Animal-shaped lunches and snacks can make meals fun for both kids and parents looking for a creative surprise. Whether it is teddy bear toast or strawberry-and-banana snakes, consider building these fun food ideas for kids into teachable moments. Trips to the library to learn more about bears, sewing a sock craft snake or even building a "Jurassic Park" terrarium can inspire imaginations as well as memories that will last long after summer ends.
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A cookie cutter makes this dinosaur sandwich an easy lunch for kids. Pair it with other dinosaur themes, like a trip to the library to read about dinosaurs or even a dino dig in the sandbox using baking soda bones.
Blissfully Domestic shares how to make this unique food idea for kids.
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Toast becomes a teddy bear in this unique food idea recipe. Three slices of banana serve as ears and a nose while raisins add detail atop a simple slice of toast. For a little more protein, add a smear of nut butter like almond or cashew. A couple squirts of strawberry jam would make a bright morning smile.
Mini Eco shares how to make this fun food idea for kids.
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A lion of a lunch is made via a circle cookie cutter and a mane of cheese crackers. Keep the sandwich face or sub in slices of thick cheese and lunch meat with the mouth and nose cut out for a higher-protein lunch.
Make this unique food idea for kids via Cookie Cutter Lunch.
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For a more complicated snack, these chocolate-dipped pretzels use melted chocolate to create farm animals. Flattened candies like Starbursts and Tootsie Rolls serve as the animal details like the feathers of a rooster or the spots of a cow. For a healthier version, consider using fruit leather for the details or vegan chocolate for the pretzel coating — though the pretzels will need to be stored frozen.
Learn how to make this fun food idea for kids via Hungry Happenings.
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A corndog is coated with black food coloring and adorned with tortilla chip wings for a unique food idea for kids. Since corndogs aren’t the most healthy of lunchtime foods (too much sodium and too little fiber), consider making your own corndogs using turkey sausage and a frozen bread or pretzel dough. You could even slip in tiny bits of spinach — masked by some sharp cheddar cheese, of course.
Hungry Happenings shares how to make this unique food idea for kids.
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Frozen bread dough is shaped into an octopus and then baked for a unique bread bowl. Fill the bowl with the traditional soup or add a little cinnamon and sugar to the dough before baking. Then fill the baked bowl with a morning fruit salad, maybe with berries you and your family picked.
She Knows shares how to make this unique food idea for kids.
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Slices of strawberries and bananas lined on a plate become a slithery snake for a simple summer time snack. Practice letters by having kids (with washed hands) arrange the fruit, or have older kids create their own animal shapes using a variety of pre-cut and prepared fruits and vegetables.
She Knows share how to make this unique food idea for kids.
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Another baking recipe, this bread creates a tiny slice of panda in each portion. Rather than food coloring, green tea powder and cocoa powder create the color variations. Drizzle the bread with honey and butter for a fun breakfast or make into a grilled cheese and jam sandwich for a simple lunch.
Tablespoon offers this easy recipe for a unique food idea for kids.
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A radish mouse can make veggies go down a little easier, particularly when paired with a flavorful cream cheese dip. The peppery radish may be a challenge for young palates so consider using baby carrots for the mouse and sugar snap peas as snakes or caterpillars.
Make your own radish animal with this free how-to at CraftFoxes.
Image credits (from top): She Knows, Blissfully Domestic, Mini Eco, Cookie Cutter Lunch, Hungry Happenings, Hungry Happenings, She Knows, She Knows, Tablespoon and Bethany Marcello
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