Mealtime Shapes

Creating shapes with food is not only fun for many kids but can encourage many children to eat healthy products; therefore, enhancing their nutrition intake. An easy way to incorporate shapes is to use a cookie cutters, especially for products like sandwiches, eggs, toasts, and pancakes. Click here for the links to various cookie cutters available. Another way to include shapes in meals is to create an image out of cut food items. Below are a couple of ideas.

Sun Pancakes. Ingredients: strawberries, blueberries and instant pancake mix. Wash and slice strawberries down the middle, set aside. Wash blueberries. Make pancakes as directed on package. Once cooked, set one pancake on plate and allow child to be strawberries around the pancake. Then create a face on the pancake with blueberries.

Note: Pancakes could also be cooked from scratch.

Ants on a Log. Ingredients: celery, peanut butter and raisins. Wash and cut the celery lengthwise. Add peanut butter and put the raisins on each celery/peanut butter stick.

Sources
"A Shaped Sandwich Makes a Great Kids Sandwich." Squidoo. <http://www.squidoo.com/shaped-sandwich-kids-sandwich>

Borboa, Michele. "Fluffy Fun Pancakes." Sheknows.com. 21 December 2008. Web 1 April 2012. <http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/807085/how-to-make-shaped-pancakes-for-kids>