banana. Go all-the-way Grinch with this green Grinch Smoothie.
Fruity Christmas Tree
This decorative tree takes a little more effort than the other snacks on this page, but it will make kids (and grownups) ooh and ah, and you’ll have a healthy, edible centerpiece for your table. We followed the detailed example by Iowa Girl Eats to assemble ours.
Healthy Snacks for a Holiday Party
Christmas Tree Crudité
Make a raw vegetable crudité platter more festive by arranging your broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and yellow bell peppers in the shape of a Christmas tree with carrot sticks for the trunk. Serve with our healthy versions of Ranch Dressing or Thousand Island Dressing for dunking.
No-Bake Granola Bars
Make your own granola bars like these from Life Made Sweeter. Kids will enjoy mixing the ingredients and pressing them into the pan! For a lighter version of these healthy holiday treats, try our recipe for Cranberry Granola Bars or these Homemade Energy Bars.
Gingerbread Balls
These no-bake gingerbread balls are a surprisingly delicious way to enjoy the spiced flavor of gingerbread cookies without the guilt! And, kids will love to help roll them into balls. With only 87 calories per serving, these treats will satisfy your sweet tooth and keep you off Santa’s naughty list.
Tiramisu No-Bake Cookies
Cocoa powder, almond butter, and Café Latte Shakeology combine to make these delightful tiramisu-flavored cookies. All it takes to make them is a little mixing, a little rolling, and a whole lot of enjoying.
Craving cookies, coconut macaroons, and other holiday treats that are usually off-limits? These 21 Day Fix-Approved holiday treats and festive alcohol-free holiday drinks will get you into the spirit of the season.
Christmas Tree Crudité, Kiwi Raspberry Christmas Tree, Grinch Grapes, and Fruity Christmas Tree photos by Amanda Meixner and Dani Paris
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