When looking for healthy alternatives to chips and dip or other prepackaged snacks full of artificial preservatives, many moms want to know serve a cheese plate for kids. Many kids seem to take better to finger foods and these calcium enriched small bites on a fun style platter will make it a sure fire treat that your children will devour to the last crumb. There's no rule that states that good afternoon snacks have to be boring!
Instructions
1. Get a larger serving platter. You can even buy colorful plastic ones for cheap at your local store that sells everything for one dollar but any larger one will do. To make it prettier, you can cover the bottom with colorful saran wrap to place the cheeses on when you're ready to put them on the platter.
2. Buy some of your kids favorite block cheeses. Throw in a few new ones that you'd like them to try as well. For an even funner homemade idea, see the resource section after this article for make your own at home for an afternoon snack!
3. Place a smaller bowl in the center of the serving platter. Fill it with cottage cheese or a cheese ball for dipping the other cheese into. (This makes it almost like a chip and dip platter!) See the resource section for make your own ball.
4. Use a little paring knife to slice the different cheeses. The smaller blade and handle will give you more control on how you cut the block up. Experiment with different shapes and sizes when trying to figure out serve a cheese plate for kids. You can just slice them off in rectangles or cut them all up in small cubes. To do this, just slice a thicker rectangle off the cube, then cut that into fourths. They don't have to be perfect, children just like different.
5. Put a colorful toothpick in each piece of cheese. Buy the toothpicks that have the plastic streamers hanging off the end. If you can't find those anywhere, get some food coloring drops and mix them in water like you would for Easter egg coloring. Leave the toothpicks in the homemade dye until the desired hues are reached. Place one in each individual slice for easy finger grabbing.
6. Scrunch up small pieces of the colored saran wrap. Put them on the large serving platter around the bowl of cottage cheese and place the individual bites of different cheeses on the wrap. You can create a pattern like setting them up in circles that start small in the center and get larger towards the rim or just scatter the different flavors randomly.
7. Slice up some apples to put them on the platter along side the cheeses. This is especially good with a sharp cheddar. You can also add crackers or any other finger foods that your children like for variety.
8. Present them in style. When trying to figure out serve a cheese plate for kids that they will truly enjoy for an afternoon snack, make it a mini-party. All you have to do is buy some colorful plastic cups that match the saran wrap to serve their drinks in and you have an instant treat. The bonus for you is the easy cleanup. All you have to do is wash the platter. Everything else can just be tossed!
Tags: cheese plate, cheese plate kids, plate kids, saran wrap, serve cheese