Fun & Fresh Summer Food Ideas For Kids!
So I'm writing about food, and if you know me this should come as no surprise. Why? Because I love food. First of all, I'm not a world class cook. I'm hit and miss. Most of my recipes are thrown together at the last minute or tried and true family favorites. But to begin instead of posting the great go to recipes from our household, I decided to start by sharing my fun and fresh food ideas for you and the kids this summer! Summer lends itself to healthy and fresh eating. The temps are hot and if your a mom like me then your kids are keeping you active! And I don't mean like yoga and cycling active...I mean like laundry, cleaning, changing diapers and chasing kids through the grocery store active. Either way, it's active right? I'm vowing to feed my kids healthier than I did this last winter, but honestly I don't have the time or discipline to plan out my meals and make it to the grocery and home without the baby eating half my actual grocery list. Yes this HAS happened. And if we are being honest I didn't even worry about the baby consuming part of a sticky note, I worried that now I would not make it home with everything I needed and then have to brave a second trip to the store. Nightmare. Anyway, here are my fun and fresh food ideas for the kids (and you) this summer!
1) Fruit Infused Waters (hydration, flavor, and a little healthy)
2) Easy Layered Parfaits
3) Spoon Smoothies Topped with Granola
Fruit Infused Waters (Difficulty level 1,000)
What you'll need: Any fun fruit that will interest the kids, ice, and water!
What to do: Slice the fruit: Now I use lemons, apples, strawberries, raspberries, limes or oranges. Pretty much anything on hand and whatever my kids favorite fruit of the moment is. Fruit + Water = Fruit Infused Water. No special skills needed. I would suggest putting the water in a cute clear container so the kids can marvel at your skills. I personally have individual clear cups with lids (on amazon) so each of the kids gets their fair share of water and fruit. Also with individual cups I'm able to keep an eye on how much water they are drinking each day in the hot summer months.
Easy Layered Parfaits (Also very difficult)
What you'll need: Fruit, chopped nuts, yogurt
What to do: Layer fruit, nuts, and yogurt for a fun snack or healthy meal. I often make yogurt and add honey to it for the kids. If your using store bought yogurt you probably won't need honey unless you want to drizzle some on top!
Spoon Smoothies Topped with Granola
What you'll need: Store bought or homemade granola and a fresh smoothie. For my smoothies I use frozen fruit, orange juice, a banana and lots of healthy add ins that the kids don't even know they are eating... like chia seed, egg yolks, coconut oil, and probiotics.
What to do: Blend all the smoothie ingredients in a blender and pour in a small bowl. Top with delicious granola. For some reason we enjoy our smoothies more with a spoon and toped with crunchy granola than any other way!
These delicious fresh food ideas are kid tested and mom approved. Fun and easy healthy treats will make summer just a little more fun and enjoyable for the whole family!
