A Shaped Sandwich Makes a GREAT Kids Sandwich!
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How to Make a Shaped Sandwich for your Kids
Do you want to make something a little more inspiring for your kids' lunchboxes than limp, soggy sandwiches? Do you have trouble getting them to eat their sandwiches at all, no matter how yummy you try to make them? Or perhaps they love sandwiches already, but you simply want to have some fun!
Shaped food of any kind is always a hit with kids. While shaped pre-packaged food is not always that healthy, making your own shaped sandwiches is easy and you have full control over the content, so can make them as healthy as you want! All you need is a selection of cookie cutters or sandwich cutters.
The trend of Bento is also growing in popularity, where the food in a lunchbox is turned into a wonderful miniature scene, so if you're inspired to try this, a shaped sandwich is a great place to start. Shaped sandwiches are also ideal for children's parties and other events!
Contents at a Glance
How to Make your Shaped Sandwich
Use your cookie cutter to cut out the shape from two slices of bread. Do this before filling the sandwich, so there is no waste. Some cutters are made with two-in-one shapes, so you can cut both halves of the sandwich from one slice of bread.Butter the bread and add your filling!
You can also decorate the top of your sandwich - for example, use raisins for eyes, slither of carrot for a mouth and so on.
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons, author CraZeeCrafteeZ
Waste not want not - save the leftover bread and whizz it in a food mixer to make breadcrumbs. You can freeze batches if you're not going to use them right away. Or take them out and feed the ducks!
Ideas for Shaped Sandwich Themes
- General shapes - hearts, stars, flowers, squares, circles, ovals, hexagons, clouds
- Animals, birds and insects
- Princess shapes - crowns, tiaras, dress, Disney Princess cutters
- Fairy shapes - stars, wands, wings, butterflies, treasure chest
- Pirate shapes - skull, pirate ship, pirate hat, large coins, treasure chest, parrot, flag
- Party shapes - cake, cupcake, balloon, candle, present
- Movie and TV shapes - be creative here! If there are no cookie cutters available from the show or film, use shapes associated with it. For example, alien, planet or star for Doctor Who; apple, wolf or chess piece for the Twilight Saga; playing card, rose, heart, club, spade, diamond, cat for Alice in Wonderland
- Seasonal shapes - change the shapes in your child's lunchbox month by month! Strawberry for July, pumpkin for October, Christmas Tree for December, egg for March or April, snowman for January, sun for August and so on!
Heart Shaped Sandwich
The easiest place to start is with a simple shape. A heart shape is lovely for little girls! You could carry on the theme with a red filling, such as jam, and top with half a strawberry.Or go for a ham and tomato filling and top with half a tomato - the more heart-shaped the better!
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons, author Neverfeltbetter
Heart Shaped Kids Sandwich Cutter
SweetBytes Stainless Steel Crust/Sandwich Cutter- Heart Shape
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 06/03/2012)
Make your sandwiches sweet as pie with this double heart sandwich cutter!
Kids Sandwich Cutters - Shapes
Dinosaur Shaped Sandwich
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons, author Kilrothi
Dinosaurs are great for boys or girls, but especially helpful in getting boys to eat their sarnies! There is a great dinosaur sandwich cutter available as well as other tools, so you can theme a whole meal if you wanted with dinosaur cookies and chocolates as well as the healthy stuff!
Speaking of which, you have the perfect excuse to add in lots of extra salad, making up the "undergrowth" that the dinosaur lives in!
Dinosaur Kids Sandwich Cutter
DynoBytes Stainless Steel Crust/Sandwich Cutter- Dino Shape
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 06/03/2012)
Make your sandwiches a roaring success with this groovy dino sandwich cutter!
More Fun Dinosaur Food Ideas
Kids Sandwich Cutters - Animal Shapes
Character Shaped Sandwich
Have sandwich fun with your kids' favourite character from books, films and TV! Look for themed cookie cutters, such as Disney and other cartoons.This Winnie the Pooh sandwich would be great with yummy honey spread inside!
If you can't find an actual cookie cutter of your child's favourite, you could look for shaped cutters of objects that are relevant to the theme, such as a wand for a fairy or an alien shape for Ben 10.
