The Fourth of July is a time for celebrating with family and friends, and in my family, sharing food is naturally part of the fun. I love to play up the patriotic theme by creating red, white and blue dishes to go along with the festivities!

You can easily create your own themed dishes for the holiday by using natural red, white and blue ingredients. The following healthy recipes are sure to add some sparkle to your family’s Fourth of July celebrations.

1. Savory Side Dish: For a delicious complement to your grill master’s famous creations, you can prepare a festive potato salad using purple, red and white potatoes. Toss it with a vinaigrette dressing and some veggies – like red onion slices, red peppers and broccoli florets – for a boost of flavor and color. 

2. Patriotic Pickings: You can include your children in your Fourth of July preparations by making easy snacks together, like fruit kabobs. Skewer some patriotic fruit kabobs using strawberries and blueberries. For the white color you can use white cheese, which adds protein and calcium to the mix. If you’d rather keep it all-fruit, sliced banana will also do the trick, though you will have to serve the kabobs soon after preparation so the bananas don’t brown. The following recipe will walk you through the step-by-step process of making the kabobs, or you can watch this Fruit and Cheese Kabob Snacktivity video to see how easy and fun it is! 

Fruit Kabob Ingredients:

• 8 small skewers or coffee stir sticks (for young children)
• 8 whole strawberries, stems removed
• 16 cubes of cantaloupe or banana
• 16 blueberries
• 4 ounces reduced fat white cheese like mozzarella or Swiss cheese

Thread the fruit and cheese onto the skewers, cautioning children to handle the pointed end with care to avoid any scrapes. For young children, plastic coffee stir sticks provide a safe, alternative without sharp ends. Children will have a blast making their own creations using the red, white and blue colors, and even more fun eating it! For younger children, be sure to remove the fruit from the skewers to make consumption easier and to avoid injury.