Valentine’s Day is just a week away, and Valentine’s Day parties are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate friendship and community in your classroom, day care center or home.
As you prepare your treats and snacks, it is important to consider both food safety and food allergies.
Here are some important items to consider as you plan your sweet celebrations, provided by the Colorado State University (CSU) Extension Family Matters Newsletter-February 2025.
Children’s developing immune systems and smaller bodies make them more vulnerable to foodborne illnesses.
According to Anne Kozil, MS RDN, and CSU Extension Specialist in Nutrition, you can follow these safety tips to help ensure the treats you prepare and share are safe:
• Avoid choking hazards by offering soft, age-appropriate foods. Skip hard candies, whole nuts and popcorn for children under age 4. Cut fruits and vegetables into small, easy-to-chew pieces.
• Handle food safely by washing your hands before preparing any food and making sure all surfaces, utensils and storage containers are clean. Make sure your children/students also are washing their hands before eating.
• Offer allergy-friendly treats or share nonfood items such as stickers, crayons and small toys (make sure toys are not too small to cause choking hazards).
If you are a parent planning to make a treat for a classroom party, you should always check with your child’s teacher for specific school policies, guidelines for handmade treats and a list of food allergies in the classroom. If you are planning to provide store bought treats, consider these allergen-free options: apple sauce or fruit and veggie packets, fruit snacks, popcorn (for children over 4 years old), frozen popsicles, and baked potato chips.
Try this simple recipe for a healthy Valentine’s Day treat.
Heart-Shaped Fruit
Kabobs
Ingredients: This recipe calls for three types of melons, but you can use any melon or fruit that you would like. Melons are easy to cut with a cookie cutter and easy for small mouths to nibble.
• 1/4 seedless watermelon, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1/4 honeydew, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1/4 cantaloupe, cut into 1/2-inch slices
Directions:
1. Wash hands and food contact surfaces with soap and water.
2. Cut the watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe into 1/2-inch slices. Use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the desired number of hearts from each fruit (or use other shapes of cookie cutters for different designs and patterns).
3. Using plastic or wooden skewers, thread the hearts onto each skewer or arrange hearts on a plate and serve.
Optional Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup honey (Please note: Children under 1 year old should not consume honey.)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
1. Wash hands and food contact surfaces with soap and water.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour to combine flavors before serving.
For more information, ideas and recipes visit the CSU Food Smart website at foodsmartcolorado.colostate.edu.
CPR and first aid classes
CPR and first aid certification classes are offered every other month at the CSU Extension office, generally on the third Monday and Wednesday from 6 to 10 p.m. The cost for the classes is $80 for combined CPR/first aid and $55 for CPR, first aid or recertification. Call the Extension office at (970) 246-5931 to register.
Check out the online option on our website, https://archuleta.extension.colostate.edu/.
Archuleta County royalty court 2025
Applications for the Archuleta County royalty court for 2025 are due by 5 p.m. on Feb. 12, and tryouts are at 4 p.m. on Feb. 19. Email archuletacountyfair@gmail.com or call (970) 264-8424 for more information and to receive an application.
For these and other events, please check out our Facebook page at Archuleta County Extension or call the office at (970) 264-5931.
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