Recently I shared how we try to incorporate healthy eating habits in our family. With the holidays coming up we still strive to maintain the same good habits in our family meals. I’ve partnered with the 4-H Food Smart Families program again to share some tips on how to incorporate healthy foods into your holidays while creating new family holiday memories and recipes.
Nearly 16 million children live in homes that aren’t food securing which means they may not have sufficient sources of foods every day. The healthy eating habits has targeted these families in order to help them learn how to shop smart, save, and prepare healthy meals. For the past 6 years UnitedHealthcare and 4-H have partnered together to provide these programs to families in 14 states with the goal to expand the entire network across the country.
This holiday season as you plan your menus think about the dishes you’re serving and try to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables in them. If you’re taking an appetizer to a party you can make up a healthier vegetable tray or take along roasted vegetables as a side dish. Even desserts can be easily transformed into a better option without sacrificing the flavors and family traditional recipes.
Family Holiday Memories
Baking cookies is one holiday tradition I’ve loved passing down to my kids. Every year I would spend hours in the kitchen with my mom baking our traditional favorites. This year while striving to teach my kids the importance of food and nutrition we decided to revamp our favorite holiday cookie. Most times baking recipes allow for simple substitutions like applesauce in place of sugar or coconut/almond flour instead of white flour. In this case we altered our recipe to include applesauce and cranberries (instead of chocolate chips) for a holiday touch.
My kids loved spending time in the kitchen with their grandmother creating new healthy family memories! There’s no better time to teach our kids about the foods they eat then when you’re making them together.
Cranberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Old fashioned oats
- 1 cup applesauce (no sugar added)
- cinnamon
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix oats and applesauce together until well combined. Sprinkle in cinnamon to taste.
- Gentle stir in dried cranberries.
- Drop 1 tablespoon sized portions on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.
For more information on the 4-H Food Smart Family program visit their website or any of their social media.
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These photos are adorable! And the cookies look so good!
Thanks Aly!
I’m going to try this tomorrow!!!
yay! I hope you enjoyed them!
These look so yummy!! I’ll be making some with my kids next weekend! Thanks for sharing!
Enjoy!
Wow the amount of kids without a steady food supply is staggering!!
Those cookies look yummy and I love that they are easy to make!
It’s so sad!
My little man loves to help bake- and I think the fact that these are a cooking you are allowed to eat fro breakfast will be a big win!
absolutely!!
These look delicious! I will definitely have to try these!
yay! I hope you like them!
Those look so good. I love your kiddos really cute tees too!!
Thank you! They’re from River Babe Threads! https://riverbabethreads.com/collections/plaid/products/give-thanks-raglan
Those thanksgiving shirts are so adorable! And those breakfast cookies would be perfect for busy mornings!
They’re great to take on the go too! Thank you! The shirts are from River Babe Threads! https://riverbabethreads.com/collections/plaid/products/give-thanks-raglan
These look so yummy!!
so yummy and super simple to make!
Oh, I have to try these! Anything that makes cookies healthy enough for me to eat for breakfast is a win for me!
haha absolutely my thinking as well!
Yum! I love the give thanks shirt too! so cute.
Thank you! They’re from River Babe Threads! https://riverbabethreads.com/collections/plaid/products/give-thanks-raglan
These look so good and sound so simple to make!! Definitely wanna give these a try!
They’re super easy to make!
Oh my goodness those look SO delicious!! And I love the shirts!!