Category Archives: Healthy Treats

Bunny Love: Ideas for a Healthier Easter Basket

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I went shopping for my kids Easter baskets this week.  They are beyond thrilled that the hoppity hoppity bunny is on his way!  There is much bunny love going on at our house right now.  Except for the fact that neither of them wants to actually go see the Easter bunny.  Cracks me up!  I get so excited living vicariously through them.  Remember how fun holidays were when we were kids?  I do.  Easter was especially fun with all that yummy goodness I found in my basket!

Instead of mounds of chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, or marshmallow Peeps, I aim to live out a healthier Easter tradition with my kiddos.  A bit different from the way we celebrated Easter as a kid.  I try to be creative and avoid putting tons of candy in their baskets.  They each get one chocolate bunny sucker and that’s pretty much it for sweets.  Instead of sugary treats, I might bag up some healthy snacks or throw some organic fruit gummies in there.  My kids love when they get little ‘gifts’ for Easter and they don’t even notice the amount of candy in their baskets is practically zilch.

Ideas for healthier Easter basket treats:

  • Organic Granola
  • Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies*
  • Organic Trail Mix
  • Homemade oatmeal cookies
  • Organic Raisins*
  • Annie’s Gummy Bunnies*
  • Dark chocolate covered pretzels or raisins
  • Yummy Earth* lollipops, gummy bears, sour worms

Ideas for themed Easter baskets or Easter bags or Easter pails:

  • Garden Basket- Fill the basket with all things gardening!  Gloves, garden tools, seeds, small pots, sun hat, garden mat.
  • Dress-up Basket- Fill it with a tu-tu and wings, superman shirt, batman mask, lady bug costume, etc.
  • Outside Play Basket- Jump rope, chalk, jacks, beach gear, sunglasses, shovel and pal, sunscreen, etc.
  • Arts and Crafts Basket- Paints, crayons, coloring books, art pads, markers.
  • Doll Basket: You can buy a small doll or fill the basket with accessories for a doll your child already has. There are so many doll clothes, shoes, hats, bottles, and bags to choose from.  If you have a daughter, you already know this.
  • My Favorite Color Basket- Use your child’s favorite color for inspiration and fill, fill, fill!
  • Sports/Hobby Basket- Chess lover, make-up artist, dancer, singer…endless possibilities.
  • Book Basket- Your child’s favorite author and an array of new books to read.

There are countless ideas to make this Easter happy and healthy for your family!  All you have to do is think outside the box!

What are you putting in your kids Easter baskets this year?

*A little FYI:
  • Yummy Earth is certified organic, gluten-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, and has no chemical colors, artificial flavors, or high fructose corn syrup.
  • Annie’s Gummy Bunnies are certified organic and made with no added preservatives, vegan, gelatin-free, gluten-free, and absolutely NO artificial colorings.
  • Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies are non-gmo and no sugar added.
  • Newman’s Own Organic Raisins are USDA certified organic  and high in antioxidants.

“Bunny Love” was originally published in April 2012 by Mommy OM.

Strawberries, Pineapple, and Brownies on a stick!

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Ella celebrated her birthday in school this past Wednesday.  She is a summer baby (July 7th), but the class threw a cute little party for her since they won’t be together for her real birthday.  I needed to send in a birthday treat for the impromptu event.  I decided to forego the cupcakes, cake and ice cream.  I wanted to make a healthy snack, but I also wanted to make it “special” because it was her birthday.  In this case, ‘special’ means some sort of chocolate or candy or sweet yummy goodness that almost always includes frosting and almost always is not healthy for you in any way.  I went with brownies sans the frosting.  Then I got creative (by my standards anyway!).  How about fruit and brownies on a stick?  Um, hello!  Perfect.  What kid doesn’t like a treat on a stick?  Am I right?

I went to the craft store and picked up some ribbon and some lollipop sticks.  I stopped at the grocery store and bought organic strawberries, an organic pineapple, and some organic brownie mix.

 

Quick and easy:

  1. Follow instructions for brownie mix, bake and allow time for them to cool.
  2. Wash your strawberries and pineapple before cutting.  Cut pineapple into chunks.  Cut stems off of strawberries.
  3. When brownies are  nice and cool, cut them into 1 1/2″ squares.
  4. Layer the pineapple, brownie, and strawberries onto the lollipop stick.
  5. Tie a ribbon onto the stick. Done!
Obviously you can alter the recipe to include any type of fruit you prefer!  I went with pineapple and strawberries because they mesh well with chocolate, but grapes, kiwi, oranges, apples, etc. will also work great!  Also, I found  lollipop sticks to be much safer to use than skewers (not so pointy!).  The sticks are shorter as well, which make them able to hold the perfect amount of food for the little ones.
Let me know if you try it!  Have a great weekend!