Healthy Valentine’s Treats

Valentine Fruit Skewers

Hull a few large strawberries and cut them in half from top to bottom.  Place the berry halves cut-side down on a cutting board and push a small heart-shaped cutter straight down through them to make perfect little hearts. Thread the berry hearts onto a skewer, alternating with grapes, blueberries, apple chunks or other small pieces of fruit.

Strawberry Bread

3 cups white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups sugar

15 oz (about 2 cups) unsweetened strawberries mashed (You can use thawed frozen strawberries)

4 eggs well beaten

1¼ cup Zoye Low Saturated Fat Premium Vegetable Oil Premium Vegetable Oil

1¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Grease and flour two 8″x4″x3″ loaf pan.
3. Combine dry ingredients and make a well in the center.
4. Put strawberries, eggs, Zoye Low Saturated Fat Premium Vegetable Oil Premium Vegetable Oil and nuts in the well and mix thoroughly into a nice batter.
5. Pour into two pans evenly and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Cool in pans 5-10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.

Zoye^® is a light cooking oil that is versatile won’t overpower your recipes. It’s also naturally low in saturated fats and rich in Omega 3 and Vitamin E. For more recipes visit: http://www.zoyeoil.com/recipes/

Hearts and Greens Salad

1 pkg. spring greens

1 large cucumber sliced

2 red peppers, seeded (tops and bottoms removed)

Sliced white cheese (such as mozzarella)

¼ cup Sunflower seeds

Yogurt ranch dressing

1. Place the spring greens in a large bowl.
2. Using a small, heart shaped cookie cutter (about 1-inch) cut out heart shapes from the cucumber, red peppers and cheese. Sprinkle over greens.
3. Sprinkle on sunflower seeds and drizzle with ranch dressing.

Valentine Party Treats

Heart healthy Michigan Apples are used to make these fun treats that are perfect for a school party!

Valentine Apple Flowers

https://www.redtedart.com/healthy-valentines-day-treats-apple-heart-flowers/

Michigan Apple Valentine Chips

These healthy apple chips are an easy and delicious snack for kids. Try making them with a small heart cookie cutter and cinnamon, they’re perfect for healthy snacks and Valentine’s Day parties. The secret is baking the apples at a low temperature which dehydrates the apples.

4 large Michigan Fuji apples

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon sugar

small heart cookie cutter

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Thinly slice apples (about 1/8 inch thick).
3. Cut out apple core from with slice using a mini heart cookie cutter. Arrange apple slices in a thin layer on baking sheet. Make sure there is room between each slice.
4. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl; sprinkle lightly over apple slices. (Optional)
5. Bake until apples are dried and edges are slightly curled, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Flip once halfway through baking time. (Bake apple more for crisp chips and less for chewy chips.)
6. Cool completely and store in an airtight container. Use within one week.