Sesame Laddu with a Healthy Twist for Toddlers This Sankranthi

Its Sankranthi time! In today’s post I present to you the same old sesame laddu or til laddus with a healthy twist! Yes this is my heathier version of sesame laddus; sugar-free and quick sesame laddu recipe or til laddu/ til laddoo to celebrate the kite flying festival.

Sankranthi is this year’s first festival and let us all gear up to celebrate it with excitement and life. Makar Sankranti is a harvest festival celebrated across India and this year it is on 14-15^th January 2015. It is known by different regional names including Uttarayan in Gujrat, Sankranti in Madhya Pradesh and Pongal in Tamil Nadu.

Special significance attached to the celebration of makar sankranti is kite flying. My son is already into the kite flying mood and wants to enjoy some nice sweets too.

Traditionally ‘til’ or ‘sesame’ laddus are made to celebrate Sankranti. I decided to make a sugar free laddu using sesame, coconut, roasted chana or gram dal and dates. This is just not laddu but a highly nutritious nut ball full of calcium, fiber, protein, potassium and with no added sugar!

Check out the health benefits of sesame, dates and roasted chana or gram dal. These laddus are safe for toddlers above one year and are very good alternatives to health bars or chocolates 🙂 It can be given as snack or a sweet item in the lunch box.

Health benefits of dates and sesame laddu:

Til or sesame seeds have immense health benefits like low glycemic index & are valuable sources of dietary protein with fine quality amino acids that are essential for growth, especially in children. It is safe to give sesame seeds for toddlers more than a year.

Dates or khajoor have a very high nutritional value. They are very good source of dietary potassium, calcium, magnesium & zinc. One can eat 1-2 dates every day for health benefits. It improves the overall bone health, immunity and strength. I try to avoid buying seedless dates & buy the normal dates and pit them myself.

Roasted gram dal/ chana dal/ pottukadalai provides a good base for the laddu and is a very good source of protein and carbohydrates.

How to make dates and sesame laddu?

Pit and chop the dates. Dry roast all the dals for 2-3 minutes and let it cool. Grind the dals to get a crushed texture. Grind dates and add to the blended mixture.

 

Melt ghee and add the dessicated coconut to it. Mix and knead to form laddoos or balls out of it. Our sugar-free pleasures are ready.

Further reading:

• Navaratri special whole green gram sundall for babies and toddlers
• 100% healthy Christmas cake recipe
• Home made hot chocolate for toddlers
• Ragi cake with chocolate sauce

Storage instructions:

They store well for more than 20 days. Store them in an air tight container.

Try to give only one laddu a day for kids as more than that may be heavy for tiny stomachs.

Feel free to share this article in your Facebook and Twitter. Remember sharing is caring 🙂

If you want to stay updated on many more articles like these, please subscribe to the newsletters of Bumps n Baby.

Happy Sankranthi!!