Tag Archives: summer

Chocolate Covered Fruit – Day 12 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

So this one’s a little extra fun. Chocolate isn’t necessarily healthy as such, although the darker varieties are better for you than milk chocolate, but it’s sure fun. It’s not all that hard to get most kids to eat fruit, but adding a layer of chocolate might just make them beg for even more of it.

Slice the fruit into easy to eat pieces. Make sure the sliced edges aren’t too damp for the chocolate – it may not stick well if the fruit has too much moisture.

Melt chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so until it’s smooth. Try not to overmelt your chocolate.

Prepare a silpat or line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Make sure there’s room in your freezer.

Dip each piece of fruit into the melted chocolate and allow the excess to drizzle off. Place on silpat or paper. Use a toothpick to dip pieces that aren’t easy to manage by hand. A fork will also work.

Freeze until chocolate hardens. It’s best to keep the fruit from freezing in most cases, so 5-10 minutes should be plenty. The fruit may not be as appealing if you freeze and then defrost it.

Chocolate Covered Fruit - Day 12 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Popcorn – Day 11 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Yeah, here’s an easy one. Make popcorn for your kids when they want a snack this summer. It’s not ideal, what with GMO concerns and all, but odds are your kids will be very happy.

You don’t have to buy microwave popcorn packages, with all the waste that includes (not to mention the fake butter, etc.). A plain paper lunch bag works quite well, just fold the top over a couple times. I prefer my Stir Crazy popper, but use what you’ve got.

Have a little fun and quit using the basic salt and butter. There are plenty of other seasonings that are just wonderful on popcorn – some sweeter, some healthier, others just fun. You might find a new family favorite.

Popcorn - Day 11 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Vegetables With Hummus – Day 10 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Kids either love hummus or hate it, I think. If they love it, hummus is a wonderful way to encourage kids to eat more vegetables when they’re home. I have a simple hummus without tahini recipe I like to use – tahini is impossible to come by in my area so far.

Slice up a selection of your kids’ favorite vegetables. My youngest goes wild for orange, red or yellow bell pepper, almost to tears if we run out of them. Celery is another great choice – she did have a screaming, on the floor tantrum a couple years ago when I told her we were out of celery. I choked back my laughter (very difficult!) and offered her some cucumber, that being what I had at the time. She accepted and calmed down. Yes folks, veggies can be a bribe if you’re that lucky!

I just put a selection out and let my kids go at it. Sometimes I keep a supply of sliced vegetables in the fridge so that they’re easy to grab as snacks. Hummus or another dip can add to the appeal.

Vegetables With Hummus - Day 10 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

Fruit & Vegetable Smoothies – Day 8 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats

I love making smoothies. I do these year round. Really can’t say I have a recipe as such, as it’s pretty much toss whatever looks good into the blender (my beloved Vitamix, of course!), and mix it all up.

We buy big bags of frozen fruit and berries regularly, so there’s no ice in any of my smoothie recipes. I do have some ingredients I use regularly, and that’s what I’ll list here. I don’t use all of these at once; it’s more of a mix and match thing.

Possible Ingredients (don’t use all, make your own mix)

Mixed frozen fruits
Mixed frozen berries
Banana
Carrot
Fresh spinach (NOT frozen, taste is wrong)
Fresh kale
Soaked chia seeds
Bee pollen
Fruit juice
Lemon juice
Honey
Cacao nibs (may need sweetener & yogurt to cut bitterness)
Yogurt
Oatmeal (cooked & cooled may be less grainy)
Cocoa mix

Place selected ingredients in your blender. Add enough fruit juice or other liquid to help it blend and keep it from getting too thick to drink. Taste before serving to make sure you have a good flavor, and have fun experimenting.

Fruit & Vegetable Smoothies - Day 8 of 30 Days of Healthy Homemade Summer Treats