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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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