Active Kids Playground Lunch

Disclosure: Excited about working with Whirlpool on the #ItsAllCare campaign. I received compensation but all opinions expressed are my own. Check out more great content at Every day, care™.

The really great thing about Spring is that you get to be outside and get active with your kids. You can go to the park, or a playground, and work off tons of energy. By the way, I am one of those dads who plays on the cool playground equipment with my kids. The other day I chaperoned a school field trip for my daughter's class and there was a slide the size of Everest there. It was just asking to have me slide down. So, of course, I had to test it out. 

There are plenty of ways to show your kids that you care and playing outside with them can be one of those ways. You can couple that with a fun idea like making today's lunch-it is playground themed, but making a lunch is also much more than that. It is doing the unique and playful things to let your kids know that you care about them. What are some other ways that you show your family that you care for them? Maybe it's by making food like this, or cleaning, or washing your spouse's pants for their big meeting at work. That’s why I think it’s great Whirlpool launched the #ItsAllCare social program. This program is asking people to share the fun and interesting ways they care for those around them. Go to whirlpool.com to find out more and share how you care on social media using #ItsAllCare!

Ingredients

Whole wheat bread
White cheese
Sliced meat for sandwich
Strawberry
Dried mango
Mandarin orange
Grape tomato
Fresh spinach
Snap peas
Prune
Large pretzel sticks
Regular size pretzel sticks
Peanut butter (or nut-free spread)
Nori (dried seaweed snack)
Character shaped crackers

Directions

1. Cut two bread slices into square. Place meat and cheese on top of one piece. Cut smaller square from the middle of other bread slice and put on top of cheese, meat, and other slice to make a sandwich.

2. In main dish arrange spinach. Place two large pretzel sticks in bottom right corner as shown. Put sandwich on top of pretzel sticks. Stick dried mango on the side of sandwich so it angles down toward the ground. This is the playground slide. Place grape tomato (playground ball) next to pretzel stick and strawberry on top of sandwich.

3. Make shallow cuts in orange peel to make the shape of the sun. Gently push the sun's orange peel rays up. Use marker to make a smiley face in the middle. Place sun in the top corner of main dish.

4. In side dish, arrange snap peas as a background. "Glue" large pretzel sticks together with peanut butter. Place pretzel swing set on top of the snap peas. Stick two regular size pretzel sticks into top of prune as shown. Put in place as the "swing" part of the swing set. 

5. Cut desired hopscotch pieces from slice of cheese. In side dish place Nori first, then arrange the cheese hopscotch pieces on top.

6. Finish lunch by placing character shaped crackers where desired. Some great ideas for placement are on the swing, inside the play structure, or using the hopscotch course!