Healthy Creative Fruit Snacks

Arranged healthy fruit snacks in an attractive presentation

Get more fruit into a healthy diet with creative, tasty snacks. USDA guidelines include a variety of fruit as an essential part of the food pyramid suggestions for a nutritious diet, as outlined at MyPyramid.gov. It is possible to make the fruit component of any diet fun. Create snacks that celebrate the flavors and nutritional value of this type food. Use the snacks for yourself, your family and in entertaining friends.

Age Considerations

Determine whether your snack audience will be little kids, teens or adults. Youngsters often prefer simple, single fruit flavors presented in easy-to-hold portions. Older kids tend to like volume and interesting presentation. Try flavor and texture combinations when serving fruit snacks to adults with a more mature palate.

Cut apples into matchsticks, toss with a splash of orange juice to keep from browning and serve the apple sticks in a stack on small colorful paper plate for a children's party snack. Make a teen-size apple snack from whole apples, cored and cut in thick slices. Arrange the slices in concentric circles on a plate around a small bowl of low-fat, sugar-free vanilla yogurt spiked with a dash of cinnamon for dipping. For a grown-up party, smear a light layer of low-fat soft cheese on a multigrain or rye cracker, top with 2 or 3 thin slices of apple, add a dash of aged balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.

Cutting and Shapes

Make snacks fun with creative cutting techniques. Instead of offering peeled orange segments, slice a whole orange in ½-inch rounds, then cut each round in half, creating a half-moon shape that can be sucked and munched with the outside peel as a rim to hold on to. Slice kiwi the same, so a single bite of the pulpy green fruit is satisfying and the outer skin easily discarded.

Use small cookie cutters to create unexpected interesting fruit shapes. Cut a seedless watermelon into thin slices and cut out heart, diamond, circular or star shapes. Fruit leather, dried fruit rolls and sliced pears, peaches and melon can also be cut into shapes with mini-cookie cutters.

Presentation

Simple healthful fruit snacks may be served in cupcake papers. Use foil papers or multiple layers of the colored-paper type. For teens and adults, thread fruit chunks, grapes and shaped fruit pieces on toothpicks or longer bamboo skewers. Put fresh pineapple and figs on long metal skewers, interspersed with savory mushrooms and cubed skinless chicken breast. Grill on the barbecue, basting with olive oil and herbs to create an unusual hearty and healthy sweet snack.

Tags: fruit snacks, teens adults, thin slices, with creative