food review

Bento-inspired fruit plate

How are you coping with half term? I’m pretty pleased we’ve reached the half way point 🙂 I love my 3 year old but he talks non-stop from the second he sneaks into bed with me in the morning until his bedtime. Those few hours he spends at nursery each day are a very welcome break but that’s not to say the break from the normal routine isn’t welcome.

We’ve been pretty busy with a trip into the West End, story time at the library and lots of baking and crafts at home. I thought the children needed a boost of vitamins so created a yummy looking Bento-inspired fruit plate for them and thought I’d share it with you. Little Sis adores Hello Kitty so I wanted to use the Hello Kitty food picks and food cutters I recently bought.

viva strawberries

Both my children adore fruit. Just yesterday Big Brother pointed to a tub of blueberries at the supermarket and told me he liked them. Little did he know what I had in store for him when we got home 🙂

bento fruit

For their fruit plate first of all I peeled and sliced a mango and cut shapes from it with my Hello Kitty cutter. I added pieces of orange and grapes and also finely sliced some yummy strawberries, keeping them in place with the cute Hello Kitty food picks.

bento-inspired fruit

I was pretty pleased with the results as the food looked visually appealing but I knew was healthy and packed full of flavours too. I quite enjoyed trying something different so I’ve started a new Bento Pinterest board for inspiration! Have you been inspired to make food fun?

bento fruit plate

Fortunately my children agreed and were delighted with their fruit. I used Viva strawberries which are a British bred variety of strawberry grown in the Huelva region of southern Spain and northern Morocco. They are sweet, juicy and full of flavour – very similar to a British strawberry, but are perfectly ripe from February to April, so there’s no need to wait until summer!

Disclosure – we were provided with a half term SOS pack, full of activities and treats to enjoy throughout the week as well as the delicious fruit mentioned above.

35 Comments

  • Reply
    Emily @amummytoo
    February 20, 2014 at 7:49 am

    They look such fun and really appetising. My daughter isn’t keen on many fruits – luckily she likes apples and bananas – so I will give this a go.

  • Reply
    mellissa williams
    February 20, 2014 at 8:15 am

    This looks so delicious and colourful! How could children not eat their fruit up with this idea.
    The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover

  • Reply
    Mummy of Two
    February 20, 2014 at 8:42 am

    I really like the idea of the Bento boxes and keep meaning to give it a go. I love what you have done with the fruit it looks very bright and appealing.

  • Reply
    Mums do travel
    February 20, 2014 at 9:24 am

    What a great way to get your kids to eat fruit!

  • Reply
    VaiChin @Rambling Through Parenthood
    February 20, 2014 at 9:52 am

    That looks like such good fun. Have seen Bento before, but never tried it myself. Must give it a go soon.

  • Reply
    VaiChin @Rambling Through Parenthood
    February 20, 2014 at 9:53 am

    That looks like a lot of fun. Need to try my hand at Bento soon.

  • Reply
    Sylvia @ Happiness is homemade
    February 20, 2014 at 10:41 am

    This is super cute! I should start doing this for my OH. I wonder how he reacts on lunch with sweet ribbons and heart shape fruits 😀

  • Reply
    Angela Spicer
    February 20, 2014 at 10:42 am

    I’d love to eat a plate of fruit like this. Yummy

  • Reply
    Clare Mansell
    February 20, 2014 at 2:36 pm

    I love the Hello Kitty cutter, I wish someone would prepare my mango like that!

  • Reply
    Jen aka The Mad House
    February 20, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    Oh I wish I had the time or the energy to make food look this pretty!

  • Reply
    Charly Dove
    February 20, 2014 at 5:26 pm

    They look like such good fun, my 3 year old would love them! Fabulous selection of fruit, you’re making me crave it!

  • Reply
    You Baby Me Mummy
    February 20, 2014 at 5:40 pm

    I had never heard of Bento, until a few weeks ago but it’s fab! Your food looks lovely x

  • Reply
    Michelle
    February 20, 2014 at 5:44 pm

    Ooh, I love the Hello Kitty cutters – they’re super cute! I do love kiddie’s bentos, it would be wasted on my 15 year old though lol!

