Now that the kids are out of school, you're responsible for entertaining them as well as feeding them. As much as you want to pack their lunch in a brown paper bag and be done, we have some ideas that will be just as much fun to make as they are good to eat!
Sandwich People
Remember how much fun your kids had decorating gingerbread men at Christmas? Going along the same idea, give them two slices of bread and the gingerbread man cookie cutter. They can cut a little man from their bread and dress him up with their favorite sandwich toppings. They can make him a jelly shirt to go with his peanut butter pants. They could make a dress with a lettuce skirt and a tomato top. While they're practicing their hand-eye coordination and stretching their imaginations, you can address healthy eating, too!
Salad Gardens
Edible Arrangements does this with fruit, so why not apply the idea to your kids' veggies, too? They can use a flower-shaped cookie cutter on cucumber and yellow squash slices. With a cherry tomato as the center of the flower and a carrot stick stem, your kids have a variety of veggies to try. If your kids aren't interested in veggies, you can put out a little dip. If they really aren't interested in veggies, you can use fruit. Cut a flat cross section from a watermelon and let them use their flower-shaped cookie cutters to cut pieces out. They can put grapes in the middle and build stems with apples sliced into thin fry-sized sticks.
S'Mores' Nutty Cousin
Combining kids and fire is not always the best idea. But when it comes to a yummy snack, s'mores are so good -- if you do it this way! Let them spread peanut butter or almond butter on graham crackers. Then, add yummy banana slices, apple slices, and raisins before they smush the two sides together.
Fruit Pizzas
This is a little less healthy than it sounds, but it's oh-so yummy. Bake up some slice-and-bake sugar cookies. Spread some store-bought fruit dip on top and then have the kids pile on their favorites: strawberries, grapes, mandarin oranges, kiwi slices, and crushed pineapple. You'll find yourself craving this one later on.
Fruity Popsicles
Using paper cups and Popsicle sticks, your kids will have a ball making their own fruity ice pops. Start by filling their cup halfway with apple or white grape juice. Then, they can add in their own fruity bits, like berries, melon, grapes, apples, or kiwi. Once all the fruit is in the cup, put the stick in the center and freeze. When the pops are hard, the paper cup can be ripped off so your kids can enjoy their fresh and fruity snack.
Cereal Treats
Rice Krispies are always a fun treat, but you can do the same thing with Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Puffs, Cheerios, or whatever cereal is a favorite in your house. All it takes is a bag of marshmallows melted with a quarter-cup of butter over the stove. Have your kids pour their cereal into a big mixing bowl. When the marshmallows are creamy and smooth, pour over the cereal and have your kids mix it all together. Depending on the size and shape of the cereal, they can form the mixture into balls or whatever shapes they want. The most common thing is to spread them over a pan and cut into bars, which gives you more portion control.
Ants on a Log
This is a classic treat that my mother used to make with me. Take celery stalks cut into 4-inch pieces and spread peanut butter, almond butter, or cream cheese in the center. Then, use raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, or pomegranate seeds to make the "ants" on the log.
Pizza-Dillas
Give each kid a tortilla and let them top it up like their favorite pizza. They can spread on tomato sauce, cheese, olives, pepperoni, bell peppers, tomatoes, sausage, carrot strips, or whatever. When their masterpiece is all done, set the tortilla in a pan sprayed with butter cooking spray on the stove. Cover with a lid until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is crisp.
Rainbow Cake
Take a white cake mix and pour in three-quarters of a can of lemon-lime soda (i.e. Sierra Mist). Mix it up and split the mix into several bowls. Let the kids add their favorite colors of food coloring to the bowls and mix them up. In a cooking-spray-coated pan, pour in one color at a time, without letting them get mixed up. Bake it based on the directions on the box. After it cools, ice it with whipped topping. Each slice is its own rainbow!
Pigs in a Blanket
This classic food is a ton of fun for the kids to make. Using a roll of crescent dough split into triangles, let the kids put a piece of cheese, pepperoni, hot dogs, steamed broccoli, asparagus, etc. in their own crescent. Then, roll them up and bake based on the package directions.
Playing with food can actually teach us some valuable lessons about healthy eating habits and cooking. Get your kids excited about healthy foods early by introducing new foods in a fun way. It's a great way to get them to try new things!
