Tag Archives: snowman

31 Days of #RealSchoolFood: Tis’ the Season for Citrus

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The price of citrus fruits, like clementines and grapefruit, looks pretty good in the produce aisles these days. That’s because citrus season is really kicking in high gear, especially for mandarins and oranges. Sunkist® has a great Seasonality Calendar listing a wide variety of refreshing citrus options and their peak seasons.

Everyone can benefit from a little extra vitamin C and other citrus nutrients right now – since colds and flu are also in season. Need a super EASY, super REFRESHING smallish gift for friends or coworkers? RD colleague Sarah Chellberg shared this Orange Wreath idea with me last week and I love it. You could, of course, make this wreath from any fruit – alternating red and green apples would be quite festive too. All you need is some plastic wrap and ribbon!

Simple citrus wreath

Simple citrus wreath

Or how about a Rudolf Orange? All you need are some citrus fruits, edible markers (available at most hobby stores, and some bits and pieces of ribbon, pipe cleaners and other wrapping/craft leftovers. These are simple enough for children to make themselves!

Rudolf the Red-Nosed Orange

Rudolf the Red-Nosed Orange

This fun Snowman Fruit Snack is also simple enough for children to make. A variety of other fruits and veggies could be used to make the hat, face and scarf – just let your fruit-tastic imagination go wild!

Snowman Fruit Snack

Snowman Fruit Snack

Need more ideas? Visit the School Meals That Rock Christmas Food Fun Pinterest board!

31 Days of #RealSchoolFood: What Makes Fantastic #FoodArt?

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If you like fun food and spend any time on Pinterest or even Facebook (especially on school lunch bento box pages), you may have already over-dosed on holiday cuteness. I myself have blogged about #RealSchoolFood art here twice – using actual school photos on Days 7 and 18. So why talk about it again? Like with many Christmas things gone awry, I’d like to blame it in the Grinch – specifically THIS Grinch, shared recently by Chartwells K12 on their Facebook page.

Fruit and Veggie Grinch, Cadillac Area Public Schools, Michigan

Fruit and Veggie Grinch, Cadillac Area Public Schools, Michigan

After just a few hours, it is already one of School Meals That Rock’s most liked photos – and the question is WHY? What makes #FoodArt FANTASTIC? I’d like to suggest three factors – and I’d love to hear your thoughts as well. 

#1. Recognition: This is very clearly the Grinch – in color and expression. In the same way, there is no doubt that this creature from the #FoodArt celebrities in Provo School District (UT) is a snowman.

Mushroom Snowman, Dixon Middle School, Provo, Utah

Mushroom Snowman, Dixon Middle School, Provo, Utah

#2. Serendipity: The red pepper on the produce Grinch looks amazingly like the hat that Dr. Seuss originally drew for How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The mushrooms on the snowman really look like snow balls – while broccoli and cauliflower really make perfect  poodles (one of the School Meals That Rock previous record-breaking posts).

Cauliflower and Broccoli Poodles

Cauliflower and Broccoli Poodles

#3. Simplicity: Perhaps the most important attribute of FANTASTIC #FoodArt is that it is simple – it looks like some thing we could actually make with the implements we have available. The Grinch, snowman and poodles all look pretty easy – almost like why didn’t think of that? These Angry Birds are another example of made simple – real simple.

Pineapple-Watermelon Angry Birds

Pineapple-Watermelon Angry Birds

Want more ideas for simple, serendipitous, recognizable food art? Please check our School Meals That Rock on Pinterest – or scroll through the photos School Meals That Rock’s Facebook page. Our friends from Provo, Utah, are a great resource on Facebook and Pinterest – or just use your friendly search engine. Type is something like strawberry hearts and you will find thousands – if not millions – of ideas.