Play with your food! Fun food ideas for kids and toddlers

[jlsmama]

An old friend of mine from college has a fabulous blog that shows the average mom how to make super adorable and fun things with your food. I saw someone mention they were looking for fun ideas for their toddler and thought I'd post this for all to see (if you have not already). Have fun browsing!  http://littlenummies.net/

[Megan73]

Cute and creative for the occasional birthday party or something. As a day-to-day thing? It seems to be all processed food - crackers, cold cuts, chocolate chips etc. Also, I really don't want to teach my three-year-old that mom is supposed to make his food entertaining in order to cajole him into eating. I put healthful food in front of him. It's up to him to eat it or not.

[jlsmama]

I also noticed that she uses some items that are not healthful. I don't feed my LO processed foods, either. But I still found it inspiring for fun and play. I would simply substitute materials with the foods I keep on hand. Again, I posted it because, after reading through some other threads about creative ways to increase greens and other healthy foods in a picky toddler's diet, I thought it might be inspiring to some who might be inclined to be a bit more creative with presentation.

As a side, it's not always about cajoling the child into eating the food, either. Sometimes it's just plain fun. I have fond memories of pancakes made into faces and letters on special (or not so special) occasions when I was a kid. Of course, I now make mine with organic oats and flax topped with yogurt and fruit. But I think "playing with your food" is part of the fun and playfulness of childhood.

Maybe my post would have been better categorized under the Toddler forum. Sorry for that.

Originally Posted by Megan73 

Cute and creative for the occasional birthday party or something. As a day-to-day thing? It seems to be all processed food - crackers, cold cuts, chocolate chips etc. Also, I really don't want to teach my three-year-old that mom is supposed to make his food entertaining in order to cajole him into eating. I put healthful food in front of him. It's up to him to eat it or not.