Summer vacation has just started, and while my kids have been enjoying more chips, hot dogs, and ice cream than they get most of the year, we’ve also been taking advantage of the seasonal fruits and vegetables that grace the warm months. 4th of July food is often high in calories and sugar, so we found these healthy 4th of July food ideas that are easy enough for the kids to help make and are fun to eat.

Later in the season, when grandparent time is in full swing, my kids’ unhealthy diet will ratchet up to cotton candy and corn dog levels, so I need to feed them something with some nutritional value while I can.

You know when you do a search for “easy snacks” and the results include intricate directions and uncommon ingredients? These are not those recipes. You won’t need to boil unicorn tears for exactly 4 minutes and 37.5 seconds to prepare this healthy 4th of July food; in fact you may have many of the ingredients on hand already. My eight and ten-year-old children helped with many of the dishes, and only the pasta salad took more than 15 minutes to make.

4th of July Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

Kick off Independence Day with this easy and healthy yogurt parfait for breakfast. Crushed graham crackers go in first, followed by a layer of vanilla yogurt (Greek yogurt holds the layers better, and provides more protein), your favorite red and blue berries (we used blueberries and raspberries), and another layer of yogurt. Top with more berries. I used a little jelly jar to show off the pretty layers.

Independence Day Fruit Kebobs

Patriotic fruit kabobs are a hit with kids and adults alike. My kids helped make these kabobs, and they had as much fun creating them as they did eating them. A few fruit suggestions are: blueberries, grapes, blackberries, apples, bananas, pears, raspberries, strawberries, and watermelon.

Graham Cracker American Flags

Top a graham cracker with cream cheese and let the kids decorate their own American flags with strawberries and blueberries!

Red, White, and Blue Popcorn

Throw some blue and red M&Ms into a bowl of kettle corn for the easiest 4th of July party snack you’ll find.

Patriotic Pasta Salad

Make any pasta salad patriotic by using a small cookie cutter to cut cheese, cucumbers, or salami into star shapes. If you don’t have a star-shaped cookie cutter, a small, sharp knife can be used to cut the shapes by hand.

Use that star shape to make cheese and salami for a patriotic meat and cheese platter, or to cut kiwi, apples, watermelon, cantaloupe, or honeydew for a fun fruit salad.

Blue and White Chips with Salsa

White and blue chips around red salsa are a quick and easy way to give a classic appetizer the 4^th of July treatment. Earlier I said the popcorn was the easiest, but this chips and salsa idea may be the easiest red, white, and blue appetizer!

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