by Elena dal Friuli

Created on: September 14, 2009

Finding healthy snacks and party foods that children will like is always a challenge. This article will give you a couple of ideas on snacks and party food that you can bring to your child's classroom and that will be pleasing to those younger taste buds.

Cat and Bat shaped sandwiches.
For these sandwiches you can use regular bread, whole wheat bread, and tortillas.

If you are making a cold-cut and cheese sandwich, you can prepare it first and then cut it with the cookie cutter. I found it easier to start pressing down on the sandwich and then lift the whole thing completely while pressing from the bottom towards the cookie cutter.

If you are making PB and J, or PB and banana, or cream cheese and tuna (or chicken) salad it is better for you to cut out the shape and then spread the filling.

Once the sandwiches are cut and assembled, place on a platter and send to school.

Trail Mix

In a bowl, mix either corn, rice, wheat, or multi-bran Chex (or any combination of the four) with raisins, dried apricots, and/or any other dried fruit (if you choose fruits that are black or close enough to black and orange it will match the Halloween colors).

Place the mix in small 6 oz. cups, arrange in cupcake pans and send to school. Of course, if you are planning to attend, you may want to bring the mix in the bowl and scoop it out once at school.

If you want a sweeter taste, you can add M&Ms.

No Bake Mini cheesecakes

1 package low fat cream cheese

1 cup low fat ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons of honey (add cup brown sugar if you want a sweeter taste)

round vanilla wafers

frozen shaved cantaloupe or blueberries

cupcake pans with cupcake liners

Combine cream cheese, ricotta, and honey and mix until smooth.

Line the cupcake pans with the liners. Place one vanilla wafer in each. Spoon the mixture into each cupcake liner and refrigerate for at least one hour. When you are about to serve, shave the frozen cantaloupe (or blueberries) and place the shavings on each cupcake. If you use the blueberries, you may want to place them as if they were eyes. You can then add whiskers with thinly sliced (julienned) cantaloupe.

A friend of mine shared this recipe with me. I swapped the crust with the vanilla wafers and added cantalope and bluberries as decoration.

Halloween Fruit Salad

Combine in a bowl any fruits that are black and orange (blueberries, blackberries, cantaloupe, peaches, etc). Add brown sugar (how much it will depend on the quantity of the fruit for example use about 2 tablespoons of sugar for 4 cups of fruit), and lemon and orange juices (again the quantity depends on the amount of fruit juice of a lemon and an orange for 4 cups of fruit). Mix well and refrigerate.

Serve in 6oz cups.

Please, before sending these party items to school, make sure that you are either aware of any food allergies any child in the class may have or send a list of ingredients so that, if a child has any food allergies, the teacher may take precautions before serving the food.

Learn more about this author, Elena dal Friuli.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.