Beachy Lunch

For you who may live in the north, or colder states, what could cheer you up more than a day at the beach?  Okay, so maybe that not in your budget, but how about making a little beachy meal for your little ones while sipping a virgin daiquiri?  Or, makes yours real, totally your choice.  The boys were surprised with this lunch when they returned from their Sunday trip to Home Depot with Daddy.  I am not going to lie, it is not something I would do for the boys daily, but when I have some extra time and helpers to entertain the boys, why not?

First, I cut the hot dog into thirds.  The parts that included an end were turned into octopus and I tried to make crabs out of the middles, but went back to more of a squid instead, because my crabs did not look very crabby.  To make the legs, lie the dog piece on its side and cut it half way up (not through the head so-to-speak), and then turn it a quarter turn and do it again.  You’ll have four legs at that point.  Then I found it easiest to stand the dog upright and cut each leg individually in order to help keep the legs equal thickness.

Below, the eyes were being prepped with a little help from a straw. I stuck some processed cheese in the freezer for a  few minutes to help firm it up and be less melty when I put it on the hotdog. I used ketchup and mustard to help stick the eyes on.

I used an edible pen to draw on some pupils and smiles, and let the squid and octopus play amongst the “sea beans.” The leftover piece of cheese was used to make a dock of sorts.  The finishing touch, if you don’t count the water spots on the plates courtesy of my dishwasher, were the cute umbrella toothpicks I picked up cheaply at Wal-Mart.

Gus was happy to eat the octopus head first, hilarious!  And, in case you were wondering, yes, they ate it all, except the green beans, they only ate a few…I don’t think they liked my garlic salt addition…just means more veggies for dinner!

 

Enjoy!

~ Brooke

Gobble Gobble!

So, this is not really my full idea.  I am sure moms for years have been making apple turkeys.  Right?  Fall, turkeys, making food fun.  I got the idea from my friend Sara’s suggestion to check out this site.  Very cool one for wicked clever ideas.

http://www.cutefoodforkids.com

Any way, I skipped the paper faces on her version, took the inspiration, and made my own turkey faces out of mini-chocolate chips “glued” to the apple with peanut butter, and a wedge of a peach that I attached with a toothpick. Then I put in the plumage with four toothpicks out the top rear of the apple.  It was much easier to stick the toothpicks into the apples first and then slide the food onto the picks.  I used purple grapes and a special treat of mini marshmallows.  I like the original site’s mandarin feathers, but I thought the variety of colors and textures was fun.  I also loved the acorn sammies that I put with the turkey apple, just feeling a bit Fallish!  Check out the turkey sandwiches on the Cute Food for Kids site as well, so adorable and truly easy to do!

We’ve been busy, lots of sickness around our house since Halloween, so we are getting back on track with eating and venturing out into the world.  Here is one cute meals the boys enjoyed at the zoo…but I am hoping for a little more inspiration now that the sickness seems to have the building!  These bamboo skewers have really made eating our grapes really fun lately.  Pretty much at least once a week we take these to a play date.  They help cut down on “escapee” grapes around the playground, and for that, I am thankful!

 

~Brooke