Creative Kid Snacks

make fun of lunch!

Paleo Kid Friendly Flower Power Snack

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Flowers are one of the easiest ways to present whole food in a way that children will love.  Today’s Flower Power snack contains protein-packed egg and raw almond butter, as well as fresh red bell pepper, avocado, and apples for fiber.

You may have noticed the little bit of blue color on our egg – we used up our Easter Eggs to make this snack.  (I know it’s August now, this photo was taken several months ago!)  Use eggs as a healthy and colorful center to any flower.  Then, add sliced veggies all around to build a beautiful plate!

Raw almond butter tastes great!  We buy either Trader Joe’s or Maranatha brand, which are both made of only raw almonds!  No hydrogenated vegetable oils or added sugars like regular peanut butter!

What is Paleo?

A paleo diet refers to consuming the following kinds of whole foods: lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and healthy fats from sources like fresh fish, olive oil, avocado, etc.  The word “paleo” is short for “paleolithic“, which refers to early prehistoric time when our ancient ancestors had access to certain foods available in nature as opposed to the Standard American Diet full of food options with lots of ingredients, additives, etc.  Consuming these “basic” foods and avoiding highly processed stuff has been proven to lower blood sugar, increase an individual’s energy level, and provide anti-inflamatory benefits.  Learn all about the paleo diet here.  Although we do not live exclusively by this type of diet in our home, the more meals and snacks I can prepare for my kids using the best kinds of foods available for us, the better!

Fruit and Veggie Ingredient Substitutions for Flowers

celery

sugar snap peas

peaches

strawberries

nectarines

bananas

clementine orange slices

grapes

. . . and the list goes on.  Be creative!

If you liked this snack, check out our other flower snacks, and then take a look at some of our other paleo friendly kid snacks:

Mr. Peacock

Breakfast Made Beautiful (would be paleo sans the cheese in the eggs) 🙂

Resurrection Day Breakfast

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Today I have a little breakfast to celebrate the Easter story.  Make a fun little breakfast to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead!  An egg-in-toast is a great way to portray the empty tomb and this breakfast will be a great way to talk about this great story.

Ingredients:

1 slice of bread

1 egg

1 slice of cheese

1 T butter

Directions:

Heat a skillet.  Use a cookie cutter or cup to cut a large circle in a slice of bread.  Butter the bread and place onto skillet.  Crack an egg into the skillet and let cook several minutes until bottom of egg is firm enough to flip.  Flip bread and egg once to briefly cook the other side of the bread and egg, and then serve.  The egg looks like the light shining out of the tomb, and sliced cheese strips look like more light coming from the tomb because Jesus has risen from the dead.

Read the Story

Matthew 28

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Talk About It

Some questions to ask the kids include:

What do you think the women said to themselves after they saw that the tomb was empty?

What do you think the other disciples thought when the women told them that Jesus was risen from the dead?

Why were the guards so afraid?  How would you feel if you were a guard?

How do you think the disciples felt when they saw Jesus on after he had risen?

What does this story teach us about Jesus?

Pray a Prayer of Thanksgiving

This would be a great chance to thank God together for sending Jesus to die for us and for raising Him from the dead because of His great power.  Thank Him for forgiving our sins through Jesus’ death on the cross, and thank God for this story.  Jesus’ resurrection proves that He was who He said He was.

Act It Out

Have each child choose a character to be and act out this story.  Characters could include the guards, angels, Jesus, women, or the disciples.

What other ideas do you have to teach kids about the Easter Story?  Please share your comments and links below!

Also, check out our other cute Easter Snacks in this collection!

Easter Snacks to Make with the Kids

Breakfast Made Beautiful

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Here at Creative Kid Snacks, we make a lot of funny food and plate art.  Breakfast can be made to look like Hello Kitty, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a snail, a whale, or even Mickey Mouse.

Sometimes, however, a simple yet beautiful presentation is all it takes for your children to know that they are special and that you value spending time with them in the morning.  This breakfast would be sweet to serve in the morning after a sleepover party, or as a tea party meal.  Perhaps a Saturday morning family breakfast?  It would also be a great way to simply say, I am glad we get to spend the day together.

This breakfast features healthy, vitamin-packed fruits and protein-rich eggs.  Eating a meal like this for breakfast will help the kids to have the energy they need throughout the whole morning.

Ingredients:

Fresh fruit (grapes, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries)

Eggs and country ham

Cheddar cheese (optional for the scrambled eggs)

Directions:

Scramble eggs and diced country ham.  Top with cheddar cheese if desired.  Spoon into small bowl or ramekin in the center of a plate.  Slice grapes and strawberries in half so that they will lay flat on the plate.  Arrange them in a beautiful floral pattern around the eggs – or use any design you like.  The end result will be a beautifully appealing, healthy breakfast.