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons, author Dale Lane
Mickey Mouse Cookie Cutter
Mickey Mouse Icon Cookie Cutter (Disney Exclusive)
Amazon Price: $5.50 (as of 06/03/2012)
Who doesn't love Disney? Serve up an iconic sandwich with this Mickey Mouse cookie cutter.
Find More Kids Sandwich Cutters
Shaped Sandwiches for a Kids Bento Lunch
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons, author Sakurako Kitsa
Bento is a boxed meal, that is art as well as a healthy meal. Originating in Japan, it consists of a healthy lunch in a box, made to resemble cute characters in a cute setting.
You can find out more about Kawai (cute) Bento here on Squidoo, at The Kawai Bento Club!
Make faces, characters, people, animals and anything else that grabs your imagination out of a sandwich, and build an entire lunchbox around them! For example, use fruit and vegetables as rocks, bushes and other landscape features to accompany an animal sandwich.
You can buy Bento boxes to put the lunch in, which have divided sections in which to put the different elements of your Bento meal.
Bento Recipes
Yum-Yum Bento Box: Fresh Recipes for Adorable Lunches
Amazon Price: $8.59 (as of 06/03/2012)
Oh, boy obento! These cute, yummy, healthy lunches are all the rage in Japan, where mothers think of them as an expression of love for their children. Yum-Yum Bento Box is one of the first cookbooks in English devoted to these healthy and adorable meals they're fresh, they're tasty, and they're almost too cute to eat!
Each step-by-step recipe in Yum-Yum Bento Box is simple and adaptable. Readers will learn how to form their favorite foods into a variety of shapes from zebras, panda bears, and monkeys to kitties, piggies, and puppy dogs. Chapters include instructions for classic bento boxes and character-driven bentos (called Kyaraben), plus shopping advice, general tips and tricks, and much more. Stop wasting money on prepackaged lunches and start making beautiful, healthy bentos!
Kids Bento Boxes
Toasted Shaped Sandwiches
Fun with Toast!
These grilled chocolate hazelnut heart sandwiches with strawberries look delicious. They don't just have to be for the kids - these would be perfect for Valentine's Day!
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons, author Dharmabumx
You can even buy special toasters that brown words, pictures or the face of a character onto your child's toast - imagine the fun you can have with these...!
Hello Kitty Toaster
Hello Kitty KT5211 2-Slice Wide slot toaster with cool Touch Exterior
Amazon Price: $26.95 (as of 06/03/2012)
If you think Hello Kitty is so cute that you just want to eat her up, go right ahead! This colorful 2-slot toaster browns Kitty's sweet face onto every slice of bread. The appliance features 7 shade settings and 4 toasting modes: bagel, defrost, reheat and cancel. Extra-wide slots let you warm thick slices, and a removable crumb tray makes cleanup easy. The decorative cool-touch exterior looks cheerful on your counter top, and has cord storage in the base. Imported. 8Hx7Wx11-1/2L".
More Fun Kids Toasters for Kids Sandwiches
Shaped Sandwich VS Normal Sandwich!
Are you into shaped sandwiches? Are they hot or not? Tell us why!
Shaped sandwich or normal sandwich?
Shaped sandwich - what fun!
keepingscore says:
Great lens!!!
WebWriteGirl says:
what a fun lens!
miaponzo says:
Shaped is way more fun!!!
?????? says:
Yes they are so much fun and give me a smile on my face!!
says:
Shaped sandwich is a great idea. If I try making a sandwich in shape of my 4 year old son's favorite cartoon may be he wont make as much fuss eating as he does.
tssfacts says:
Let's take the boring out of sandwiches.
Tipi says:
Let's get artistic!
IscahDesigns says:
You're right...the healthiest sandwich could be disguised as something fun for kids to eat!!! *shock* :D Great lens! Love it!
MissMerFaery says:
You secret is indeed safe with me Sylvestermouse, I secretly love them too!! :)
Sylvestermouse says:
Your right! My children always loved shaped sandwiches. Don't tell anyone else, but I like mine shaped too We can just keep that little secret between you and me, okay?
poutine says:
They are cute!
hlkljgk says:
any shape!
Normal sandwich, I'm not into playing with my food!
deshuna901 says:
how about a normal shaped sandwich, lol. is there such a thing??? Nah, I'll take the normal sandwich even though shaped sandwich seems like fun.
Othercat says:
For me, I like them normal so I can get more.
