Deliciously Healthy Toddler-Friendly Deserts the Whole Family Will Love

Most of us like to eat sweet things, especially children. Unfortunately, refined sugar is very bad for a child's developing teeth and it’s not advised they eat foods with any added sugar at all until they’re over 2 years of age. And then only in very limited amounts.

Luckily there are plenty of toddler-friendly treats you can make that actually taste really good!

In this post, we’ll share 3 delicious recipes with you that are healthy for the whole family.

Gooey Brownies (free from sugar, dairy, wheat and yeast)

These brownies taste seriously delicious, despite not having any of the ingredients you may think are essential for brownies. They’re gooey and chocolately and yummy - just like their more unhealthy counterparts! The best thing about them is that they’re guilt free! With no added sugar, dairy, wheat or yeast they’re also great for allergies. Unless you’re allergic to nuts, in which case, these won’t work for you!

Ingredients wise it’s super simple. You’ll need:

• Two cups of tightly packed pitted dates (if they’re dried, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes)
  ● 1/2 cup of almond, peanut or cashew butter (a brand with no added sugar or salt)
  ● 2/3 tbs of melted coconut oil
  ● ½ cup of unsweetened cacao powder (not cocoa powder)
  ● ½ or ¼ cup of warm water - depending on consistency

To make these, simply pop the pitted dates into a food processor and blend until they’re smushed together into a paste or ball.

Then, pour in the nut butter (whichever you’ve chosen), the melted coconut oil, the cacao powder and ¼ of warm water and blend together in the food processor. If the texture is a little thick, add another ½ cup of water.

Once blended together, pour into a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Cook for around 10/15 minutes or until the sides of the brownie are dry.

Remove from the oven and cool for ½ an hour before cutting into squares and enjoying warm! These also keep in the fridge for a few days, or the freezer if you want to make a batch.

No Sugar Banana Bread

Bananas are naturally sweet anyway, so this recipe needs no added sugar. Try and use bananas that are a bit overripe. Don’t throw away those squidgy bananas. The more brown spots, the better!

This recipe is yeast and refined sugar-free

For the ingredients you’ll need:

• 3 mashed up ripe (or overripe) bananas
  ● 1 extra banana to garnish (optional)
  ● 125g of melted coconut oil
  ● 1 ½ cups of desiccated coconut
  ● 1 cup of ground almonds
  ● ½ cup of spelt flour
  ● 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence or extract
  ● 1 level teaspoon of baking soda
  ● Pinch of salt
  ● 3 free range eggs (whisked)
  ● Pinch of ground cinnamon for garnish (optional)

They’re pretty easy to make. Just preheat your over to 180 degrees C and line a couple of loaf tins with baking paper.

Mix the melted coconut oil, mashed banana, coconut, ground almonds, spelt flour, baking soda, vanilla salt and eggs until combined.
Pour or spoon the mixture into the loaf tins equally. If you like, you can slice the fourth banana in half lengthways and use it to decorate the top of the loaves. Sprinkle with cinnamon (optional).

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Leave to cool in the tins for around 10 minutes before popping on a wire rack to cool. Now it’s ready to eat! You can keep it in the fridge for around five days or freeze it for later!

Strawberry Lime Sorbet

This is a recipe that we’ve changed slightly from the original recipie here, to make it healthier for toddlers. As Maple Syrup is not dangerous for toddlers at all, it is high in natural sugar. Even though it’s unprocessed, go very easy if you’re adding it to any recipes and don’t serve it often.

For a refreshing treat to serve with fruit, try this. Ingredients include:

• 450 grams of frozen strawberries
  ● 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lime juice
  ● 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
  ● ¼ cup of water (or more if you need it)

This recipe is the easiest by far! All you need to do now is throw everything in a good blender until mixed well - then eat it!

If you have a healthy recipe that’s suitable for toddlers and you’d like to share it, tag us on Twitter or Instagram @...