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Baby Hints & Tips

My house food art

my house food artMy House is a fun, vibrant and nutrient dense kids snack or meal option.  Great for building, constructing, deconstructing, speech and vocabulary development, and imaginative play. It’s ideal for picky or fussy eaters.

My House food art – a fusion of good food and fun play

A house is often one of the first words a child will learn and will almost certainly be among the first things that they will learn to draw.  This piece of food art offers opportunities for fine motor skill development and puzzle solving practice.

My House is a fun, vibrant and nutrient dense kids snack or meal option.  Great for building, constructing, deconstructing, speech and vocabulary development, and imaginative play. It’s ideal for picky or fussy eaters.

This food art is incredibly simple to make, and the little ones could make it themselves with some adult guidance.  It helps to teach knife skills through spreading and cutting. It’s a great fine motor activity for kids and an engaging way to get them enthusiastic about various foods, vegetables, textures, preparing food and healthy eating as a whole.

This house is made in under 3 minutes – so it’s a great option for those mid-week dinners where everyone is a little short on time.

*The below ingredients are to serve as an inspiration only – feel free to substitute where appropriate for your child, so that it’s best suited.  You could for instance use wraps instead of bread.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO CREATE MY HOUSE:

  • Two slices of bread
  • 2 teaspoons hummus
  • 1 slice cheese
  • 1 cherry tomato
  • 3 slices cucumber
  • Small piece of celery
  • ½ a carrot
  • 3 lengths of chive

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MY HOUSE:

1- Place both slices of bread on a plate and cut two small triangles out of the top, to represent the roof of the house.  From one of these small triangles, cut a small rectangle to make the chimney.

2- Sandwich the two slices together using the hummus spread and place these in the middle of the plate

3- Cut the slice of cheese into a small rectangle (for the door), two small squares (for the windows) and a smoke-like shape (to come out of the chimney).  Place these on the sandwich as shown in the image

4- Cut the cherry tomato in half and place on the cheese windows

5- Place the piece of celery next to the house (to represent the tree) with the slices of carrot as the tree branches, before adding the cucumber pathway

6- Lastly, trim the pieces of chive to size and assemble along the roof as well as on the cheese door, as the door handle.

Options to accommodate food allergies

We chose to fill our sandwich with homemade hummus. However, if sesame allergies exist, you could use another spread such as Vegemite or simply a slice of cheese or ham. If you haven’t tested your child for a sesame allergy, it may be best to avoid this hummus element. The availability of allergy-friendly bread options also makes this a fun food art activity for everyone.

The food art philosophy

Families with picky eaters find mealtimes stressful, upsetting, a source of argument and generally involving plenty of food wastage.  Getting kids excited about mealtimes through turning food into simple creative fun may encourage fussy eaters to see food as a source of imagination and wonderment – without the negative associations.  It may open them up to the notion of trying new textures and tastes, given that the new presentation is more engaging, less threatening and fun.

Developing a good relationship with healthy food early on helps to set children up with a lifestyle that appreciates natural flavours, healthy simple meals – with potentially a diet lower in processed foods and artificial colours, flavourings and additives.

The benefits of healthy eating and a positive attitude towards food are massive. It ultimately impacts their energy, concentration, performance at school and their overall social and emotional health and wellbeing.

About the Author:

Iddle Peeps is run by Nicky McEnery, a slightly bonkers toddler mum who has a love for kids crafts and activities, education, nutrition and anything related to her 3 year old toddler son.

Her hope is to inspire busy parents to be creative with their little ones, through incredibly easy and simple ideas (even for those who don't consider themselves crafty, or good in the kitchen). Everything is created with working, time-poor and exhausted care-givers in mind.

There's a strong theme of reusing, recycling and environmental awareness with all of the crafts and activities.

Healthy, quick and creative food art (with simple instructions for busy parents) is intended to liven up toddler meals and encourage picky eaters to try new and healthy foods. Recipes include everything from snacks to desserts and product reviews work off the genuine desire to share information on helpful, useful and practical family items.

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