Snack Art- Yes, your kids will eat their veggies!

I've always liked the cute bug looking snacks and cookie cutter shape sandwiches. But it either looked like too much work or I never have the right things on hand. One day while slicing a red bell in complete slices, I realized they kind of looked like an outline of a flower! So that got me to thinking. And I decided to combine easy + cute for something similar to those bug snack but a heck of a lot easier.

You can use whatever you have on hand, but I like to plan it like this:

Bowl A is for fruits. Cut them up appropriately (halve grapes, thin slice apples, etc) Try to use 2-3 different fruits. Use apples, oranges, melons, grapes, strawberries, any berry, banana, kiwi, raisins, etc.

Bowl B is for veggies. Cut them up appropriately and try to use 3-4 different veggies. Some are better skinned, like cucumbers. Use carrots, celery, red, yellow or orange bell peppers, cucumbers, baby tomatoes, etc. Unless you have a super veggie eater and they get enough in meals, give more veggies than fruit.

Bowl C is for dry stuff. Goldfish crackers, pretzel sticks, pita chips, etc. The idea is to give them a little, not a lot. You want them to fill up on the veggies and fruit.

Bowl D is for dips. Peanut butter, ranch dressing, hummus(so easy to make at home, will post the recipe!), fresh guacamole. Even cottage cheese!

Then get creative! Take the little pieces and create a mosaic or food art picture. My kids like boats, cars, trains, trucks, flowers and houses. You might need to help them out in the beginning, but soon they'll be trying things on their own.

My 3 year old daughter enjoying her 'truck'. Here you can see she uses the pretzel stick to dip in peanut butter then pick up items to eat with it. 

Yes, that is my toddler happily eating her veggies!

Remember, kids learn by example. If we want our children to eat well and establish life-long healthy eating habits, everyone in the house has to walk the walk. Create it with them and eat it with them. Buck up, dads!

***ALWAYS SUPERVISE YOUR CHILDREN WHEN EATING***