YOGURT JAM POPS

• 2- 8oz containers plain yogurt
• 6 Tbs. jam or preserves, in the flavor of your choice.

LEMON TUPSICLES

• 1 package lemon Instant pudding
• 2+1/2 cups water

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY PIZZA Use a Ready to bake pizza crust, and peanut butter and jelly. Cook the pizza crust according to package instructions. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Have the children spread peanut butter and jelly over the crust. Cut into pizza slices. Listen to the laughter as the children eat!

FRUIT KABOBS

Use the children's favorite fruits and rounded tooth picks. Wash your hands. Have the children help you clean the fruit and then cut what they safely can. Put several pieces of fruit on each toothpick. Set all the kabobs on a plate. Enjoy!

MONKEY SANDWICHES Spread cream cheese on the hot dog buns. Peel the bananas. Cut them so they fit into the buns. Cut each sandwich in half.

MONKEY BUTTER

Mash 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1 large or 2 small very ripe bananas with a fork. Add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of coconut and 1 handful of raisins. Mash until completely mixed. Spread on bread!

HEART SHAPED MINI PIZZA'S

Buy pre-made pizza dough or make home made pizza dough. Roll the dough out and use heart shaped cookie cutters to make hearts out ot the pizza dough. Top the mini pizza's with sauce and cheese. Bake according to the instructions on the dough can or your home made recipe.enjoy!

RAISIN CAKES

Spread cream cheese on rice cakes. Use raisins to make letters on the rice cakes. Name the letter on the cake & enjoy!

APPLESAUCE SUPRISES

Use four graham crackers for one serving. Spread three crackers with applesauce and stack one on top of the other. Top with the fourth cracker and spread applesauce over the top and edges. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

CHEESE ROUNDS Soften cream cheese with a little milk: form into balls. Roll in chopped nuts, etc. Enjoy with crackers.

LINCOLN LOG SANDWICHES

Use a rolling pin to flatten slices of whole wheat bread. Spread on peanut butter and roll up bread to create a log. Slice into pieces.

CHEESY WEINER WHEELS

Spread small amount of tomato paste on Ritz cracker. Cut a slice of cheese into 1/4's. Place cheese on cracier. Cut weiner. Place weiner slice on cheese. Place in 350 degree oven. Bake until cheese melts.

BANANA & APPLE PUDDING

Mash and blend 8 cups of applesauce, 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 16 bananas, chopped up small, together and serve in cup or bowl.Sprinkle with nuts or your favorite topping.

PUZZLE SHAPED SANDWICHES Spread soft cream cheese on slices of whole wheat bread. Let each child place a cookie cutter on top of their bread (any shape) and press down. When the cookie cutter is removed, a shape will appear in the middle of the sandwich. (This can be done with any kind of sandwich & any shape cookie cutter.

FRUITY ICE

2 peeled oranges, 2 peeled bananas, 2 cups apple sauce, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 cups crushed ice. Mix ingredients in blender, adding ice slowly. Yield 4 servings or 8 preschool-sized servings.

ORANGE YOGURT SHAKE

- 1 Cup orange juice, 1/2 Cup plain yogurt, 1/2 banana--chopped, 2 ice cubes. Put all ingredients into a blender and liquify.

TOAST CUPS

- Flaltten the slice of bread with a rollng pin or your hands and spread both sided with softened butter. Press each slice into a muffin tin section to form a cup shape. Toast in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until cups are crisp and brown. Fill with jam, peanut butter & pop back into oven for a minute or two. (Actually you could fill the taost cups with what ever you wish: tuna, egg salad, cottage cheese & fruit/veggies, etc. Skip the the second time in the oven.)

Happy Face Sandwiches

Ingredients: Bread, Peanut butter, Raisins, Chocolate chips, Alfalfa or bean sprouts Shredded carrot, Other small food items

Spread peanut butter on one side of bread - openfaced. Have child make eyes, nose, mouth and hair from other items provided. Encourage kids to be creative and eat what they create.

Variation: Use cheese spread & veggies for facial features, on an English muffin, for a pumpkin face!

Anna Banana Snack

Ingredients: bananas, graham crackers, whipped cream

Have the children cut up the banana's in bite size pieces with plastic knives. Place cut up bananas on graham crackers. Add a glob of whipped cream. Place another graham cracker on top and have child squish down. Messy yummy fun!

Cheerio Bars:

1/2 cup Peanut Butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup honey, 3 cups cheerios

Bring sugar and honey to a boil in 2 qt saucepan. Remove from heat, stir in peanut butter until blended. Pour in cheerios and mix until well coated. Spread in buttered 9x13 pan and let cool. Cut in squares.

Peanut Butter Caterpillars:

Banana, 2 tbsp peanut butter, grape Peel and slice a banana.

Spread slices with peanut butter and connect the slices. Add a grape up front for the head ("gluing" with more peanut butter). If desired, make this a game with the child - what veggie can we add to make antenas? etc. (maybe a strip of celery).