Health Benefits of this Dish:

Eggs are considered to be one of the most perfect sources of protein.  Protein is vital for kids to enjoy sustained energy throughout the day and build muscle as they grow.  Some people worry about the cholesterol found in eggs.  As I learned from this Cholesterol article by The Exercise Coach (where I love to work out), cholesterol is not what causes heart disease.  I was surprised to learn that it is actually sugar, which causes inflammation, which leads towards all of the problems related to heart disease.  It is far better for you to eat an egg than to eat a bowl of sugary cereal.  SOO much better!

Raspberries are higher in fiber than even blueberries.  They are a great source of antioxidants, and can even help to regulate your mood.  Check out this article to learn more.

Blueberries are another antioxidant-rich superfood, boasting a low glycemic index, and providing an excellent source of vitamin K.  Read more here.

Did you enjoy today’s snack?  Learn more about this blog here.

Resurrection Eggs

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The following post is something originally seen on my other blog, Sugar and Spice.  I started it in 2011 and it is where I first blogged about the creative snacks I had started making for my daughter.  Those snacks became so popular that they morphed into their own blog, which is Creative Kid Snacks.

I decided to post this entry here today because Easter is coming up, and this idea is a great way to use Easter egg coloring to teach the real Easter story to your kids.  I hope you enjoy!

Are you looking for a way to include the real story of Easter in your egg-coloring this year?
I would highly recommend making Resurrection Eggs!  I had the idea last year to make them and they worked so well as a teaching tool and as a way to incorporate the real Easter story, that they are now a mainstay of our Easter festivities.

To make them you will need:

1) Regular egg-dying supplies (i.e. a kit from the grocery store)
2) Colorful tissue paper (available at the Dollar Store)
3) Glue – any kind
That’s it!
You will make 4 eggs.  As shown in the picture above (from left to right), you will make (1) a passover egg, (2) a cross egg, (3) a tomb with the stone rolling away egg, and (4) a heaven egg.

Process:

1) Dye your eggs first and let them dry.  Choose colors against which the tissue paper you are using will pop.  This coming year I will change the first egg’s backdrop color to a pale orange, I think.
2) Cut out your tissue paper to make the shapes shown above.
 – Passover egg will be a red goblet and a yellow loaf of bread.
 – Cross will be a red cross shape to also represent that Jesus bled while on the cross as our sacrifice
 – The tomb will be a wide square with an archway cut out of the middle.  You will also need a large circle for a boulder.
 – Heaven will be a long blue cloud with yellow beams coming out.
3) Glue tissue paper onto eggs as shown and let dry.

Explanation for each egg:

Passover Egg:  Jesus had a final meal with his disciples called a Passover meal.  He explained to his disciples God’s plan to save the world from their sins through Jesus.  Jesus was going to have to die on a cross.  Jesus told the disciples to eat the bread and remember his body that would be broken for them and drink from the cup and remember the blood that he would shed on the cross.

Cross Egg:  Jesus was crucified on a cross.  The cross is red to show that Jesus bled and died on the cross.  When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the price for our sins by dying in our place.  Jesus never sinned.  He was perfect and took the punishment for all of our sins upon himself so that we could be forgiven.

Tomb Egg:  Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb and it stayed there for 3 days.  On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead!  The stone was rolled away by angels, and when the women came looking for Jesus, the angel said, “He is not here; He has risen!”.  When Jesus rose from the dead it showed that he was who he said he was because he conquered death and that he had the power to forgive us from our sins.

Heaven Egg:  Because of the Easter story, we will be with God in heaven when we die.  Heaven will be a beautiful place filled with joy because we will be with God and see all of his glory!

(You can use your own words, of course, but that is roughly how we explained it last year).

How to involve the kiddos:

1) Ask your child to hand you each shape as you are ready to glue it on.  As you glue it on, explain its meaning.  Repeat this with all 4 eggs.
2) Go over the story again once the eggs are lined up.  Take out your children’s bible (here’s ours), and read the Easter story.  Have the kids point to the eggs being talked about.
3) Before Easter, have your kids tell a friend or relative about the resurrection eggs they made and each of their meanings.
4) On Easter morning, hide the eggs around the house, and have the kids find them and bring them back together before breakfast is served and Easter baskets are invaded.
5) Pray together as a family and thank God for each aspect of the Easter story.
6) Ask your child which egg is their favorite and why.
7) If your child is into hard boiled eggs, allow them to eat that one on Sunday morning as part of breakfast.
Surely you will come up with even more of your own great ideas for the Resurrection Eggs.  I’d love to hear what you do with them if you try them!
Happy (early) Easter to you!

(Sharing HERE)

Did you enjoy today’s snack?  Learn more about this blog here.

Easter Morning

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The resurrection of Jesus Christ is, in my eyes, one of the singe most important events of all time.  On Easter, we celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, conquering sin and death, and paving the way for all who believe in him to have forgiveness and everlasting life.

