Healthy Dessert for Pre-school

Hi H.,

A lot of children have food allergies. It's difficult to make something that everyone can enjoy. As a mom of a kid with a severe food allergy, I really appreciate it when parents think about his food allergy when bringing a snack. Now, having said that, I would highly recommend the vanilla cupcakes from elana's pantry. Here is the link: http://www.elanaspantry.com/vanilla-cupcakes-with-chocola.... They are sugar-free, dairy-free and gluten-free. And they taste great. Almost too good to be true!

Good luck!

I like combining cereal (chex or other), popcorn, pretzels and raisins in a sugar free ice cream cone. The kids can each have a cone with sweet and salty. These deserts are not sticky, and don't require utensils or clean-up other than vacuuming. To transport, I put plastic wrap over each cone.

Paper cups might work - even small dixie cups or you could go to Food Max and see if they have any food service food containers. Another idea might be to put the pudding into flat-bottomed ice cream cones. Good-luck!

Dear H.,
I see other moms have mentioned this, but my kids absolutely LOVED yogurt sundaes. Just like and ice cream sundae, but with yogurt instead. Some banana slices, graham cracker crumbs and the tiniest little bit of whipped cream on top. Yummy!
I always made those when I had kids stay the night at my house. If I had fresh berries, I used some of those too. Never met a kid who didn't think it was a real treat.

For my daughter's birthday I made yogurt cups. It looks like a sinful dessert to kids, but it's so healthy for them! I put low-fat, vanilla yogurt (or you can use plain yogurt and sweeten with powdered sugar, or another sweetener, to your liking) in a clear plastic cup, about 1/3 full. I cut strawberries in quarters and sliced bananas in half-circles. I also had blueberries and raspberries. I put about 2 pieces of each fruit on top of the yogurt and then sprinkled the fruit with bits of granola. For older kids, you can make layers, but the pre-schoolers don't usually eat that much. The kids loved it!

Instead of using splena or aspartame I suggest using granulated Xylitol for sweetening your pudding or dessert.

It is a 5 chain sugar that bacteria and virus eat but cannot digest it, so it kills them. Therefore it has probiotic qualities and helps PREVENT cavities, bacterial infections in the stomach, and it has a very low glycemic index.. It is a natural product made out of birch trees. It tastes more like sugar than the other sweeteners, has no aftertaste, reduces sugar calories by 40%, inhibits yeast growth in the stomach, contributes to b vitamin/calcium absorption.

It's only problem is it can cause diahhrea in large amounts due to it's fibre, and it won't help breads raise (because it doesnt feed yeast).
It is used cup for cup in place of sugar.

Here is a recipie

CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE (from Sweeten Your Life The Xylitol Way cookbook.Author uses many healthy ingredients)

cream together 5 mins:
1/2 C unsalted soft butter
2 1/2 C xylitol

beat in:
3 T plain low fat yogurt
1/3 C reduced fat sour cream

Add 5 eggs, one a t a time beating till blended.

In another bowl combine:
3 C spelt flour or whole wheart pastry flour
2 1/2 tea. baking powder
1/2 tea. salt
1 T lecithin granules
3 T unsweetened coaco powder

pour dry mix into wet mix with mixer on low speed. also add another 1/2 yogurt as you go.

Stir in:
2 tea vanilla
carob chips if desired

pour into buttered,floured 10" tube pan. Bake 325 for an hour. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan.
cut into 20 servings, 6.9 g fat, 210 cal, 2.6 g fiber

you could probably make these in mini muffin tins and adjust the bake time , try 12 minutes for starters and work your way up.

My daughter's school also asks for healthy treats. I've made mini banana bread muffins...sorry...not sugar free but maybe you would know how to adjust the recipe. Good luck!

Hi H.,
Here is a link to some Banana Oatmeal Cookies. They are from a vegan website and I am so not Vegan but they are delish. I usually make these cookies with half the amount of sugar called for.
It looks like you have a bunch of great ideas to choose from.

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6605

Enjoy!

I hear pretzels are very nutrisious

How about a home gelatin dessert with fruit in it. You can use Knox gelatin and diluted fruit juice for some flavor and color and then add in some nice fruit like mandarin slices or strawberries. Its like a Jello mold but you cut out all the sugar and food colors by making your own with knox gelatin. Kids will like it.

You could make "dirt". I believe it is chocolate puddding with oreo crumbs and a gummy worm.

This may not be very healthy, but when my kids were in preschool, i put strawberry icing on gramcrckers, or dixie cups with jello and fruit.

