21 Patriotic Treats for Kids

With 4th of July just around the corner I have been eyeing so many delicious treats over on Pinterest and many of them are perfect for kids. We love making a big deal out of Independence Day, going to the local Old Poway Park to play old fashioned games like sponge toss and pie eating contests with plenty of crafts to take home. The kids get to enjoy things like snow cones and kettle corn there.... we mostly eat healthy but for holidays I let them have the special treats that the rest of the year I deem unhealthy. This year I thought we would try our hand at making some festive Red White and Blue treats so I began pinning and before you know it I had way too many to choose from. Now I need your help in deciding which of these treats we will make for the 4th of July!

Frozen Triple Berry Smoothie via Katrina's Kitchen

Kid Friendly Patriotic Punch via Mom Endeavors

Fourth of July Cupcakes via Midwestern Moms

Flag Popsicles via Practically Functional 

Frozen Vanilla Berry Bark via Running from the Law

4th of July Ice Cream Cups via a la mo

Star Spangled Cookies via Bri Geeski

Red White & Blueberry Yogurt Parfait via Mommy's Slice of the Pie

Patriotic Marshmallow Star Shooters via Mommy Gaga

Patriotic Raspberry Coconut Cake via Simmworks Family

Red, White & Blue Skewers via Made with Happy

Pop Rocks Rice Krispies Treats via Life Love & Sugar

4th of July Rice Crispy Treat Stars via Keep It Simple Mama

Red White & Blue Waffle Cone Ice Cream Sandwiches via a la mo

Blueberry Strawberry Jicama Salsa via Two Peas & Their Pod

4th of July Dessert Dipped Pretzels via 36th Avenue

Chocolate Dipped Banana Split via i heart naptime

4th of July Gummies via Mam Natural

Red White & Blue Snack Mix via The Crafting Chicks

Star Spangled Strawberry Shortcake via Mommy's Slice of the Pie

Firecracker Popcorn via The Nerd's Wife

Are you ready to get your Independence Day party planning going? For us these holidays are much more fun when we center our festivities around the kids. I can't wait to let the kids roll up their sleeves and create some patriotic cheer in the kitchen. 

Be sure to PIN THIS one!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like these other summer roundups!

            

AND here's a video I took of my kids showing the 4th of July signs 

Fortified Pumpkin Muffins

Sometimes I want something with pumpkin flavor that is sweet - but don't want all the guilt of eating a traditional pumpkin dessert or pastry. That's when we make my fortified pumpkin muffins!

Years ago after getting Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious, I began to take extra effort to incorporate purees where I could and see if there were other things I could do to make something a little healthier for the entire family.

When October rolls around, one of the first pumpkin things I buy is a box of pumpkin bread mix at Costco. If I can keep it easy and not make it from scratch that's just what a busy mom's gotta do sometimes.

Here's how we adapt the box instructions to add a little bit of goodness to make these muffins even better...

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

1 pkg of pumpkin spice quick bread mix
2 organic eggs
1/3 cup Nutiva  organic virgin coconut oil, melted OR 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
3 TBSP of Nutiva organic shelled hempseed
a few shakes of pumpkin pie spice
60 Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels (so much better than that "other" brand)
about a tsp of Nutiva coconut oil to grease the muffin tin

Kitchen Tools:

Muffin tin pan
Medium mixing bowl
Small dish for cracking eggs
Scissors
Spatula
Ice cream scoop
Liquid measuring cup
Regular measuring cup


Directions:

Turn oven to 400 degrees
Grease muffin tin with coconut oil. I use a sandwich baggie.
Mix the first 5 ingredients in the mixing bowl. When it is pumpkin season I use the pumpkin puree if I have it, otherwise I use Nutiva coconut oil in place of any vegetable oil that is called for in any baking recipe.
Scoop batter into muffin tin evenly to make 12 muffins.
Top each muffin with 5 dark chocolate morsels.
Put into the oven and bake 18-22 minutes

As soon as they come out my kids are grabbing for these! See how one is missing before I got a chance to take a photo?

I am happy to have learned that Nutiva has a whole line of super foods that I look forward to using to fortify more of our meals and snacks. We've been using their coconut oil for a number of years and I really had no idea all of the other products they make until they became a sponsor of ShiftCon, an Eco-wellness blogger conference.

Do you have any tricks in your apron pocket to give foods a boost in health benefits?