Frozen Fruit Treat:

• 1 3/4 cups strawberries
• 1 large can crushed pineapple
• 5 bananas (cut in cubes)
• 12 oz frozen orange juice - concentrate
• 1 1/2 cups water

SUNSHINE SALAD

Mix: 1/2 carton plain yogurt with 1 teaspoon honey Put 1 slice pineapple in each dish Put 1 Tablespoon yogurt mixture in the middle. Eat the sunshine!

Watermelon "Zipper sippers" Watermelon, Ziplock Bags, Dull knife, Straws

Give each child a slice of melon. Melon should be cut with a dull knife or side of fork into small cubes. Remove the seeds, and place the melon chunks into the bag. Place a straw into the corner of the bag, and close the zipper around the straw. The child then squishes the melon, making juice. Drink! Afterwards, the pulpy leftover can be eaten with a spoon.

Golden Egg Baskets

1 pkg. refrigerated biscuit dough, 1 egg for each serving, Cheese, grated (your choice)

Place refrigerator dough biscuit in a muffin tin, pressing it into the sides and bottom to make a well. Pour 1 egg into each basket. When all the baskets have been completed, bake for 10 - 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve when cheese has melted. Each basket is 1 serving. Counts as 1 meat and 1 bread.

Vegetable Bouquets-

- Cauliflower, Broccoli, Carrots Cut broccoli and cauliflower into flowerets. Cut carrots into strips. Arrange in pretty cup for bouquet. Serve with a dip for vegetables of your choice.

HOT DOG KABABS ON A STICK

paper plates, napkins, 1 pkg hot dogs, 2 green peppers (cut up), cherry tomatoes

Place 2 pieces of green pepper, 2 cherry tomatoes, and 2 hot dog pieces on each child's polate. Show the children how to thread the ingredients on skewers. Bake the kababs at 350 for 15 min.

BUNNY SALAD

For each child: lettuce leaf, canned pear half, orange, grated carrots, raisins, nuts, marashcino cherries Put a leaf of lettuce down on a plate. Put one canned pear half with the cut side down on top of the lettuce leaf. Add secions of an oragne to represent the ears. Decorate the bunny face by adding grated carrots, raisins, nuts, or marashino cherries to make eyes, nose, mouth, and whiskers.

HUMPTY DUMPTY PEAR SALAD

For each child: 1 lettuce leaf, 1 canned pear half, 1 lifesaver, 2 cherries, 1 raisin

Put the lettuce leaf down on a plate. Put the pear half with the cut side down on the lettuce. Use the cherries for eyes, raisin for nose, and the lifesaver for a mouth.

CHEESE HAMMERS

cheese chuncks, pretzel sticks

Cut cheese into small squares. Poke a pretzel into each cheese chunk.

CRANBERRY FREEZE

16oz can (2 cups) whole cranberry sauce, 8 oz can (1 cup) crushed pinapple (drained), 1 c sour cream or yogurt

In a med bowl, combine all ingred. and mix well. Pour the mixture into an 8x8 pan or an ice cube tray. Freeze 2 hours or until firm. To serve cut into square or pop out of the ice cube tray.

Celery Boats

Put peanut butter in celery and place raisins in it. The raisins are the people, the celery is the boat. (2 1/2 + can make them by themselves.)

Butterflies

Put peanut butter in celery. 2 Large pretzels in the Peanut Butter make wings.

Flowers

Peanut butter or a veggie dip in the middle of a colored plate. Place veggies around it, like the petals on a flower, or like a sun.

Croissants

Buy the premade Pillsbury croissants. Show toddler how to roll one. They can do the other 11. When it comes out of the oven, let them hold a stick of margarine and melt the butter on the rolls. Anything served with dip tastes better. Our broccoli trees are always served with Mayonnaise Snow.

Cutting

Around 2 toddlers can start cutting cheese and bread with a butter knife. Demonstrate how to make small squares, and put in a bowl. They will imitate! (And Eat!)

Around 3 1/2, they can cut their own bananas. Dot a few lines around the banana with permanent markers to make good finger sized pieces. Show them how to cut the banana, and pop the piece out. For extra picky kids, let them add a toothpick!

Also, if you have an orange juicer, you can dot a line around the middle of an orange. They can cut it, and juice both halves. For a house of two, they are making lunchtime juice for each of you! Around 4, kids can peel and cut their own carrots. At five, they can cut an apple! (Of course, cutting work is even more work for the adult, who needs to remain constantly present and tuned in. But the kids are so excited by what they did all by themselves!)

Pinwheels

Give child one slice bread. Show how to roll flat with a rolling pin. Put mayo, cheese, and meat on bread. Roll. Cut into about 5 slices. Makes a beautiful colored pinwheel (or circle, I guess.)

Grilled Cheese

If you have a toaster oven, you can use two slices of bread and a slice of cheese and let kids make their own grilled cheese.

Quesidillas

Kids can make tortillas themselves with the microwave. (there is something about pushing all those buttons that kids like. Setting this up so it is an assembly line is easiest, with tortillas at one end, grated cheese with a small scooper (and tell them how many scoops), and whatever else you wish in the tortilla. We've put everything from beans to ground beef to tomatoes in ours.