After Jesus’ death, his body was placed in a garden tomb by a couple of his disciples.  Three days later, Mary Magdelene went to the tomb to anoint the body with spices and oil, and saw the stone rolled away from the tomb entrance.  As they entered the tomb, they saw an angel who said to them, “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16:6 NIV).

Resurrection day proved that Jesus was who he said he was.  The son of the most high God, able to defeat even death, so that we who believe may live!  Amen!

This Easter snack will help you to teach the story of Jesus’ resurrection to your children.  Read the story from Mark 16 or John 20, (or read it from the Children’s Bible – here’s the one we use), and then make this snack together.

Teach the story of Jesus' resurrection and the true meaning of Easter with this snack by creativekidsnacks.com
To make this snack, start with the tomb.  Slice an apple near the core on one side so you have a nice large chunk of apple.  Then slice that in half so that there is one round “stone” piece and another that looks like an empty tomb.  Easy!  Next, thinly slice a baby carrot and place the strips around the tomb to look like beams of light.  Add some celery grass underneath the tomb.  (After all, the tomb was in a garden)!

Next, slice a hard boiled egg in half to use as the angel’s body.  Carefully pop out the yolk of one of the halves and place it on top as the angel’s head.  Slice two small traingles off of the half of boiled egg you didn’t use for the body, and place those next to the body as arms (well, sleeves).  Add some pretzels as wings, and use a small almond for his smile and tiny brown sprinkles for his two eyes.  I normally use raisins for eyes, but this guy’s face was too small for that!

You now have a delicious, nutritious, and educational bible story for lunch.  Enjoy!

Teach the story of Jesus' resurrection and the true meaning of Easter with this snack by creativekidsnacks.com

If you enjoyed this Easter snack, check out our other biblical snacks like Jesus’ birth, Jesus on the cross, Jonah in the big fish, and more.

Angels we have heard on high

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This healthy and fun little snack celebrates the birth of Jesus as recorded in Luke 2:8-14.  Read the story of the angel choir appearing in the heavens to announce that baby Jesus had been born, and then make this snack to continue the celebration!


“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
 “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”  

Luke 2: 8-14

 

Ingredients:

2 hard boiled eggs
2 baby carrots
1 t cottage cheese
2 raisins
1 strawberry
1/s banana
1 slice white cheese
1 t miracle whip or mayo

Directions:

Slice hard boiled eggs in half lengthwise.  Carefully remove yolk.  Place one half yolk onto top corner of plate for moon.  Place remaining yolk from the 2 eggs into a small bowl and mix with mayo.  Spoon mixture into a zip baggie with a corner sliced off, and set aside. 
Slice bottom off of egg white halves.  Use sliced off section to cut triangular arms/wings for the angels.  Arrange all on the plate as shown. 
Slice baby carrots in half lengthwise.  Slice in half again width-wise.  Use for shepherd’s bodies.  Slice one of the carrot quarters into thin strips for the shepherd’s arms and legs and arrange on the plate as shown. 
Slice little rectangles with tiny triangles sliced out for sheep’s legs.  Top with 1/2 teaspoon of cottage cheese each to look like sheep bodies.
Top angel’s bodies with banana slices for heads, then add raisin eyes and thin strips of strawberry for a smile.  Now take piping bag with egg mixture in it and pipe hair and halo for each angel. 
Use a pizza cutter to slice remaining slice of white cheese into lots of tiny pieces.  Sprinkle around the plate to look like stars.

Nutritional Benefits of this Snack:

Eggs are full of benefits, including being rich in protein, vitamin B, and omega-3’s.  See more about health benefits of eggs here.
 

 
 


Grover

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Blueberries are known to be a superfood, containing lots of antioxidants, fiber, and other vitamins that are so beneficial for our kids.  

Why not have a great big serving by creating Grover the monster for our snack?  
This Grover was made on a 6 inch kids plate.  Make the eyes by slicing the sides (lengthwise) off of a hardboiled egg.  Cut a blueberry in half to lay it flat over each eye.  
Next, create Grover’s mouth using raspberries running from one end of the plate to the other.  Raspberries are also full of great vitamins like C, E, and A as well as magnesium and fiber, to name a few.
Add a sliced strawberry in the center of the plate for the nose, and fill the rest of Grover’s face in with blueberries. 
Blueberries are not number one on my daughter’s list of favorite fruits, but she ate every single one in this snack!  It’s truly a snack to feel great about giving to your little one!
Variations:
Use yogurt for the whites of Grover’s eyes 

(Linked HERE) 

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Copyright Note

Please feel free to use any of these ideas with your children at home, school, church, or anywhere you are inspired to make fun of lunch. If you would like to share a post on a blog or site, you may use one picture so long as you include a link to the original post. Please do not re-post the whole article or distribute printed-out content without written permission from the original author.

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