Eyebombing food – Are inedible eyes okay?

Googly eyes on a sushi roll to look like a snail or caterpillar

Now I’ll be the first to raise my hand if you ask me if it’s okay to play with your food. Of course it is! Change it into silly shapes. Add smiley faces.  Make it look like other objects. Switch the ingredients around into something unexpected. Do whatever you feel like really.

At the same time, I’m a little torn on adding items to food that you can’t actually eat. Yes, it can make it look even more awesome and I’ve definitely done it my fair share of times when when I can’t find something appropriate to use that’s still edible.

It almost feels like cheating at times, though. And it sort of spoils it to have to deconstruct the dish before you can eat it by removing all the parts that are inedible. It’s like having to remove toothpicks from stuffed foods….but even less fun because you immediately kill whatever creation was on the plate and make it less quirky.

Then again, look at this one:

 Eyebombing - Adding eyes to an entire breakfast of milk, eggs, pancakes, syrup, butter, salt, and even little eyes on all of the cheerios cereal bowl

Am I really going to complain that I can’t eat the eyes? No way! It’s too cute!

But I’m definitely not going to bother with that bowl of cereal… ;)

P.S. – Candy eyes are sooo much better for this sort of thing, at least when it comes to sweet dishes. You can buy them at the store or make your own like cookplayexplore does.

Pizza pancakes – When sweet dishes go savory

Pizza pancakes with suasage, pepperoni, and mushrooms in the batter without sugar along with pizza sauce and parmesan on top instead of syrup

Pizza pancakes are pretty self-explanatory, but in case you’re not sure what you’re looking at…. those are Bisquick mixed with standard pizza toppings like pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms, fried until cooked like normal pancakes, and then topped with marinara/pizza sauce and cheese.

This may be a brand new concept for some people, but if you’ll remember, I’m already acquainted with adding meat to waffles when my sister makes them for our dog. He’s never complained before and considering he’s the pickiest animal I have ever met (and then some!), I know they must be good. :P

Waffles with ham and other savory ingredients instead of sugar. Great as homemade dog food.

As for the pizza ones, I’m a fan of using pizza toppings/flavorings in/on vehicles other than a pizza dough crust that takes at least an hour of rising time. I like quick and easy, ya know? So tortilla pizzas (like Hello Kitty, to boot), crockpot pizza, pizza biscuits, and even pizza zucchini appetizers are all fair game.

I’m not really feeling the pancakes specifically, though. I’m sure they taste great, but I kind of prefer the “set it and forget it” style for pizza alternatives, so standing over a griddle, making dozens of pancakes (as if I ever make just one, pfft), doesn’t exactly sound that enticing.

I do love one of the suggestions in the comments, though. One of her picky eaters used them as a lunchable style snack, microwaving them the next day with sauce and mozzarella in between. To think of them as quick snacks for any time is actually a great idea!

April Fools’ Dinner Ideas (Guest)

guest, holidays, kids, picky eaters | March 14, 2013 | By

(Today’s post is brought you by guest poster Barbara.)

There are few things quite as much fun as April Fools’ Day. Filled with practical jokes and hoaxes on every scale, it’s hard to imagine a year without this kind of fun. Interested in creating a bit of April Fools fun at your house? These dinner ideas can help.

Eat the Meal in Reverse

Sometimes the easiest concepts can make for a good April Fools’ trick, and this is certainly one of them. While you typically serve your meal followed by dessert, try to go in reverse instead. Eat your dessert, then the meal, then the appetizer. Your little ones are sure to think it’s the best day of the year.

Serve Faux Food

Easily one of the most popular April Fools’ Day meal ideas, there are many different ways to tackle this. There are also a variety of different recipes that fall into this category. If you want to stay on the easy side of things, go with premade stuff like “peas and carrots” candy. They’re small candies that are made to look like frozen peas and carrots might.
Want to take things to the next level? Get ready for some real fun. Make a “hamburger” for dinner. Simply make cookies into the shape of hamburger buns, complete with the sesame seeds, and then add a peppermint patty to the middle for the meat. You can even add food coloring to coconut to turn it green so you’ll have the lettuce to go with your burger. A bit of red icing can make the ketchup. Other similar ideas include a meatball sub with a pound cake bun and ice cream meatballs, a “cake” that includes pizza sauce, Italian sausage, and pepperoni topped with a biscuit mix to make it resemble cake, and even a pudding dessert that looks like dirt from your garden instead of dessert.
You could also go with a cake that looks like a pizza, pound cake coated in graham cracker crumbs to resemble chicken nuggets, taco salad made from ice cream, coconut, and maraschino cherries, or even berry sodas that are really jello, making them tough to suck through a straw. There’s quite a bit of fun to be had with these faux food ideas, and you’re likely to surprise anyone who sits down to your table.

Go With Whimsical Names

A great idea if you have little ones in the house, simply renaming a few of your own favorite dishes can be a perfect way to create a meal for this amusing day. For example, for breakfast, you could serve ostrich eggs, which are simply canned peach halves surrounded by whipped cream. For your beverage, you could serve dragon blood, which is really just fruit punch. Coming up with fun names or presentations for your food is the best way to serve your typical meal while still incorporating the holiday spirit into things.
No matter what you decide to serve this April Fools’ Day, it’s certain to be a memorable treat they’ll look back on fondly in the days to come.

Barbara Petersen is a writer with an interest in family, food and fun. See more of her work at the Holiday Gifts & Baskets Blog, put on by http://www.holiday-gifts-gift-baskets.com.