Plan A Healthy Menu For Your Baby Shower

Planning a baby shower can be extremely involved and there’s a lot you need to prepare for the big day including invitations, decorations, novelties and games.  But one of the most important things to plan for the day is the food.  You can’t go wrong with a menu full of healthy snacks but don’t forget to indulge in treats a little too.

So here are some tasty ideas for your upcoming baby shower:

• Fresh chopped up fruit such as strawberries, rockmelon, grapes and pineapple are refreshing and colourful so they look great arranged on a large platter.  Consider making a chocolate dipping sauce for a treat.
• Fresh vegetables such as carrot, celery and broccoli are delicious and nutritious, especially if you team them with some yummy dips.  Try making them yourself from fresh ingredients such as avocado or roasted capsicum.
• Finger foods such as light sandwiches, potato pinwheel scones, crab cakes or vegetable scrolls are perfect for a baby shower because they’re easy to eat off a napkin or small plate.
• It wouldn’t be a baby shower if you didn’t have some sweets to nibble on too, after all, baby showers are about being treated and pampered.  Consider scrummy cupcakes, a chocolate slice or if you have the money, a specialty cake made and decorated by a professional.

Here are some recipes as mentioned above:

Avocado Yoghurt Dip

Ingredients

½ cup fat free Greek yoghurt

2 ripe avocados, peeled and seeded

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons lime juice

¼ tsp ground cumin

3 tbsp fresh coriander

Method

1. Blend in a food processor until smooth and voila!

Mini Crab Cakes

Ingredients

230g cream cheese

¾ cup finely grated parmesan cheese

1 x egg

¼ cup sour cream

½ tsp finely grated lemon peel

4 tsp freshly chopped chives

¼ tsp salt

1 x large pinch of cayenne pepper

170g fresh crabmeat, patted dry and coarsely shredded

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

¼ cup melted unsalted butter

Method

1. Beat cream cheese in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.
2. Add ¼ cup Parmesan and egg then beat mixture to blend.
3. Beat in sour cream, lemon peel, chopped chives, salt, and cayenne pepper.
4. Fold in crabmeat then cover and chill.
5. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease two mini muffin pans.
6. Toss breadcrumbs, ½ cup parmesan, and 2 tablespoons chopped chives in small bowl.
7. Drizzle ¼ cup melted butter over the top and mix with a fork until even.
8. Press 1 tablespoon of breadcrumb mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup, forming a crust.
9. Spoon 1 generous tablespoon of crab mixture into each cup then sprinkle a teaspoon of the breadcrumb mixture over each.
10. Bake crab cakes until golden on top and set, about 30 minutes.
11. Set aside to cool then run knife around each cake and gently lift out of pan.

Double Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 eggs

125g of butter, softened

1 cup caster sugar

½ cup of milk

2 cups self-raising flour, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing

1 ½ cups icing sugar

125g butter, softened

Seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and line a 12 cupcake pan with cupcake papers.
2. In a medium bowl lightly beat eggs then add butter and sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
3. Add milk, flour, vanilla, then beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
4. Divide mixture evenly between cupcake papers and bake for 18-20 minutes.
5. Allow to cool before icing.
6. For  the icing: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
7. Ice cupcakes and top with cupcake decorations.

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