A Healthy Alternative to Cake Pops

In my dream world, I could eat cupcakes for breakfast, chocolate chip cookies for lunch & cake pops for dinner. Ofcourse we know that wouldn't be good for my waistline or my heart. In fact, you may have seen the 60 minutes segment about sugar being toxic. Here's the article in case you wanted to check it out. I am not saying I agree completely with this article but it did make me think of the typical party menus. Amy Atlas & her dessert buffets have expanded the typical party sweets from lonely cakes to whoopie pies, cupcakes, chocolate-covered oreos, rock candy, cake pops & shortbread cookies. As dreamy as that is, we could probably do with less sugar-laden options. 

I'm sure this is not an original idea but I was hoping this would inspire you to add a little "healthy" into your party buffet. 

Here's what you need: 

* Flower Cookie Cutters - these were from WalMart & only set me back $2.88. 

* Melon Baller 

* Bamboo Skewers 

* Assorted Fruits

Here are some tips to make this project a little easier - 

1) Cut the fruit about 3/4 inch thick. If it's an inch or more it tends to be too bulky & a little big for the mouth (I was the test subject...so feel free to insert a jab here ;p). 

2) If one of the pieces of fruit is a little stubborn (the watermelon seemed to be a little more slippery), use a small piece of a tougher fruit at the base to secure. I used a small piece of cantaloupe at the base of a watermelon flower to keep it from sliding down the skewer. 

The watermelon easily fit the cookie cutters, slicing the watermelon 1/2 inch thick length-wise. The cantaloupe...was a little more tricky. I used the same cutting strategy as the watermelon but it gave me less space to use. 

Big Reveal...

I used the pineapple as the "vase" but the watermelon would've been a good option as well as a regular vase. 

For the daisies, I used a melon baller to cut out a center & inserted a "ball" from another fruit. In order to keep it in place, I just inserted the skewer all the way through the center of the melon ball. 

What do you think? A great addition to your summer dessert buffet? Do you think your kids will enjoy fruit better when they're like this? 

I'll be honest...I love fruit, but I gotta have some chocolate every once & awhile! :-)