Homemade Treats
In my house, I get VERY excited about eating healthy and making homemade treats for the WHOLE family. I fundamentally believe that it’s just plain old good for you and you can have tons of fun doing it.
As you probably know, refined sugar and flours have been linked to all sorts of things like diabetes, heart aliments, weight gain and even cancer.
This is especially problematic for kids, who can easily get caught up in the highs and lows of eating sugar — which can damage your system and leave you wanting more. Ugh.
SO I say — let’s eat healthy from a young age, and make it fun.
Here are 5 fun + easy ways to make snacks healthy for the whole family:
Go Farm to Table — something clicked when we started doing this as a family. Whether it’s going to the farm and picking your own harvest (like strawberries or pumpkins) or to the local farmer’s market or stand, there’s something magical that happens. It becomes an experience and you have so much more of an appreciation for what you’re eating. You can then bring it home and make something fun with it together as a family.
Do It Together — everything is so MUCH more fun when you do it together, and that includes eating healthy. In our house, if someone is eating chips, we all want them. So, why not do it the other way. I like to put out a platter of fresh fruit or veggies and homemade treats for us all to eat together — and believe me, it all gets eaten and we have fun doing it.
Make It Small — there’s a time and place for everything, and in the world we live in, sometimes you have to indulge. I’ve learned the hard way that the trick with this is to keep it to small portions. There’s nothing wrong with a little slice of Deep’n Delicious — it’s just when you have the whole cake that it becomes a problem, and believe me, you’ll pay for it later.
Pair It with The Right Things — I like to do this with my kids, because I know those sweet and salty treats mean more to them than they do to me, especially when their friends are having them. The key is to keep the sugary and carb treat to a small portion, and pair it with veggies, fruit or a healthy fat or learn protein. For example, I may give Chet a few chips with a healthy cheese or strawberries with a small cookie.
Substitute the Sugar — if you’re baking or buying, the best thing you can do is find a substitute for the white sugar — and it’s amazing, your taste buds will adjust and the white sugar taste will be noticeable and start to bug you. Instead of white sugar, try honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, dates, fruit like bananas or stevia — and you don’t need a lot. I often add less sugar than a recipe calls for!
Stay tuned for my next post! I’ll be sharing all of my favourite pumpkin recipes!
🎉 Join me for the month of October where I will be sharing fun, easy and healthy snacks for the whole family on my page. Follow my page, and if you tag me on your healthy snacks posts, I will share them.
Q. What’s your favourite treat? Tell me below👇🏻
👋🏻 Hi, I’m Lindsay – a best-selling author, artist, lifestyle blogger and mama sharing fun + creative ideas for your family + home.
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