Healthy Birthdays For Healthy Babies

The first birthday party is a big one. It’s a time to reflect on all the excitement that built up to the pregnancy and all the milestones that have come in the past 12 months. Chances are, your baby started crawling. You probably helped them through teething. They’re eating solids now, which means you might be a bit concerned about all the sugar that goes into the traditional birthday cake-fueled extravaganza. Here are a few tips to keep things healthy that will work whether your child is new to the birthday tradition or a seasoned pro.

Nature’s Candy

Candy can be a sweet treat at kid’s parties; that is until everyone is working on their fifth handful and their tummies start telling them to knock off the sugar overload. If you want to avoid those candy bar blues, try substituting nature’s candy for regular candy. Fruit can be a great healthy snack at parties. Get creative, and serve up single-serving dishes of Jell-O with fruit pieces mixed in. Try chocolate covered strawberries and bananas if you’re going for an upscale look.

Soda Alternatives

Instead of the sugary sodas served at other birthdays, throw some fruit in a blender along with some ice and organic yogurt and whip up some smoothies. These can be served with crazy straws and umbrellas for a festive tropical theme.

Cake

It’s hard to replace a cake at a birthday party. You probably won’t be able to get away with serving steamed vegetables in place of this party staple, but you can certainly do better than the typical sugary, fatty fare offered at other soirees. For a first birthday, try replacing the cake with bran muffin cupcakes. You can top these birthday treats off with colorful sprinkles and strawberry halves. These treats are sweet enough that even the most sugar-crazy kids won’t even suspect they’re being healthy.

Lisa is a guest blogger who writes about Mario Brothers party supplies, party planning and birthday present ideas.

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