  • Reply
    Jo Bryan
    February 20, 2014 at 6:24 pm

    I would happily eat those, great ideas with the cutters for more exotic fruits that children may not otherwise try!

  • Reply
    Priya Tew
    February 20, 2014 at 7:24 pm

    I love this! A brilliant way to encourage kids to eat more fruit. I know just peeling and slicing fruit can lead to them eating more, so fun shapes should make it even better!

  • Reply
    laura redburn
    February 20, 2014 at 7:29 pm

    this is so cute! i may have to try doing it one day for myself.

  • Reply
    Shell Louise
    February 20, 2014 at 8:01 pm

    Love the cutters and food picks. My girls love making fruit salad, I reckon they’d love to try this 🙂

  • Reply
    Kate Thompson
    February 20, 2014 at 8:14 pm

    Love it 🙂 You must tell me WHERE you got those Hello Kitty cutters from – my daughter is called Kitty and loves Hello Kitty!

  • Reply
    Kate Williams
    February 20, 2014 at 8:37 pm

    Just pinned this 🙂 wish someone would make Hello Kitty snacks for me!!

  • Reply
    Ninjacat
    February 20, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    I want mu Mango cut like that please.

  • Reply
    Gude @HodgePodgeCraft
    February 20, 2014 at 8:58 pm

    I love the Hello Kitty fruit shapes! My boys like dinosaur and train shaped sandwiches 🙂

  • Reply
    Emys Mummy
    February 20, 2014 at 9:01 pm

    I really must try this with my kids – it looks fab

  • Reply
    Kirsty
    February 20, 2014 at 9:07 pm

    If your two are anything like my one they won’t eat fruit unless there is some novelty hook! Put a strawberry or a blueberry in front of him and he turns up his nose but if I skewer them on a kebab stick he is instantly interested! The fruit food picks look like a safer alternative! If you are interested in bento have you seen the Meet the Dubiens blog?

  • Reply
    Healthier Mummy
    February 20, 2014 at 9:48 pm

    These look amazing, and I absolutely love the Hello Kitty cutters. My toddler has gone off all fruit except bananas and grapes, but maybe he’d be more interested if I tried some fun shapes.

  • Reply
    Charlotte
    February 20, 2014 at 10:58 pm

    These look great, so fresh and tasty x

  • Reply
    Annie from UK Parenting
    February 20, 2014 at 11:23 pm

    I love this idea and perfect timing as we were sat down earlier this evening planning all sorts of fruity treats for the kids lunch boxes when they head back to school next week!

  • Reply
    Kara
    February 21, 2014 at 7:44 am

    I love this idea – Eliza will only eat sandwiches cut with our butterfly cutter – where did you find Hello Kitty?

  • Reply
    Cass@frugalfamily
    February 21, 2014 at 8:33 am

    I always used to do things like this to get my two to eat unfamiliar food – its the best way to get them to try new things x x

  • Reply
    Keri-Anne
    February 21, 2014 at 9:30 pm

    Such a great idea for the little ones. My two daughters talk non stop too!!!!!!

  • Reply
    Lori
    February 21, 2014 at 9:39 pm

    What a great idea, I need to try and get F to eat more fruit. i think I’ll use the cutter idea to try and encourage him to eat more of it x

  • Reply
    Jo Middleton
    February 22, 2014 at 3:39 pm

    that looks adorable and also delicious!

  • Reply
    Capture by Lucy
    March 14, 2014 at 1:16 pm

    Oh wow – haven’t seen some of those picks before! Super cute thank you for linking up to #BentoBabies! xx

    • Reply
      jenny
      March 14, 2014 at 1:43 pm

      Thanks for your comment. My daughter adores Hello Kitty so these were perfect for her. I need to find some for my son now 🙂

  • Reply
    TheBoyandMe
    March 18, 2014 at 10:25 am

    The Boy is very restrictive on what he will and won’t eat fruitwise, he doesn’t like overly slimy fruit which makes things like melon and mango very difficult! Love the way you’ve displayed this.

    Popping over from the #Bentobabies linky.

  • Reply
    Grace @ Eats Amazing
    March 23, 2014 at 9:40 am

    I love this, it looks delicious! Now I need Hello Kitty food picks to add to my collection, we do love our food picks!

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