Food is more fun when you use your imagination 

A few years back as I was writing a recipe for a kid-friendly parfait, I was trying to come up with a catchy, imaginative name.  My son was in the room at the time and I said out loud, “What would you call a parfait made with yogurt, banana slices and granola?”

“Well duh, mom, that’s a yo-ban-ola,” he replied. Of course, if you add berries, you have… a yo-berr-ola!

And with that, my concept of “wacky snacks” was born, along with the realization that kids are much better than adults at making up wacky snacks.

Using their imagination comes quite naturally to kids. It should be encouraged because imagination leads to creativity, ideas and innovation. This is true of food as well. Instead of sticking with the boring tried and true, you can employ children’s imaginations to think up new, healthy food combinations and make it fun with silly, catchy names.

In addition to the fun factor, when foods sport clever names, kids are actually more likely to try them. For kids who are fans of the characters Lola and Charlie, they will love the food names in I Will Never, Not Ever Eat a Tomato. Lola won’t eat a tomato, but she will gobble down a moonsquirter and loves orange twiglets from Jupiter (carrots). 

How do you make a Wacky Snack?
Quite simply, a wacky snack is a simple healthy recipe that has a funny or unique name. My kids also coined the concept of a tortizza (tortilla pizza) as well as a burrato (potato topped with beans, salsa, and sharp cheddar).

Sprinkle a green salad with a few pine nuts and apple chunks and you have a Pine-Apple salad. Add cut pineapple chunks and you have a Pine-Apple-Pineapple salad. Make your sandwich egg-cel with chopped celery mixed into egg salad. You get the idea…

Now, it’s your turn.  Download my wacky snacks worksheet taken from Nutrition Fun with Brocc and Roll and and invent your own original snack recipes. Better yet, share your wacky snacks with others by posting your ideas and recipes in the comments section below.