Food,Art & DesignSEP 8, 2022

I Trick My Kids Into Eating Healthy Foods By Turning Them Into Their Favorite Characters (24 New Pics)

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My name is Laleh, I have a son Jacob and a daughter Charlie. Sometimes we like to turn our healthy meals into art pieces!

In May 2015, I turned my son's pancakes into a lion for a bit of fun and he loved it! Every few days he would ask if I could make him a character from a movie, book or toy that he had seen. Jacob and I would get creative in the kitchen and discuss the ingredients that we were using and the benefits. For example, when he was 3, we would talk about how kale was a superfood. He would ask why, and I would say 'because superheroes love eating it' - that was a winner for him!

I started posting our creations on my personal Facebook page and had such a positive response that I thought I would create an Instagram account to inspire other parents to get creative in the kitchen.

Within a month our page went viral and gained media attention from all over the world with media coverage from Time Magazine, Huffington Post, The Today Show USA, The Today Show Australia, Sunrise, ABC TV, Disney Channel Australia, and shoutouts from celebrities, such as Martha Stewart and Ashton Kutcher, to name a few. Ellen DeGeneres has even shared an artwork that I made of her on her show!

We would never in a million years have thought that our little kitchen creations would turn into a full-time business but we love every minute of it!

More info: Instagram | TikTok

#1 Spongebob From "Spongebob Squarepants"

Ravioli with mushrooms and cream sauce.

81points

All the meals are edible - some are made to be eaten, others commissioned and others as art pieces. They are made from scratch and dyed using only natural ingredients! We love to use fresh, healthy products and no refined sugar or preservatives.

#2 Jessie From "Toy Story"

Mashed potato, red lentil pasta, flatbread, eggs.

80points

#3 Monkey

Braised lamb shank with mash potato, tomato and broccoli.

70points

I started making these meals for a bit of fun, Jacob at the time was 2 years old and his excitement was priceless.

There isn’t really a difficult part to the process - the most enjoyable part is creating the piece as I zone out.

#4 Genie (Will Smith) From "Aladdin"

Mashed potato dyed using blue spirulina, black bean noodles, egg, yellow capsicum and wild rice.

67points

#5 Gloria From "Madagascar 3"

Poke Bowl (rice dyed using activated charcoal and tamari sauce).

63points

My kids love these meals - a lot of it is not content - they are so supportive of what I do. Charlie, my little girl, is my harshest critic - she will let me know if the character didn’t turn out right.

Each meal is different - if they are made for eating i.e. fruit/pasta they can take between 25-40 minutes to make. It’s all about time management - whilst the hot elements are cooking I make all the features and then plate everything.

The creations that are sculpted (mashed potatoes) aren’t made for eating. They can take anywhere between 1 hour to 6 hours!

#6 Patrick From "Spongebob Squarepants"

Wild Australian Salmon with couscous, spinach, corn, red capsicum and salmon skin shells.

63points

#7 Anger From "Inside Out"

Pasta with Napoli sauce.

57points

I don’t make these kinds of meals every day - just a few days a week.

During Covid, our creations brought so many smiles to people's faces during such a hard time. I would get so many messages so that our creations had made their or their children's day - and that’s what makes it all worth it!