Sandwich Shapes – a Toddler Trick for meal time

It is amazing how a sandwich shaped like a star or a flower or a circle tastes so much better than when it is a normal sandwich shape! At least that is what my toddler tells me.   While I am blessed with a child who will pretty much eat anything we still have days when tiredness or boredom gets the better of her and I have a battle on my hands.  Sandwich shapes is a quick and easy way to transform a lunch or snack time staple into something special.  It makes a quick and easy party trick and can turn uneaten toast into something a lot more tempting.

 This trick is suitable for toddlers of all ages and works a treat with much older ‘kids’ as well.

What you need: (For one toddler sized lunch serving)

- 4 slices of white bread (or a light wholemeal) – sandwich or toast slice.  Works with two slices of toast as well!

- A sticky spread – honey, nutella, jam, vegemite, pate – or for parties butter with hundred- and-thousands.  Doesn’t work so well with meat or salad type fillings.

- Cookie cutters, play-dough cutters, different sized glasses and/or a knife for cutting squares and triangles.

What you do:

1. Make your sandwiches with the spread of your choice.  Pays to go close to the edges for extra stickability.

2. Press down on the sandwich with your hand so that it is well sealed together.

3. Now get your cutting shapes and get creative.  If you don’t have cookie cutters see if you can find a glass to makes some circles. You can also use a knife for cutting more regular shapes and for making little squares with the trimmings.

4. Display in a pattern on your plate or make your shapes into an object (trucks and houses are popular at our place).  It is all about making it look as visually appealing as possible.

5. For parties…follow the same steps above but with a single slice of bread topped with butter and hundreds-and-thousands or a similar party sprinkle.  These are popular with kids of all ages!

 Some notes:

- Crusts are optional – I leave them on when I can but I find it hard to capture crusts when  using a cutter.

- I would add in fruit, vege sticks and possibly some cheese cubes to make the plate a well-rounded meal.

- I can’t pretend that these creations would win any art prizes; but they go down a treat!

Egg Soldiers Or Dip Dip Eggs – a Toddler Trick for meal time

Egg Soldiers were a HUGE favourite in our household growing up! My sisters and I would regularly have them for breakfast and on the odd occasion for dinner. There’s something about dipping your soldiers into the gooey yellow yoke that makes this meal so much fun! To make it even more special mum used to draw faces on our eggs and these Dip Dip eggs as they are now known became legend! This is a great meal for those toddlers who are fussy eaters and need a bit of encouragement at meal time.

This toddler trick is perfect for toddlers that love eggs.

What you need:

• - 1 x egg
• - 1 x piece of toast, toasted, buttered and cut into thin slices.
• Permanent marker

How to make and eat:

1. Using a permanent marker draw a fun face on the egg while it’s sitting in the eggcup before cooking! You don’t have to be a great artist – your toddler will think you are wonderful even if you just draw on eyes, mouth and hair! Make sure you use permanent markers and be bold with the colour as it will fade in the pot.

2. Bring a pot of water to the boil, once boiling place your egg in carefully and cook for 3 minutes. If you have an old fashioned egg timer use it! Your toddler will find it a lot of fun watching the sand run through from one side to the other! (If your eggs are from the fridge, place them in cold water and bring to a rolling boil and start timing once boiling for 3 minutes.)

3. When the egg comes out of the pot it will be pretty hot so just be aware of the temperature of the yolk and the egg itself so you or your toddler don’t get burnt.

4. Toast soldiers make wonderful dip-dips; spreading with marmite is optional. Hot, oven fried chips are also great dip-dips for dinner time eggs.

6. Cutting the egg can be done with the Humpty Dumpty song “Humpty dumpty sat on the wall, humpty dumpty had a great fall – now all the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again”.

7. If your toddler hasn’t had a egg solider before show them how to eat it by dipping a toast soldier into the gooey yokey centre then giving it to your toddler to eat! They should get the hang of it pretty quickly!

8. Once the dipping is finished pop in a little knob of butter and spoon out the rest of the egg from the shell and place it into the egg cup for your toddler to finish off eating with a spoon.

9. Dip Dip eggs are perfect for breakfast, lunch and speedy dinners!