Hi H.-
What about graham crackers and yogurt? My fav was to dip grahams in lemon yogurt. The crackers can be broken up into sticks, and the yogurt can be purchased in very small servings- the dannon kids ones, yo-baby is lowest sugar and all natural, and then go-gurt is in little squeeze tubes you can freeze.
Hope that helps!
-E. M

P.S. Most sugar free products have crazy chemicals in them that are worse for your kids than actual sugar. THe key is how much they are getting. Small amounts are ok, and natural is better. I would steer clear of the sugar free stuff (my husband is diabetic and we have tested all of this kind of thing for the past 7 years) and just go with stuff that is more natural and made with either no or little sugar. A great example is natural peanut butter (cheapest at Trader Joe's). There are 7 carbs per 2 Tbspns and NO sugar. That on celery with raisins is a fantastic snack and gets you almost no sugar intake. I hope that helps! Have fun with your daughters birthday!

My nephew usually takes jello with him.

There is sugar in here, but you don't need as much as it calls for. These take a little work, but they are so good and full of fruit and veggies

BREAKFAST COOKIES Serves 8

•2 tablespoon golden raisins
•2 tablespoon Ocean Spray Craisins (original)
•1 cup regular oats (not instant)
•3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
•1/2 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original), ground to a breadcrumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor
•1/2 cup sugar (or a little less)
•1/4 cup brown sugar, no packed
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•1 teaspoon cinnamon
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/3 cup pureed peaches (like Gerber’s stage 2 baby food)
•1/3 cup pureed sweet potatoes (like Gerber’s stage 2 baby food)
•1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
•2 egg
•2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Chop raisins and Craisins into small pieces. Set aside.
3.In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, Fiber One crumbs, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.
4.In a separate bowl, combine the pureed peaches, pureed sweet potatoes, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
5. Add liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until completely blended. Slowly sprinkle chopped raisins and Craisins into the batter, making sure they don’t all stick together.
6. Spray a large baking pan with nonstick spray, and spoon batter into 8 evenly spaced circles (I make a bunch of small cookies). Spread batter out a bit with the back of a spoon.
7. Place pan in the oven for 15 minutes (ntil tops of the treats are just slightly crispy). Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

My serving suggestion: coloured sprinkles on whatever you decide to make. My son will eat ANYTHING with sprinkles on it. Sprinkles suddenly make the most mundane food "magic" to him :-D

What about apple, orange, raisin "salad! Shake a couple of sprinkles on it & ur good

Hi H.,
Have you thought about making mini muffins (small sixe muffin pans) making banana, berry or zucchini muffins. I used to do it all the time for parties and such.
It is healthy and fun for the children. I hope you have fun with your children and create wonderful memories to treasure.NanaGlenda

For my son's bday, we did fruit skewers with yogurts to dip them in. The kids LOVED fruit-on-a-stick; we used watermelon, pineapple, grapes, strawberries and bananas. And who doesn't love to dip? Good luck!

Pumpkin muffin mix from Trader Joes with a few chocolate chips thrown in is our favorite and the kids love them.

My 17 month old really likes these:

APPLESAUCE OATMEAL MUFFINS

1 1/2 c. quick oatmeal
1 1/4 c. flour
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c. skim milk
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 tbsp. veg. oil
1 egg white

Mix together in order given. Top with the following:

1/4 c. oatmeal
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. melted butter

Bake in a preheated 375F oven for about 15 minutes, or until done (depends upon the size of the muffins).

I usually sent mini muffins. The kids thought they were getting away with cupcakes! Pumpkin muffins and banana muffins go over really well with kids. No utensils needed and they're fairly quick and simple. I have a Pampered Chef 24 count pan and would borrow another so each child would get two little muffins.

fruit kabobs?
popsicles?

I think I saw it on here already but mini muffins are a hit! Easy to serve, easy to eat and can be made as healthy as you want! We did banana ones (like banana nut bread but with no nuts), carrot and zuchini, and applesauce muffins.

HI H.. I HAVE A GREAT & EASY & SUGAR FREE & IT TASTS LIKE REGULAR DESERTS.
TAKE SUGAR FREE CHOC. PUDDING, & GET A CONTAINER OF SUGAR FREE COOL WHIP. I MAKE THE PUDDING WITH LACTAID MILK SO I CAN EAT IT TOO. MY HUSBAND LOVES THIS & DOESN'T EVEN REALIZE IT IS SUGAR FREE & VERY LOW IN CALORIE.
MAKE YOUR PUDDING AS USUAL. LET IT SET & THEN MIX THE COOL WHIP & MIX REAL WELL. YOU CAN POUR INTO INDIV. CUPS OR SPOON IT OUT. IT IS REALLY GOOD. HOPE THIS HELPS.

BLESSINGS
____@____.com

We do chocolate dipped strawberries, banannas and/or apple slices for my three boys birthday celebrations at school...or we make our own version of a 'fruit bouquet' (some fruit we slice ourselves and put on sticks and some we get from the produce section already slicecd)