Our sweet Bean turned six this week, so we threw a little bash. It was her first party not celebrating her little brother’s birthday too {and madness that inevitably ensues} and I’m quite certain I was more excited than she was. I’m talking small and sweet here…paper lanterns, polka dots, cherry blossoms, little sandwiches…the whole kit and caboodle.
I.was.in.heaven!
I was curious to see whether it was actually possible to pull off a birthday party without artificial food coloring…and I did it!!
We did peanut butter cups and chocolate covered pretzels (rather than M&Ms or other colored candies), gummy bears I’d found at Trader Joe’s that were colored with vegetable juices, fruit kebabs, sweet potato chips, chocolate cupcakes with beet frosting, chocolate cake pops (in white chocolate), a fruit dip made with cream cheese, a blob of natural marmalade and some beet frosting (along with another teaspoon of beet juice for extra pink kapow!), sandwiches with homemade peanut butter (with coconut oil), banana slices and honey, chopped veggies and other little finger foods. It was super fun and really delicious!
I had been thinking about the beet frosting for some time leading up to the party, trying to figure out how best to pull it off without an overly beetrooty taste, and ended up simply saving a little beet juice when we had juiced fruits and veggies a few days prior (we use a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer).
Easy Beet Colored Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients:
- * 1/2 cup butter, softened
- * 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- * 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- * 5 tablespoons of milk
- * 1 tablespoon of pure beet juice
Directions:
- In a large bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, slowly adding the beet juice until the desired color and consistency is reached.
Voila! Pretty pink frosting without crappy food coloring!
