Five Tips for More Nutritious Kids Birthday Food

Birthdays are “holy” days for kids of all ages. This is not just because of the shower of gifts and games but because of all the yummy treats as well. Some parents are concerned however that their kids birthday food may be unhealthy and may be sending out the wrong message to kids about food and nutrition. The following are great tips to keep some of your kids birthday food items nutritious.

Be creative with fruits and veggies.

It would be sacrilege to serve platters and bowls of raw greens as your main kids birthday food. Don’t force the whole gang to eat what they traditionally do not like. Try instead to be more creative with nutritious kids birthday food. Cut your fruits and vegetables into interesting shapes or into theme character shapes like famous cartoon characters. Have some tasty dips on the side where your kids can dunk the nutritious kids birthday food shapes.

Invade familiar food.

You should also attempt to invade familiar kids birthday food with bits and pieces of vegetables. You can for example have some pizza that is not just topped with meat but with vegetables as well. Make sure the crust itself is either thick and tasty or thin and crunchy to encourage kids to sink their teeth into it. Other kids birthday food choices would be tacos with lettuce in them or hotdog sandwiches with bits of vegetables mixed with the chili con carne topping. Another great option would be tuna sandwiches with more tuna instead of mayonnaise.

Have more finger food.

Kids usually enjoy bite size kids birthday food that they can easily pick with their fingers. Have a variety of finger foods but avoid highly tasty chips that have more flavoring and preservatives than nutritious ingredients. You may instead go for the better choice of crunchy bland tortilla or popcorn seasoned only with salt. You can also have pretzels, cheese, crackers and little fruit pieces in mini skewers.

Serve healthy refreshments.

It’s tempting to serve bubbly soda or cola with your kids birthday food. Soda and cola may not be too healthy though so try pairing your kids birthday food with real fruit juice with little fruit chunks in them. You can also serve milk in tetra packs and small bottles of water.

Delay the cake and ice cream.

Don’t be a killjoy by omitting such standard kids birthday food fare as cake and ice cream. You’ll have one unhappy kid if you don’t let him blow the candles. You should delay serving the cake and ice cream though until all the kids have had their fill of the nutritious snacks. This will help diminish the kids’ appetite for the sweeter stuff. Serve the cake in small paper plates and the ice cream in small cups to make sure that the kids do not end up eating too much. For your kid’s birthday cake, try experimenting with banana and carrot cake instead of just the usual kind. Try cutting the sugar content of the icing mixture too.

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