Bunny Salad and Smiley Pancakes
Posted at 5:37 am on April 28, 2010 by Catherine
If you look up “crafts” or “cooking” in the Dictionary, you will not find a picture of me. This is a detriment to good parenting, I’ve found, and I’m often jealous of cool Mommies like Farrah who are great at (and really enjoy) doing both. But recently I’ve found I can knock off both birds with one stone…by making fun (and easy!) food crafts. My three year old loves it and even my one year old chuckles. Here are two recent attempts.
First, Bunny Salad. You start with a half pear (fresh or canned), placed on top of a bed of lettuce. A dab of cottage
cheese for the tail, and then you can get creative with your pantry for the ears, eyes, and nose. I used raisins for eyes and nose, and carrots cut at a diagonal for the ears. You could also try almonds or cashews for the ears, or add whiskers. Its pretty cute, and a great side salad.
We also enjoy Smiley Face Pancakes. It couldn’t be easier! Just take a pancake, and add eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. I use whatever fruit we have on hand – this time was bananas for the ears, grapes for eyes and nose, and raisins for the mouth. And though its hard to see in the picture, real maple syrup for hair.
I’m planning to try Owl Sandwiches and Otter Wraps next – I’ll let you know how it goes. My son is so excited about this new way to eat that he’s actually making sure they end up in the meal plan and shopping list!
What other ideas do you have for me?
I made a little girl salad for my daughter when she was about 2 years old or so-maybe she was closer to 3. It had a ring of hard boiled egg for the head (so you could see the white and yellow in a ring), cheese for hair, raisins for eyes and mouth, carrot sticks for legs and arms, a canned apricot for the midsection, spinach leaves for the skirt and dollops of ranch dressing with a few chickpeas on top for decoration on the skirt. My daughter still didn’t eat the spinach or the carrots with excitement but it was a cute meal/snack.