Savoury Party Food Ideas

Children's Parties don't have to take the traditional form of tables overflowing with sweets, crisps, ice cream and unhealthy food. We are now far more aware of the nutritional value of what our children eat, and this can extend to the party table without ruining the fun!

Here are some top tips for healthier savoury party food for your child's birthday party... children love to get involved with food preparation, so roll up your sleeves, pop on your matching aprons and go and have some fun! 

Sandwiches

• Shaped sandwiches are much more fun and appeal to children more than plain ones, use cookie cutters to make shapes from assorted colours of bread.

• Pitta bread can be decorated with passata sauce, pepperoni, olives and cheese to make mini pizza open sandwiches.

• Pinwheels look great and are easy to make, simply cut off the crusts and spread a thin layer of your chosen filling on each slice. Roll up tightly and secure with a toothpick, before chilling in the fridge. Just before serving, remove from the fridge and cut into slices, taking care to discard the toothpicks before serving.

• Rolls and Baguettes can be decorated and made into happy faces or charactors to match the party.

• Chicken Nuggets - try to buy fresh ones rather than frozen or make them yourself, these are normally more nutritionally sound

• Chicken drumsticks - these can easily be made in advance and refrigerated. Take care to check that the juices run clear and there is no pink meat before serving.

• Mini Sausages or Sausage rolls - these are an all time favourite and as before, they can be cooked the night before and served cold, saving you time on the day.

Potato and Vegetable Dishes

• Stuffed potatoes - bake your potatoes in the oven, as normal, then cut them in half, remove and mash the flesh with other ingredients of your choice such as ham cubes, chicken and sweetcorn or cheese. Return the flesh to the shells and cover with cheese, then return them to the oven for a further 10 minutes to brown.

• Mash - this can be shaped to match your theme and decorated

• Potato Shapes - these are great for dipping but look out they don't go soggy!

• Vegetable Crudités - children love to dip carrot sticks, celery and colourful peppers, and as they are so healthy they should be made available in abundance! Why not try adding cherry tomatoes and corn on the cob too?

• Fruit can be half submerged in melted chocolate and sprinkled with icing sugar, or how about making colourful fruit kebabs and a sweet dipping sauce? Halve a melon and scoop out the seeds for a fun sauce dish, and fill with sweetened yogurt.