How To: Healthy Party Foods For Kids

We've been talking low sugar party menus for a while now and why it's important to cut down on our sugar consumption.  (kids and adults alike!) Some of you are on board {welcome!} But some need a little more help. This my friend is a post just for you, the “How To” of healthy party foods for kids. We'll start easy and work into the fun stuff! And most of these ideas work just as well when planning healthy party foods for adults as well.

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How Can I Have A Healthy Buffet?

• Cut down on food quantity
• Reduce dessert options, two choices is usually fine
• Base desserts on fruit
• Ditch the candy. Use dyed popcorn, beans, or rice as decor instead.

Make healthy party foods fun!

• Color coordinated food
• Add accessories
• Creative food name labels
• Create food art
• Sweet alternatives

Cut Down On Food Quantity

via GIPHY

As adults we think: Food = Party

But even when a party is during mealtime, children are rarely able to wind down enough to eat a proper meal. Whenever I make lots of food for a children’s party, I end up with… you guessed it, lots of food left over! So keep it simple. Give them variety but don't make much of any one thing.

Do Kids Need Food At All?

For an OFF-meal time, you may not need more than a cake and ice cream. Also consider cupcakes, smoothie bars or yogurt popsicles. These compact pre-portioned treats are simple to serve and even easier to eat. Bonus: you reduce the need for an additional dessert plate and spoon.

BUT it's always nice to balance the sugar with a little actual sustenance. {“Best healthy party snacks” coming soon}

Reduce Sugary Options

It's ok to have a few treats. This IS a party right? But instead of a dozen darling cake pops, sculpt a fondant masterpiece for a cake topper. So you still get your wow factor but kids get their sugar in other ways.

Healthy Party Foods Start With Fruit

Using fruit as the base of any treat is a win. It tastes great and is flexible enough to become a decorative treat in it's own right. I follow Foodbites on Instagram for amazing fruit art inspiration like these strawberry owls (or penguins)!

You can also get custom imprinted fruit like these Harvest Party apples from Fun to Eat Fruit. The perfect party favors for any theme!

Ditch The Candy Buffet 

Use fun colorful items that relate to your theme and display them instead. Are people really eating all those jellybeans in the apothecary jars? How about swapping them out for vases of rainbow colored popcorn? Save some money and calories by making a simple switch. This centerpiece cost me $16 to create!! {Find out how to DIY it for your next party!!}

Rainbow centerpiece from my our Party Like Picasso birthday. Snag the flags for FREE here. 

Make Low Sugar Party Foods FUN

There are so many ways to make healthy party foods appeal to kids. Even picky eaters could be enticed to try something new. You never know what a child might like until they have a chance to taste it! After a few tries, they just might decide they like it!

Color Coordinated Food

With your theme you've most likely chosen a color palette. Use these colors to guide your food choices. The very best healthy party foods start with fruits and veggies. Our green dinosaur party menu featured tons of herbivore friendly veggies, green grapes, kiwis, and homemade gummies.

Nature has provided a whole spectrum of foods so we can literally “eat the rainbow“.

But when nature fails…food coloring comes in handy! Try coloring the cheese for your next sandwich! And a few sprinkles never hurt! More Unicorn party foods here.

Add Food Accessories

Turn ordinary food into something special by adding accessories. Cantaloup slices become simple sailboats from Catch My Party.

Be Creative with Food Labels

Food labels are great for turning those grapes into ” Dino Eggs” and kiwi as sliced “Brachiosaurus tails” from our Prehistoric Dinosaur birthday party. Creative naming can sometimes even encourage picky eaters to branch out. Be creative with the menu and even simple items can take on a personality for the party theme.

Shop Dinosaur Party Food Labels HERE

Create Food Art

Make A Creature

Turn the food into a character, bug, or animal like this veggie-based charcuterie dragon!

Or these crab croissants from Tuesday Morning

*Pro Tip: Creative food production can be time consuming so I like to save these for the top layer of the platter for optimal display. Let’s face it; even if you DID have time to make 30 of these hermit crab sandwiches {which you don’t}, they’d all get piled up onto the tray anyway. Some will be hidden, and many won’t even be eaten.

Make Shapes

Create a fruit tray like our American flag tradition. Serve it up with yogurt and make patriotic parfaits.

Sweet Alternatives

Watermelon Cake

Serve a watermelon “cake” for a summer birthday with a decorative topper.

Banana Bread Cake

Make a banana bread “cake” for that smashcake tradition.

For my daughter’s first birthday she still hadn’t consumed much sugar and I wasn't too excited for the “smashcake” tradition. So I made a banana bread cake sweetened with agave and frosted with cream cheese. It tasted way better than the store bought cupcakes! She loved it and we didn’t have to deal with the sugar crash at the end.

Faux Cake

Decorate a faux cake for a centerpiece or purchase a beautifully crafted faux cake for your theme.

Decorated Frozen Bananas

Serve frozen bananas instead of ice cream. Dip bananas in peanut butter or yogurt and let the kids add their own toppings. You can fit the toppings to any holiday, like these Halloween mummies!

Healthy Donuts

HAVE that Donut birthday party or Baby Sprinkle, with a twist…using Apple Donuts instead, or in addition to!

Healthy Party Foods

Do you think any of these ideas for healthy party foods can be used to transform your next party menu? Such simple things make a huge impact and you may just get a picky eater to try something new. The better kids eat, the brighter their futures! Let's all cut down on a little more sugar together. And if we do it right, I promise you won't even miss it!

Pin it for later

Additional Healthy Party Foods Reading:

• Why Host A Low Sugar Party?
• 30+ Pinata Filler Ideas Other Than Candy
• Apple Donuts Healthy Foodie Party Treat
• Healthy Food Substitutions List – For Healthier Holidays

Until next time my friend,