Pukeko says:
For me, normal will do, they are bigger :)
Do you fancy a Shaped Sandwich?
Hope you enjoyed this lens! Please leave a comment in this Guestbook before you go!
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mamabush
Feb 19, 2012 @ 1:42 am | delete
- My kids love when I do cute things to their sandwiches...fun ideas here! :)
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seoacrossworld
Aug 19, 2011 @ 4:17 am | delete
- very nice!
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miaponzo
Jun 14, 2011 @ 3:13 pm | delete
- I sure do.. and I'm HUNGRY too!!!
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Beautiful-Bridal
May 7, 2011 @ 6:41 am | delete
- Yes, I do fancy one or several now that I've seen how cute they are. My little granddaughter would loved a dinosaur shaped sandwich!
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sidther
Apr 4, 2011 @ 2:18 pm | delete
- Yes, they are yummy and fun! My son is encouraged to 'change' the shape so he takes a little nibble out here and there the whole way round, eventually he eats it- very special as he is so hard to feed!
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Momsbusy247
Apr 1, 2011 @ 11:23 am | delete
- Happy April Fools Day! This Fool is here to leave you a Special Yummy Angel Blessing!
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Mar 28, 2011 @ 3:18 am | delete
- This was a great idea for making our toddlers eat properly. Enjoyed reading this lens very much. Thanks for sharing.
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tssfacts
Mar 21, 2011 @ 11:22 am | delete
- What fun. Wish I had this when I was working with kids. I am sure they would really enjoy this. Hey, I think I would enjoy this myself.
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Tipi
Mar 8, 2011 @ 7:45 pm | delete
- I sure do fancy a shaped sandwich ad would love to have one right now. Children would look forward to lunch more than ever with these wonderful surprises in their lunches.
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happynutritionist Feb 14, 2011 @ 11:15 pm | delete
- Such fun! "Blessed" or "Cupid Kissed"...it's after midnight EST, but think I may still be a Cupid Squidoo time:-) Featured on Nutrition SquidAngel.
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Senora_M
Nov 19, 2010 @ 9:07 pm | delete
- Good thoughts! We have a dinosaur one, but my boys are too small to notice yet!! :)
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Ladymermaid
Oct 3, 2010 @ 5:49 pm | delete
- What an absolutely delightful article. Wonderful.
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adoptiondesigns
Sep 28, 2010 @ 11:55 pm | delete
- My kids love shaped sandwiches! I like to make them dinosaurs, hearts and clouds. Great back-to-school lunch box lens!
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Othercat
Sep 26, 2010 @ 8:34 pm | delete
- I should do this to my husbands sandwich when I pack his lunch for work. It would be cute.
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Fitzcharming Sep 26, 2010 @ 7:04 pm | delete
- These are darling. Your lens is squid angel blessed.
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DecoratingforEvents
Sep 24, 2010 @ 11:14 pm | delete
- Love 'em! Food dressed up is more fun.
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Pukeko
Sep 18, 2010 @ 7:49 am | delete
- Back to get some ideas for tomorrow's lunch!
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JDWheeler
Sep 18, 2010 @ 7:44 am | delete
- My little girl has just started pre-school and packing our lunch has become very important recently. She will love this new twist.
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JoyfulPamela
Sep 17, 2010 @ 4:58 pm | delete
- These are absolutely adorable! : )
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LensbyLisa
Sep 16, 2010 @ 9:49 pm | delete
- These are too cute to eat! My 4 and 6 year old would love them.
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About the Author of "A Shaped Sandwich Makes a Great Kids Sandwich"
More from MissMerFaery on Squidoo
She writes about everything from tasty recipes, craft tutorials, kids activities and UK travel guides, to topics such as spirituality, parenting, environmental issues, and writing. For easy browsing of all her articles by category, check out her full Lensography or visit her latest work via 10 Newest Lenses.
Here on Squidoo, MissMerFaery is a Giant Squid 100 and SquidAngel who has made the Squidoo Top Five, received 27 Purple Star awards, and won Lens of the Day four times, for Cooking with Herbs and Spices, Fall Soup for the Kitchen Witch, 101 Best Baked Potato Toppings, and Argo, Trusty Warrior Steed.
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P.S. This is a Rocketmoms lens
Kids Shaped Sandwich Index
by MissMerFaery
I love to have fun with food, and making a shaped sandwich is always GREAT fun!
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