Sandwich People
Remember how much fun your kids had decorating gingerbread men at Christmas? Going along the same idea, give them two slices of bread and the gingerbread man cookie cutter. They can cut a little man from their bread and dress him up with their favorite sandwich toppings. They can make him a jelly shirt to go with his peanut butter pants. They could make a dress with a lettuce skirt and a tomato top. While they're practicing their hand-eye coordination and stretching their imaginations, you can address healthy eating, too!
Salad Gardens
Edible Arrangements does this with fruit, so why not apply the idea to your kids' veggies, too? They can use a flower-shaped cookie cutter on cucumber and yellow squash slices. With a cherry tomato as the center of the flower and a carrot stick stem, your kids have a variety of veggies to try. If your kids aren't interested in veggies, you can put out a little dip. If they really aren't interested in veggies, you can use fruit. Cut a flat cross section from a watermelon and let them use their flower-shaped cookie cutters to cut pieces out. They can put grapes in the middle and build stems with apples sliced into thin fry-sized sticks.
S'Mores' Nutty Cousin
Combining kids and fire is not always the best idea. But when it comes to a yummy snack, s'mores are so good -- if you do it this way! Let them spread peanut butter or almond butter on graham crackers. Then, add yummy banana slices, apple slices, and raisins before they smush the two sides together.
Fruit Pizzas
This is a little less healthy than it sounds, but it's oh-so yummy. Bake up some slice-and-bake sugar cookies. Spread some store-bought fruit dip on top and then have the kids pile on their favorites: strawberries, grapes, mandarin oranges, kiwi slices, and crushed pineapple. You'll find yourself craving this one later on.
Fruity Popsicles
Using paper cups and Popsicle sticks, your kids will have a ball making their own fruity ice pops. Start by filling their cup halfway with apple or white grape juice. Then, they can add in their own fruity bits, like berries, melon, grapes, apples, or kiwi. Once all the fruit is in the cup, put the stick in the center and freeze. When the pops are hard, the paper cup can be ripped off so your kids can enjoy their fresh and fruity snack.
Cereal Treats
Rice Krispies are always a fun treat, but you can do the same thing with Fruity Pebbles, Cocoa Puffs, Cheerios, or whatever cereal is a favorite in your house. All it takes is a bag of marshmallows melted with a quarter-cup of butter over the stove. Have your kids pour their cereal into a big mixing bowl. When the marshmallows are creamy and smooth, pour over the cereal and have your kids mix it all together. Depending on the size and shape of the cereal, they can form the mixture into balls or whatever shapes they want. The most common thing is to spread them over a pan and cut into bars, which gives you more portion control.
Ants on a Log
This is a classic treat that my mother used to make with me. Take celery stalks cut into 4-inch pieces and spread peanut butter, almond butter, or cream cheese in the center. Then, use raisins, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, or pomegranate seeds to make the "ants" on the log.
Pizza-Dillas
Give each kid a tortilla and let them top it up like their favorite pizza. They can spread on tomato sauce, cheese, olives, pepperoni, bell peppers, tomatoes, sausage, carrot strips, or whatever. When their masterpiece is all done, set the tortilla in a pan sprayed with butter cooking spray on the stove. Cover with a lid until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is crisp.
Rainbow Cake
Take a white cake mix and pour in three-quarters of a can of lemon-lime soda (i.e. Sierra Mist). Mix it up and split the mix into several bowls. Let the kids add their favorite colors of food coloring to the bowls and mix them up. In a cooking-spray-coated pan, pour in one color at a time, without letting them get mixed up. Bake it based on the directions on the box. After it cools, ice it with whipped topping. Each slice is its own rainbow!
Pigs in a Blanket
This classic food is a ton of fun for the kids to make. Using a roll of crescent dough split into triangles, let the kids put a piece of cheese, pepperoni, hot dogs, steamed broccoli, asparagus, etc. in their own crescent. Then, roll them up and bake based on the package directions.
Playing with food can actually teach us some valuable lessons about healthy eating habits and cooking. Get your kids excited about healthy foods early by introducing new foods in a fun way. It's a great way to get them to try new things!
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