Encourage Healthy Eating: With a Craft!

 Encourage Healthy Eating: With a Craft!

Forget the paints! It's time for some edible arts and crafts! Getting kids to eat their fruits and vegetables can be tricky, especially when introducing unfamiliar foods for the first time. Tackle this challenge by incorporating healthy foods into multiple activities in your classroom. The more kids form positive associations with foods, the more likely they will be to try them at lunch time and snack time. Check out these neat food crafts below to help you get started!

Peanut Butter Celery Butterflies

 

These butterflies really are made out of butter! 

What You Need:
Pretzels
Celery
Peanut Butter (or other substitute)
Googly Candy Eyes

1.Slice your celery sticks into desired lengths.
2.Fill each celery stick with peanut butter.
3.Use two small pretzels for the wings on your butterfly or break one large pretzel in half and stick one half on each side of the celery stick.
4.Stick your candy eyes on with peanut butter.

Owl Toast

You'll be wise like this owl if you eat your fruits and whole grains.

What You Need:
Whole Grain Sliced Bread
Strawberries (sliced)
Blueberries
Bananas (sliced)
Cheerios
Peanut Butter (or other substitute)

1.Pre-slice the bananas and strawberries and put them into two separate bowls.
2.Give each child a slice of bread (toasted if you prefer).
3.Have each child spread the peanut butter over the toast.
4.For the owl eyes, stick two slices of banana at the top of the toast with one blueberry on each banana slice.
5.Use the sliced strawberries for wings by placing one strawberry slice on each side of the toast, toward the bottom.
6.For the nose, place a small strawberry slice underneath and between the eyes, in the center of the toast.
7. The cheerios can be used to decorate the remaining space on the toast.

Grape Caterpillars

You can prepare these cute critters ahead of time or let the kids make them.

What You Need:
Skewers (for young children, try coffee stirrers, mini straws, or popsicle sticks; we wouldn't want anyone poking their eyes!) 
Grapes
Strawberries (cherry tomatoes will work too!)
Googly Candy Eyes
Peanut Butter (or other substitute)
Black Icing Gel or Edible Black Food Marker (optional)
Parsley/Cilantro Stalks (optional)

1.Stick your strawberry onto one end of the skewer. Then string the grapes onto the skewer behind the strawberry.
2.Stick your candy eyes onto the strawberry using peanut butter or other substitute.
3.Use your icing gel or food marker to draw a smile if desired.
4.Your parsley/cilantro stalks will make perfect antennae! 

Ladybug BLT

What an easy way to spruce up a BLT or tomato sandwich!

What You Need:
Whole Grain Bread
Bacon (optional)
Lettuce
Tomato
Black Olives
Googly Candy Eyes
Parsley/Cilantro Stalks

1.Simply cut your tomato slice in half to make the wings.
2.Slice up one black olive to make the dots on the wings, and use a whole black olive for the ladybug's head.
3.Stick your candy eyes onto the olive using peanut butter or other substitute.
4.Your parsley/cilantro stalks will make perfect antennae!

**Tip: For any of these crafts, feel free to substitute other fruits/ingredients based on your children's needs and preferences. Substitute ingredients as needed to accommodate food allergies. Some good substitutes for peanut butter include sunflower seed butter, tahini butter, soynut butter, and almond butter.**

Remember that PureFUN! Supply is here to help with all your childcare supply needs! 
Any snack above would pair great with PureFUN! 100% Juice!  

Share with us ideas that you use to encourage healthy eating in your school!!