When my oldest started was going to head off to school, I started to wrap my head around the whole lunch idea and what I would serve, what would he eat, etc. I perused some parenting magazines for back-to-school lunch ideas and some ideas were great and other ideas were, well, NOT! I mean seriously, who would pack their kids a shish kabob skewered tomato basil salad with mozzarella? First off all, do kids really eat that and do you really want to send your kid to school with what could be potentially be a weapon!?
I can't remember where I got this idea or if by some miracle my brain was creative to come up with it on my own, but I thought that cutting my kids cheese into fun shapes would be a great idea. So how does one do that? Easy! All you need is cheese, a cheese slicer (or be really good at cutting thin slices of cheese) and some cookie cutters. It is a pretty self explanatory tutorial but here are the steps to make it clear. I only do one type of cheese and one shape but for the blog, I will show some extra ideas.
1) I went to one of my local stores that sell cookie cutters and I looked at some fun shapes to use. They were inexpensive and there were lots to choose from. Here are some of the ones I use.
2) Get your desired flavour of cheese, cookie cutters, cutting board and cheese slicer.
3) Next slice your cheese with the cheese slicer. My cheese slicer has two thicknesses to choose from but I usually choose the thicker option.
4) Next use your cookie cutters to cut out shapes!
5) And lastly, put in your child's lunch!
Honestly, it does take more time and effort to do this, by just a few minutes, but I love when my son asks, "Mommy, can I have some high-five cheese in my lunch tomorrow?" It is a little fun thing and something for them to look forward to in their lunch. Or better yet, make it a surprise!
Joanna
