9 Ways to Play With Your Food

[des.]

Snack time doesn't have to be boring-or unhealthy.  Here are nine ways I've found to help make it a little more interesting and fun.  It may take a couple extra minutes, but wouldn't watching your child (hopefully) down raw carrots be worth it?

Apples, Carrots, and Bananas

Apples

1) SUN APPLES

Slice an apple into wedges.  Arrange them thin-side-up on a plate in a circular pattern to resemble a sunburst.  Take yellow food coloring and add it to some yogurt.  Place the yellow yogurt in a plastic bag and cut off the edge (or use a fancy cake decorator thingie) and create a swirl pattern for the center of the sun and "rays" in between the apple slices. 

2) APPLE FRIES

Slice an apple into french-fry shapes, peeled works best for this.  Dust with a generous helping of cinnamon.  You may add red food coloring to yogurt to serve as "ketchup".  For extra fun, serve them in a rolled up piece of wax or brown paper.

3) APPLE EGGS

Slice through an apple length-wise until you have as many flat slices that represent the entire circumference of the apple you can make (I know there's a better way of saying that, right?)  Remove the seeds and tough center from the slices with an apple corer or a knife.  Take cream cheese and add some yellow food coloring, forming little balls and placing one in the center of the circular apple slice to resemble an egg.  For added fun, serve these in a little frying pan with a spatula.

Carrots

1) CARROT UFO's

Slice a peeled carrot into medallions.  Add a dollop of sour cream to the top and a sprig of parsley to the sour cream to resemble a UFO with a green alien blob driving.  Either your kids will love it or laugh at your attempt to make a carrot and parsley look like a horrifying creature from outer space driving an orange flying saucer.

2) CARROT MEDALLION BREAD

Slice a peeled carrot into very thin medallions.  Arrange them on some de-crusted whole wheat bread, and sprinkle on some cinnamon and raisins if desired.  Roll the bread until the carrots are stuck into it and flat.  You may use a cookie cutter to shape the bread, or spread on some cream cheese and roll it up to create a creamy-roll (I like these in the toaster oven for a few minutes)

3) CARROT NOODLES

Grate a peeled carrot long-ways through a thin food grater.  Place these carrot slices (as well as cucumber, if desired, which would have to be de-seeded) in a bowl.  Add a mixture of equal parts soy sauce, oil, and rice vinegar and some salt and pepper.  Serve with chopsticks for some extra fun.

BANANAS

1) BANANA PEANUT-BUTTER SANDWICHES

Place some peanut butter in between two slices of banana.  Skewer on toothpicks for an easy-to-eat healthy treat.

2) BANANA BARBELLS

(This would work great with any fruit of vegetable) Place banana slices on toothpicks to resemble a barbell.  To make a game out of it, add extra slices when your child demonstrates they are strong enough to lift (and eat) the bananas on their toothpick- I mean, bar.  It's called a bar, isn't it?

3) LEAKY BANANA BOATS

Slice through the top of a Banana and scoop out a portion of the center to create something resembling a boat.  Mix some yogurt with a hint of blue food coloring and fill up the crevice with the mixture.  You may add some goldfish crackers or parsley for seaweed.   

[davecswife]

Aug. 18, 2009 at 11:44 AM

Neat Ideas Thanx for sharing this!

[Waxing_Lyrical]

Aug. 23, 2009 at 12:40 AM

Very cool

[richgirljj]

Jan. 4, 2010 at 5:51 AM

cute des!