Healthy Holiday Treats
By: Connie Evers, MS, RD
Often the center of holiday activity, the kitchen is a great place for kids this holiday season. Involving children in holiday cooking and baking helps build skills in food handling, nutrition, math, and reading (and hopefully, clean-up skills too!). Successfully completing a recipe also builds confidence. Most of all, it’s fun, especially when the end product tastes delicious!
Often the center of holiday activity, the kitchen is a great place for kids this holiday season.
Involving children in holiday cooking and baking helps build skills in food handling, nutrition, math, and reading (and hopefully, clean-up skills too!). Successfully completing a recipe also builds confidence. Most of all, it’s fun, especially when the end product tastes delicious!
For kids with skimpy budgets, creating holiday treats is a great way to make presents for special people in their life, whether a grandparent, teacher, or friend.
Holiday treats can be healthy, too! The recipes below have been modified to include less sugar, fat, and saturated fat than traditional holiday treats. One activity you might try with children is to take family favorites and experiment with modifications to make them more healthful.
REINDEER FACES
• 1 can water-packed albacore tuna, drained
• 1 T. reduced fat mayonnaise
• 3 slices whole wheat bread
• 6 olives
• 3 small “grape” tomatoes (or small cherry tomatoes)
• 6 pretzel twists
1. Combine tuna and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Stir until smooth.
2. Place bread slices on a cutting board and cut each into triangles using a serrated knife or bread knife.
3. Spread triangles with tuna salad. Create a reindeer by decorating each triangle with two olives for eyes, a grape tomato for the nose, and two pretzel twists for the antlers.
PUMPERNICKELPEOPLE
• a gingerbread-man cookie cutter
• several slices of pumpernickel bread
• peanut butter or light cream cheese
• raisins
• dried cherries or cranberries
1. Cut a gingerbread-man shape out of the soft part of the pumpernickel with the cookie cutter. Try to get more than one shape out of each slice of bread.
2. With a knife, spread peanut butter over the cut shapes.
3. Use raisins and dried cherries or cranberries to make the eyes, noses, mouths, and buttons on your PUMPERNICKELPEOPLE.
HOLIDAY PUDDING
• 4 slices whole wheat bread, cut or torn into small pieces
• 1 cup dried fruit (e.g. prunes)
• 1 cup skim or 1% milk
• 1/3 cup apple juice concentrate
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 cup molasses
Coat baking dish with vegetable cooking spray; add bread pieces and fruit. Combine 3/4 cup milk, apple juice concentrate, eggs cinnamon, ginger and molasses. Pour over bread mixture; stir to combine. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes; pour 1/4 cup remaining milk over top and bake 25 additional minutes. Makes 6 servings.
HOLIDAY VEGETABLE TREE
• 5 carrots, peeled
• 2 cups cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1 red pepper
• 1 head green leaf lettuce
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 2 cups broccoli, cut into small florets
• Toothpicks
• 18-inch styrofoam cone
1. Using a peeler, cut peeled carrot into long strips by running the peeler along the side of the carrot. Repeat several times. When you have cut to the middle of the carrot, turn the carrot over and cut strips from the other side. Roll each carrot strip into a curl, then secure it with a toothpick. Chill curls in ice water.
2. Place red pepper on its side and use a small, sharp knife to make a cut about 1 inch around the stem, being careful not to cut through the stem. Grasp under the rim with your fingers and turn to loosen. Pull the stem away from the pepper to remove the core. Remove the white ribs from the pepper. Using scissors, cut the pepper into festive shapes.
3. Loosely cover a Styrofoam cone with lettuce leaves, using toothpicks to secure them.
4. Insert additional toothpicks into the cone. Decorate the tree by spearing broccoli and cauliflower florets, cherry tomatoes, and red pepper onto toothpicks. Place carrot curls on the tree with the toothpicks that hold them together.
5. Serve the Christmas Vegetable Tree with extra vegetables and a dip, if desired.