Celebrating your child’s birthday can be filled with lots of joy and happiness and also sugar! Kid’s birthdays are often filled with making candy necklaces, hitting candy filled piñatas, soda, juice, cake and ice cream. Otherwise known as oodles and oodles of sugar! So make your child’s next birthday party just as fun and tasty without the oodles of sugar, with some healthful tips from The Creative Kitchen.

Entertainment: 

Instead of serving pizza or chicken nuggets, have kids make their own healthful dish such as whole wheat pasta salad or fruit and vegetable dips. In addition to the kids eating a more healthful meal they are also entertained and kept busy with a fun and engaging activity, and mom is also saving time on party prep!

Craft Ideas:

Another way to get kids excited and involved is crafts! Instead of making bracelets with candy or candy cereal try using a combination of freeze dried fruits such as: strawberries, bananas, pineapple, or apple, dried fruit such as: raisins, papaya, or diced apricots, and toasted oat cereal. Or consider making a fun recycled craft, such as making cereal box crowns that kids can decorate and personalize. Nothing like a custom birthday hat!

Decorations: 

Decorating for a child’s party can be friendly to our planet and still look adorable! Companies like “Susty Party” have a wide selection of colorful and fun decorations for any party that are friendly to mother earth and your wallet!

Drinks:

If you want to serve juice at your child’s party consider using low sugar juice that you water down a little. If you would rather serve something both kids and adults alike will enjoy, consider serving flavored water by placing strawberries or oranges in the water to make ordinary water, colorful and flavorful!

Snack:

For a quick and ready snack consider serving an all natural nutrient packed snack like Happy Squeezes smoothies  from “Happy Family“. Place the snacks in a basket where they are an easy and convenient grab-and-go snack that the kids can eat throughout the party. Or put them in the freezer for a couple of hours before the party for a yummy stay-cool treat.

Dessert: 

If you are planning to serve cake consider decorating it with sweet freeze dried fruits or by using sprinkles and decorations like “Breyers” all natural toppings or “Surf Sweets.” It is a matter of using the fun-colored decorations that kids love, but that are made with all natural dyes, since they are better for the little bodies consuming them. We love products made with “GNT,” which uses dyes made from fruit and vegetable colorings.   

If serving cupcakes consider having kids decorate their very own cupcake with all natural candies. And  to drink think about serving individual milk boxes that do not need to be refrigerated such as “Organic Valley” single serves. Or if you are looking for a cool and fun treat consider making homemade fruit popsicles to hand out to the party guests. These can have a fun factor frozen right in, by using sliced fruit like kiwis to create fun and colorful designs. 

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner.  Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children.  She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.

Let’s face it kids looooove everything sweet! So why not give them a special treat of the things they crave with the added nutrients moms love! Our friends from Surf Sweets have deliciously sweet gummy candies that are made with organic sweeteners, organic fruit juice, natural colors and flavors, free of corn syrup and GMOs, made in a Nut Free Facility, are gluten free, AND have 100% of your Daily Vitamin C! 

Ladybug Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 package Bob’s Red Mill Brownie Mix
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1 organic egg
• 3/4 cup warm water

Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 package frozen strawberries
• Surf Sweets Jelly Beans and Gummy Swirls

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Prepare Bob’s Red Mill Brownie Mix according to directions, substituting 1/2 cup of applesauce in place of 1 stick of butter.
• Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
• Spoon batter into each cup, filling 3/4 way full.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes, cupcakes are done when a toothpick tests clean form center.
• Let cupcakes completely cool.
• For the frosting, beat the butter together with the vanilla.
• Slowly add in confectioner’s sugar, frosting will seem dry. Then add in milk until frosting is smooth and creamy.
• Strain frozen strawberries, mixing in 2-3 tablespoons of juice in to the frosting to dye it pink.
• To assemble the cupcakes, slice off the top of the cupcake, then cut in half to open for the wings. Place Surf Sweets Gummy Swirls or Jelly Beans at front for the head. Completely frost the wings and head.
• Decorate wings with Surf Sweets candies
• Place candy on top of head for antennas.
• Enjoy!