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This morning, I made a preschooler very happy with his breakfast. I didn’t start out with grand intentions in mind. I was just throwing together a quick French toast using some leftover Italian bread, along with some turkey bacon. But I had a stroke of genius when I was putting everything together on the plate.
We have these kiddie plates that are divided into three sections, one large area in the middle and two smaller ones off to the sides. The finished oval shaped French toast went in the center, and I put the two rolled up pieces of bacon on either side. I glanced down at the plate and in that moment it struck me, it looks just like our dog, Sadie!
Maybe I was suffering from lack of sleep or we’ve just been cooped up in the house too long. But we proceeded to decorate our doggie plate with raisin eyes, banana nose, a red apple slice mouth, and powdered sugar fur. And I have to tell you, it was just about the cutest thing ever (I am a little biased) to see my son staring at the plate in admiration of our handiwork. And he went on to eat every bite of it.
The lesson in this is never to underestimate the power of creativity when preparing food for young children. Young kids love to use their imagination and truly appreciate fantastical food. Now some may say that you shouldn’t go through all these tricks to make kids eat good food. But if you make food fun for them, they may be more open to trying some new things and enjoying food that is good for them.
Another easy breakfast trick I keep in my repertoire is smiley face toast. Spread freshly toasted bread with nut or sun butter and then add a jelly eyes, nose and mouth. You could also embellish your faces with raisins, dried cranberries, apple wedges, and other healthy treats. It’s a simple breakfast that starts the day on a happy note.
For lunchtime, try cutting sandwiches into fun shapes. Somehow, PB & J or ham & cheese just taste better when they look like pirate ships, flowers, stars, or animals. With these tricks you can go along with your child’s favorite character, animal, or seasonal theme. I had a lot of success getting my son, who is not always into sandwiches, to eat his lunch with this trick when I sent him off to camp this summer.
To make an easy sailboat you don’t need special cookie cutters. First cut the rounded end of a sandwich (approximately one inch wide) to make the boat. Then slice the remaining rectangle into two triangles and flip them out to make the sail, placed atop the boat. Surround with a sea of your favorite fishy crackers.
For even more fun you can make lunch three dimensional with boats made out of hollowed out rolls, cucumbers, bell peppers, or plum tomatoes. Just fill with your favorite chicken or tuna salad and top with a cucumber or pickle mast, and a sail made of a triangle of cheese.
You can continue the under-the-sea theme with an octopus hot dog. Cut a few slices lengthwise in a hot dog or turkey dog, leaving about two inches at the top. Poke two eyes in the top with a toothpick and boil the hot dogs so the legs curl up.
Let me know if you have any tricks to make fun foods for your young children!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1175-fun-food-shapes/
It's a Bird. It's a Plane. It's Super Food!
This morning, I made a preschooler very happy with his breakfast. I didn’t start out with grand intentions in mind. I was just throwing together a quick French toast using some leftover Italian bread, along with some turkey bacon. But I had a stroke of genius when I was putting everything together on the plate.
We have these kiddie plates that are divided into three sections, one large area in the middle and two smaller ones off to the sides. The finished oval shaped French toast went in the center, and I put the two rolled up pieces of bacon on either side. I glanced down at the plate and in that moment it struck me, it looks just like our dog, Sadie!
Maybe I was suffering from lack of sleep or we’ve just been cooped up in the house too long. But we proceeded to decorate our doggie plate with raisin eyes, banana nose, a red apple slice mouth, and powdered sugar fur. And I have to tell you, it was just about the cutest thing ever (I am a little biased) to see my son staring at the plate in admiration of our handiwork. And he went on to eat every bite of it.
The lesson in this is never to underestimate the power of creativity when preparing food for young children. Young kids love to use their imagination and truly appreciate fantastical food. Now some may say that you shouldn’t go through all these tricks to make kids eat good food. But if you make food fun for them, they may be more open to trying some new things and enjoying food that is good for them.
Another easy breakfast trick I keep in my repertoire is smiley face toast. Spread freshly toasted bread with nut or sun butter and then add a jelly eyes, nose and mouth. You could also embellish your faces with raisins, dried cranberries, apple wedges, and other healthy treats. It’s a simple breakfast that starts the day on a happy note.
For lunchtime, try cutting sandwiches into fun shapes. Somehow, PB & J or ham & cheese just taste better when they look like pirate ships, flowers, stars, or animals. With these tricks you can go along with your child’s favorite character, animal, or seasonal theme. I had a lot of success getting my son, who is not always into sandwiches, to eat his lunch with this trick when I sent him off to camp this summer.
To make an easy sailboat you don’t need special cookie cutters. First cut the rounded end of a sandwich (approximately one inch wide) to make the boat. Then slice the remaining rectangle into two triangles and flip them out to make the sail, placed atop the boat. Surround with a sea of your favorite fishy crackers.
For even more fun you can make lunch three dimensional with boats made out of hollowed out rolls, cucumbers, bell peppers, or plum tomatoes. Just fill with your favorite chicken or tuna salad and top with a cucumber or pickle mast, and a sail made of a triangle of cheese.
You can continue the under-the-sea theme with an octopus hot dog. Cut a few slices lengthwise in a hot dog or turkey dog, leaving about two inches at the top. Poke two eyes in the top with a toothpick and boil the hot dogs so the legs curl up.
Let me know if you have any tricks to make fun foods for your young children!
French Toast Dogs
Made with apple, banana, eggs, milk, cinnamon, butter or oil, Italian or French bread, bacon, powdered sugar, raisins
Made with apple, banana, eggs, milk, cinnamon, butter or oil, Italian or French bread, bacon, powdered sugar, raisins
Serves/Makes: 4
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter or oil, for pan
- 8 slices Italian or French bread
- 8 slices cooked bacon
- powdered sugar
- 8 raisins
- 1/2 banana, sliced
- 4 thin apple slices, unpeeled
Crack the eggs into a bowl, add milk and cinnamon, and scramble with a fork. Soak the bread in the egg mixture, turning once. They should be saturated but not falling apart.
Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Brown the bread in the skillet, turning once, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side until cooked.
Place one piece of French toast on plate lengthwise (cut the bread into thirds if you wish but retaining round shape). Add raisin eyes, banana nose, and apple mouth. Roll bacon and place on either side as ears.
Decorate with powdered sugar and serve.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1175-fun-food-shapes/