Edible Art

Sometimes getting children to eat can be tricky, but really its all in how you present it. My youngest son Mason (4) wouldn't even taste rice until I found this link and turned an ordinary rice ball into a panda bear! I just put sticky rice in a measuring cup to make a round shape for the face and he added black olive details. It was a hit!

 If it looks like something you shouldn't eat then you have to eat it right?  Toddler philosophy there. Its amazing what a child will eat if you make it fun. Its even better if the child can help put it together. The following photos are some of the fun things myself and my children have made for snacks, meals and parties.

This is Tom, he's a TRex. I made him out of a watermelon as a snack for Mason's 4th birthday. His eyes are green olives and his nostrils & eyebrows are pieces of the rind. His toothpick teeth were used by the party guests to pick up pieces of the watermelon. I found this neat idea here.

Crackers & Cheese, a yummy snack! Add in some black olives, grapes, carrots, whatever you have on hand. Let your child make faces on the crackers. Mason even made a fish with a grape and carrot fins.

Cucumber Aliens with cheese stars. I simply cut a hole in the cucumber with a frosting tip for his mouth and used that round piece to make the eyes. The center is a mustard seed. Cookie cutters were used for the cheese! I used cookie cutters for cheese all the time. Its a great way to serve cheese at a party with a theme. Ive done dinosaurs, trains and stars to decorate a Christmas tree made with veggies. Original idea found here, though its just a photo, no step by step.

That right there is an Alligator Map. It was made during our study of gators. The original idea came from Katherine Marie and honestly hers is much nicer looking than mine. My swamp is green jello with Swedish fish gummies. The alligator bait is kix cereal. The scales are pickle slices. The Tails with Mud are celery sticks with peanut butter and the gator eggs are green olives.

Dinosaur sandwich with cheese spikes and a celery tree. Diced tomatoes added since Mason loves tomatoes with a passion.   I have a sandwich cutter in the shape of a dinosaur, though Im sure a cookie cutter would do just as well and you can always cut the shape yourself with a knife. 

Crab pancake! Mason's favorite breakfast.  His face and claws are pancakes, his arms and face details are bananas and his legs are lil sausages cut in half lengthwise. 

Kitty sandwich.  I used a large cup to cut the sandwich into a circle, then used the edges to make ears.  Cheese and olives make up the facial details.  

Potato Boat.  Mason's favorite food ever in life is potatoes. Any kind of potatoes, mashed, baked, fried, any and all, so really I didnt have to make it fun for him to eat it, but who wouldn't love a potato boat with a cheese sail?  The sail is held with a green onion.  The boat itself is a loaded baked potato, recipe found here on RS. 

Another snack idea that little ones can help with.  Bat Olives with cheese wings.  I cut the pieces up he put them together. 

This is our Guinea pig cookie, modeled after our very own furry baby, Princess Socko Nug Nug. Its a peanut butter cookie with raisin eyes and bran flake ears.

My oldest son, Stone loves Sonic The Hedgehog, so we decided we had to make our very own hedgehog using an orange, black olives for eyes & nose and lil smokies on toothpicks for spikes. The only problem was he wanted to save it forever.  Original idea found here. 

We love fish as pets but not to eat, except in the case of a sandwich that merely looks like a fish.  Cheese fins, and a tomato tail with grapes and cut up turkey as gravel. 

Elephant biscuits for breakfast!  This is a snack that Mason helped with. Using a butterknife he cut the biscuit pieces to form ears and the trunks.  The eyes are raisins and we sprinkled on some cinnomon and sugar.  Recipe found here with lots of fun Elephant crafts. 

For a little boy you cant go wrong with an apple that looks like a frog!  The original idea came from here, though my design is a little different.  His legs are made with grapes, his eyes are mini marshmallows with raisins and his tongue is a piece of tomato. Mason added the raisin to his tongue, he said it was  fly. :)

We had elves come visit us over Christmas, Im certain you will be hearing about their adventures here on RS  soon.  Because of them we decided to make an elf plate. This elf face is made up of various things, his hat and ears are sandwiches, his eyes are hardboiled eggs with olive centers.  His nose is a piece of hotdog, his mouth an apple slice and mini marshmallows make up the details of his hat. Sliced lunch meat sticking out of the hat makes him appear to have hair.  Idea from Little Nummies. 

Who wouldn't want ice cream for breakfast?!  Waffles cut in triangles with banana slices an a cherry on top. Idea found here.

Lady bug crackers, we made during our Bug themed learning time. Idea from Taste of Home.  Mason loved putting these together.  Cheese spread on a cracker was used to adhere the ladybug pieces.  Cherry tomatoes cut in half make her wings, while black olives with tiny pieces of green onion make up her head.  The black dots are frosting, which you would think sounds awful for a savory snack, but it was quite delicious.

One of Mason's all time favorite snacks.  Hardboiled egg Mice with cheese and apples.  The cheese is monzeralla as he doesnt care for swiss, so we had to make the holes with a frosting tip.  Mason says mouse cheese has to have holes in it. :)  The ears are made with apple pieces, the eyes are tiny pieces of black olive and the tails are a piece of green onion.  Got this idea from Disney Family Fun.

Mommy's favorite way to eat a pizza.  I love owls, so much that my baby girls room is decorated with them. We made this during our Owl learning time, its biscuits placed together in an owl shape and flattened. Topped with pizza sauce and pepperonis to look like feathers.  The eyes are round cheese slices topped with pepperoni and black olive slices.  His ears and feet are pieces of cheese cut to shape.  He had a cheese nose but somebody named Mason ate it before Owly made it to the oven.  Original idea found here. 

Obviously this creation impressed Mason to no end.  He loves hotdogs just like any kid does.  A few slits to one side forms an octopus, who knew?  Ours is a cheese dog, it didnt slice properly, original idea found here. 

Another creative sandwich.  He asked for a turkey sandwich and leftover blackbeans from taco night.  Cut the sandwich to shape, add bean details, sprinkle in some shredded cheese and a rocket is born.

And last but not least, the best snack for two little boys to make, a fruit snake!  The boys loved piecing together this coral snake made out of bananas and strawberries onto a wooden skewer.  A tutorial for this crafty snack can be found here. 

Hope you enjoyed looking at our edible art! Please share your comments and let me know what kinds of fun snacks you've created for you little ones!