Here is a neat way to combine a healthy snack with creative fun. All you need are rice cakes, a small can of evaporated milk, food coloring, a container, and a brush. Now I realize that most of you are not going to have evaporated milk or rice cakes in your house right now, but next time you are grocery shopping pop them in your cart. Trust me it is worth it to see your kids have this much fun with healthy food. Any age child can do this, since everything is edible.
I poured some evaporated milk into an ice cube tray. Evaporated milk is a little thicker and sweeter, so it works better than regular milk. I added a couple of drops of food coloring to each compartment. For my toddler, I just put a small amount into a cup. She only got one color. I handed out the rice cakes and clean paint brushes and told them to have fun.
My son experimented with the colors, then he started to paint on the rice cake. My daughter was so excited to be participating. This is the first time I have given her a paint brush and “paint” like this. I was amazed at how great she did! I am telling you guys, she thinks she is three.
The kids got so into decorating and painting, that I had to remind them it was food and they could eat it. I told them that this was our snack today. It was entertaining to watch them lick and test the paint. They weren’t too sure about the rice cakes, either. But soon all reservations passed and it was time to chow down.
I really had a great time watching my children explore their creativity and try a new snack. They are both in a phase right now in which they are not eating much, so this was a huge accomplishment! Try it.
What food did you finally give in and try out? Did you like it?
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