Healthy Valentine's Day Treats For the Little Ones
By Christine Steendahl

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, which means that its time to whip up some creative treats for you and the kids. While Valentine's Day is always associated with sweet treats such as chocolate and candy, you can create some yummy treats for the kids while still keeping it on the healthy side.

Valentine's Day Kabobs

One way you can let the children indulge in a special Valentine's Day treat, without losing nutritional value is by making Fruit Kabobs with Yogurt Dip. You can buy red or pink plastic skewers and then load them up with strawberries, cherries, watermelon and red seedless grapes. You can use a tiny heart shaped cookie cutter for the berries and watermelon to add to the festive look. Low-fat vanilla yogurt works well as a dip and strawberry yogurt would be perfect with your theme.

Here's another nutritious treat idea for your favorite little Valentines. For breakfast on this special day, make heart shaped muffins. You won't need a special muffin pan either. Just fill your muffin liners with the batter and then press a piece of tin foil, rolled to 1/2inch thick between the muffin liner and the pan to shape the muffin liner into a heart.

Here's one that's a bit different:

Strawberry Roll-ups

You will need: 4 (6 inch) soft tortilla shells
Low-fat Strawberry cream cheese
4 T Strawberry jam

Spread the cream cheese evenly across each tortilla. Add 1 T of strawberry jam, spread down the center. Fold in the edges of the tortilla, about two inches. Now roll the tortilla up- jelly roll style. Slice into 2-inch bites for the perfect Valentines Day snack.

Mini- Fruit Smoothies for Valentine's Day

Little ones enjoy fruit smoothies, so why not serve them on Valentine's Day to show your kids how much you appreciate them- in a nutritious, tasty way. They're so easy to make, you'll find yourself making up a batch even when it's not a special day. Simply combine a blend of fruits in your blender, with a little fruit juice added for liquid. You can serve them in decorated Dixie cups for little hands and embellish them with cocktail umbrellas for a special touch.

In staying with the theme of the day, use mostly red fruits and juice. Strawberries and raspberries are excellent options and you can mix in bananas without changing the color scheme. Apple juice combines well with the berries for your liquid.
Jell-O Hearts- Without the Sugar and Dyes

Little ones love Jell-O, but as a Mom you stress about all that sugar and artificial coloring. Try this instead for a nutritious option:

Boil 1 cup of water, add ½ cup of grape juice and 1 packet of unflavored gelatin. Stir until dissolved. After it cools slightly, add another ½ cup of grape juice. Pour into heart shaped molds and refrigerate until firm. If you don't have heart shaped molds, you can pour the gelatin mixture into a baking pan and then cut out heart shapes with a cookie cutter after it is firm.

These treats will add some special touches to Valentine's Day for you and your kids. You can make them as a surprise or the children can partake in the fun!

Don't miss our other feature Valentine articles including How to Prepare a Romantic Dinner at Home for Valentine's Day: http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/article-romantic-dinner-at-home.htm) and Say I Love You with Cookies http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/article-valentine-cookies.htm  Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Steendahl
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Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be just about roses and boxes of chocolate. You can surprise your sweetheart with some healthy valentine snacks this year that not only good for him or her, but also delicious. Here are five healthy snack ideas that are perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Combine ripe strawberries with dark chocolate for a healthy, yet indulgent Valentine snack. Start with large, ripe strawberries. Melt some dark chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave. Dip the strawberries halfway into the dark chocolate. Allow the excess chocolate to drip off, and then place them on some wax paper to allow the chocolate to harden.

Heart Shaped Grilled Cheese Sandwich

For these cute grilled cheese sandwiches, layer a piece of low fat cheese between two slices of wheat bread. Use a large heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut the sandwich into a heart. Spray a hot pan with a non-stick cooking spray and add the sandwich. Grill it until it is golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted. These sandwiches are a perfect snack on their own, or serve them with a cup of tomato soup for a light lunch.

Cupid’s Arrows

This snack also makes an attractive appetizer. Start by washing some grape or cherry tomatoes and cutting some low-fat mozzarella cheese into cubes. Thread them on some kabob sticks, alternating the tomatoes and the cheese. Lay the “arrows” on a platter and drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to finish off. Even cupid could not resist this Mediterranean inspired snack.

Valentine’s Day Smoothie

This very-berry and pink smoothie makes a great midday snack or even a filling breakfast. Start by adding some low-fat strawberry to your blender. Toss in some frozen berries (we like strawberries) and a frozen banana if you’d like. Add a little orange juice and blend on high until well mixed. Pour the smoothie into tall glasses and top with a little low-calorie whipped topping, a strawberry and a Hershey’s kiss.

Jello Hearts

These jello hearts are always a favorite with the kids. Prepare a package of strawberry yellow according to package directions. If you’d like, you can fold in a few finely chopped strawberries at the end. Pour the jello mixture into a baking dish and allow it to harden. Use heart shaped cookie cutters to cut hearts out of the red yellow mixture. Top each heart with half a strawberry (cut lengthwise).

For more healthy recipes and menu planning ideas for any day of the year visit http://www.healthymenumailer.com - The Healthy Menu Mailer also makes a thoughtful Valentine’s Day gift.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Susanne_Myers http://EzineArticles.com/?5-Healthy-Valentine-Snacks-You-Can-Make-For-Your-Sweetheart&id=435310