Kid-Friendly Tomato and Tuna Sailboats

 

A guest post from Michelle:

Ahoy! Here is a nutritious, snacky lunch that kids will eat without complaints, especially if they like tuna fish. My kids love tuna fish! This creative lunch would be fun for a special, nautical-themed picnic where sailboat toys, rubber duckies and any number of fish toys would be most welcomed.

Ingredients:
Tomato, halved
2 cans of tuna fish
Celery, diced
Onion, diced (optional)
Cheddar cheese slices
Goldfish crackers
Dab of cream cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. The sailboat consists of a hollowed out tomato. I used almost an entire tomato because my kids love tomatoes! Green peppers, red peppers, yellow peppers or cucumbers could also be used for the vessel. The boat is filled with tuna salad. (I used two cans of drained tuna, one tablespoon of mayonnaise, and one diced celery after my kids banned the onion.)

2. The mast of the sailboat is made from a carrot stick. We LOVE using the organic rainbow carrots from our produce box! How fun are purple carrots?? Your mast could be one of many possible carrot colors! The mast is pushed deep into the tuna salad.

3. The sail of the sailboat is created from cheese. We used cheddar cheese. since a swiss-cheese sail might be asking for sailing trouble! To adhere the sail to the mast, use a sticky substance such as cream cheese. Other possible sails could be designed with a lettuce leaf or a slice of mango or pear.

Finally, the table can be prepared to look like Lake Michigan! I used blue wrapping paper with scattered Goldfish crackers. We also welcomed my son’s special police boat to the meal. Soon, the edible boats were devoured and creative commentaries were heard about the perils of vegetable-sailing on Lake Michigan. “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” spouted from the mouths of these young sailors before they caught all the remaining fish. Fun, nutritious and enjoyable!

originally posted on brewersorganics.com