Savoury food ideas for 1st birthday get together

[Mummy2Bookie]

Dd is almost 1 (how time flies )and we are giving her a special birthday tea. I have only decided on birthday ( no added sugar) cake and jam tarts.
No sure for the savouries though. I was thinking home made sausage rolls and tiny sandwiches. But some of the mums are a bit weird about part food ie one mum brings innocent smoothies and fruit for her own dc.
Anyway I was hoping the lovely ladies of mn could give me some advice and ideas about what savouries to serve dd and the other children ( all under age 3)

No added sugar cake? Sugar is a main ingredient to cake. Or do you mean you'll make it with sweetners? Or will it be a banana loaf?

No added sugar cake?! What are you baking it with?!

I would keep it simple for children of those ages. Sandwiches (ham, cheese, Marmite), carrot/pepper/cucumber batons, with a yoghurt-type dip, strips of pitta bread, cherry tomatoes. Possibly also a pizza, cut into small slices.

If other mums want to bring their own party food, let them get on with it.

why no sugar in the cake? it's a party, surely you can let the children have a bit of sugary cake? Isn't that the point of a cake? Otherwise you might as well not bother. And as for those poncey people who say "my pfb doesn't eat sugar" then plies them with smoothies and fruit... er.. what do you think is in those then? Sugar is sugar no matter what form it comes in. It's like Annabel Karmel banging on about not giving sweetened cereals to children and then suggesting we put maple syrup on porridge. Dur! it's still sugar. Refined or unrefined, it's still sugar!

And breath :o

As for savouries, we've just done dd's birthday and we had pigs in blankets, mini quiches, little pastry puffs and cheese straws alongside sandwiches and crudites with houmous and sour cream dips. Most of that was eaten by the adults and the children were happy with sandwiches, babybel cheeses and breadsticks dipped in the houmous, we also had some bags of Organix crisps around (while I'm relaxed about sugar, I try to be a bit more careful about salt)

I usually steer clear of sausage rolls, but then, I live in a really Jewish area!

Finger sandwiches are easypeasy and means you can cater for all sorts of fusspots by having multiple filling choices. Pizza slices or fingers also go down well.

Veggie sticks, pitta and dips? In my experience, the mums usually end up grazing on those, though, while the kids go for the sweet stuff

Muffins rather than cake if you want no (very low) sugar then you can use fruit to make them sweet and healthy.

Use biscuit cutters to cut the sandwiches into fun shapes.

Dipping food generally goes down well - cut up veg like mushrooms, pepper, celery, carrot sticks.

Pizza dough mix (or bread mix if you bake) roll into soft long thin worms, bake to make soft bread sticks. Again can be dipped. Also some can be gently rolled in grated cheese and or sesame seeds to add variety.

Dipping fruit (berries are good) and fromage frais/ honey/ chocolate sauce to dip in.

Thanks for the advice,
The cakes is basically a recipe I found in a baby cook book that has dried fruit instead of sugar.
I like the idea of samosas, and also pizza and bread sticks and definitely cut up veg.
I think I'll have small juice cartons. Easier than paper cups.

still got sugar in it :o

surely juice has sugar in? would water not be better if you are worried about sugar? then you can put some in the cake

sugar free cake - sorry to be rude, but what's the point?? cake has sugar in. and fat. thats why its yummy and a treat. birthdays are a treat. off soapbox now. I get a bit het up about cake.

for savoury food, I'd go with wee sausages, wee sandwiches, crudities, dips ( just plain ole cream cheese normally popular ), breadsticks etc.

For the adults I would make some seriously good chocolate brownies, cut up really small, and do a fruity punch.

cucumber/ carrot/ celery sticks and dips.

This was surprisingly popular at DNs bday party.

madamDeathstare
Thanks for that. Dd will like the cheese disks.

Tiny egg sandwiches are much beloved by toddlers.

No sugar cake :) at DD's 1st Birthday party she had a full on sugar crammed and iced Iggle Piggle cake - her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she grabbed some

I also made mini sausage rolls, little sandwich fingers with different fillings, homemade chicken dippers with a really mild salsa dip (went down very well!) cold fritatta cut into fingers, and some breadsticks/carrot/cucumber/celery with dips, and a bowlful of those Good Stuff fresh fruit bags. For drinks it was just water and pure fruit juice to add to it if they wanted to.

Good grief! Damned if you do, damned if you don't

chopped up grapes/strawberrys

puff pastry pinwheels (spread pastry with cheese & ham, roasted veg & ricotta, cream cheese & salmon - whatever you fancy really, then roll up, slice & bake)

Sandwiches cut in to shapes with biscuit cutters always go down well at partys (depends how much patience you've got for such frivolity though )

frittatas for something easy for little uns to eat?

Puff pastry pinwheels sound good. Thankfully I made some pastry last week that's in the freezer. Frittatas sound good too.
So far the menu is
Juice/ water/ milk
Jam Tarts
Birthday cake
Sandwiches
Sausage rolls
Fruit, veg and dips

I suppose parents will want more sophisticated food

Eeek. You have got me worried now!!

DD is 1 on Thursday and having a party for her on Sat, combined with moving house party for us!

Menu so far:

Water/Juice/Alcohol
Chocolate Birthday Cake (friend is making but i presume full of sugar!)
Sausage rolls
M&S ready made party food
Pizza
Sandwiches
Crisps and snacks

Have never given a second thought to the menu really, was just planning on doing what I always do. Convenient, not particularly healthy, and tasty! Do things change when having DC??

Plus was thinking she is really too young for a party, and if it were not for us moving far away from this area in a couple of weeks we wouldn't have had anything. Not got any entertainment planned - should I have?

You have 364 days a year to give healthy food. Go on, give the poor kid some proper cake!