Keto-friendly Finger Foods for Kids

It can be challenging to find keto-friendly finger foods for your little one, so in today’s post, we’re sharing some of our favorite bite-sized recipes.

Savory Cheese Crackers (3:1 ratio or MAD)

Almond Coconut Cookies (3:1 ratio or 4:1 ratio)

You can also make many recipes into finger foods by cooking them in bite-sized portions.

For example, you can make Bite-sized Pancakes by preparing our KetoCal Pancake Recipe (3:1 ratio, 4:1 ratio or MAD) as you normally would, but pouring into tiny pancakes when cooking.  You can also find mini pancake makers to make things easier. Serve pancakes alone or with carb-free pancake syrup for dipping!

For a savory snack, you can apply the same concept to make Cheesy Tomato Bites by preparing our KetoCal Cheesy Tomato Wrap Recipe (4:1 ratio, 3:1 ratio, or MAD) as you normally would, but shaping into bite-size circles to cook (you could try the mini pancake maker here too!). Serve alone or with a savory dipping sauce!

What are your child’s favorite finger foods? Have you been able to come up with keto variations for them? If you could find a keto-version of any kid’s food, what would it be? (Maybe our keto chef can help!)

KetoCal is a medical food and is intended for use under medical supervision. KetoCal 3:1 and 4:1 are indicated for individuals age 1 and up. KetoCal 2.5:1 is indicated for individuals age 8 and up. 

Celebrating Halloween on the Ketogenic Diet

Children in halloween costumesHolidays and special occasions often include food and treats. When on a ketogenic diet, it can be tricky to participate in the celebration since foods are limited. For today’s blog post, I compiled some tips and recipe ideas to help you to ensure that your little one has a happy and keto-friendly Halloween.

School Parties:

If your child’s school is celebrating Halloween, be sure to remind your child’s teacher(s) of food restrictions. If there is a class party and candy will be involved, you may want to send some keto-friendly treats (see recipes below) or non-food treats (like Halloween-themed stickers, pencils, temporary tattoos, etc.) for your child to enjoy.

Trick-or-Treating:

As you might expect, commercial candy is off limits for children on the ketogenic diet. Even low sugar or sugar-free candies will contain far too many carbohydrates. However, there is more to trick-or-treating than the candy, so many families allow their child to trick-or-treat without actually eating the candy that they collect. The Epilepsy Foundation recently posted an article about celebrating Halloween on the ketogenic diet and interviewed two keto moms about how they manage. One mom said that her son enjoyed trick-or-treating, then giving away the candy he collected to other trick-or-treaters in the neighborhood. Another mom said that her son likes to bring home the candy he collects to his sister or take it to school to share with his classmates. Another idea is to let your child trade the candy he or she collects for special keto treats, non-food Halloween treats, coins, or even a small toy.

Recipe Ideas for Keto Halloween Treats:

As always, consult with your child’s health care professional to ensure that these recipe ideas are appropriate for your child’s ketogenic ratio and calorie requirements. If needed, your dietitian may be able to help you modify these recipes to reach a different ketogenic ratio.

You can prepare these treats ahead of time, then store them in little Halloween-themed treat bags (for example, these that I found at my local party store) that you can send to school or put in their trick-or-treating bag.

The following recipes are less transportable, but might be a tasty treat to enjoy at home on Halloween.

Read more tips for celebrating Halloween on the ketogenic diet from the Epilepsy Foundation.

How does your family celebrate Halloween on the ketogenic diet? Please share your experiences and tips for other families in the comment section below.

Have a safe and happy Halloween everyone!

-Mallory