Guest Author - Terri Terns-Hedrick

Valentine’s Day is about showing our love for one another right? I don’t know about you, but even though I want to make Valentine’s Day fun and special for my children, I don’t want it to include treats that contain sugar, dyes or other unhealthy additives. I love my kids and want them to be healthy.

It’s hard to stay away from the less-than-healthy snacks. We live in a world of convenience, and it’s just so easy to grab a pre-packaged bag of candy, or box of cookies for your party. With a little planning, you can make treats for the kids that aren’t full of the ingredients you don't want!

Here are some recipe ideas that will help make Valentine’s Day special (and yummy!) for your children, won’t take a lot of time to prepare, and will help you feel good about the treats they’re eating.

Hooray For Happy Hearts

Jello lovers will adore these and you won’t have to worry about the added sugar and dyes.

1 packet unflavored gelatin
1 cup grape juice – no sugar added
1 cup hot water

Boil 1 cup of water, add ½ cup of grape juice, gelatin packet, and stir. Allow to cool a little, then stir in the remaining grape juice.

Pour into heart shaped candy dishes and refrigerate until firm. You can also pour into a baking pan, filling about ½ inch. Cut out heart shapes after refrigerated.

Simply Scrumptious Sandwiches

Little hands will love making these finger sandwiches. They are yummy to eat and fun to make! Simply take some strawberry jelly – no sugar added and bread of your choice.

Let little hands make a jelly sandwich and take heart shaped cookie cutters to make various Valentine sandwiches of all sizes!

Marvelous Muffins

Who doesn’t love muffins? Turn your favorite muffin mix into easy hearts without buying a new muffin pan! Simply fill your muffin liners with your mix, roll up a piece of tin foil about ½ inch thick and press it in between the liner and the muffin pan. When the muffins are done, they’ll look like hearts!

Sweetheart Smoothie

Finally, every party needs a fun, and sparkly beverage! Mix these ingredients together in a blender to make your very own:

½ cup frozen strawberries
1 cup milk of your choice (almond, rice, raw etc.)
1 very ripe banana
honey to taste
splash of orange juice
add a touch of ginger ale or 7-Up to make it sparkle!

Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day full of love and healthy treats!