I know we have all heard it, don’t play with your food. But when it comes to fruit, I vote we play with it! When you can get fresh fruit use that, when you can’t, frozen and canned works as well. Many families enjoy oranges, bananas and apples often. A few forgotten great tasting and looking fruits that kids can easily help prepare are; pineapple, kiwi, papaya & starfruit.
Fruit Prep Tips
- Cutting; always put 2 wet paper towels under the cutting board to avoid sliding. When cutting fruit look at it, if it’s round and going to roll slice off, slice a part of it to give you an even surface while cutting.
- Wash it; even fruit you are going to remove the skin, all should be washed.
- Storage; fruit has natural sugar and juice so you might have to drain some juice off if storing in fridge after prepping it.
Kids Kitchen Tips
- Lower your expectations. If their excited great, if not it’s okay. If they see you relaxed and having fun in the kitchen they will want to join you.
- Teach safety at every age. Let them know to always ask you to use any knives or appliances.
- Wash hands for 30 seconds, have them sing their favorite song while doing it, even if it’s Baby Shark.
- Pick a few things they can help with and offer them choices. There is no right or wrong age…
- Cutting-Kids can use a plastic knife and cut fruit. Just teach them to always put the knife down when anyones talking and show them how to hold a plastic knife just like you would a real knife.
- Let kids try as a bite of things as they prepare it, inquiring minds want to know!
Fun Fruit Ideas
- Fruit Tray Contest; Let the kids use the fruit they cut up to make a fruit tray on a plate. Give awards for the prettiest, craziest, and most yummy looking fruit tray.
- Hollow out a pineapple, melon or watermelon and put fruit salsa/salad in it.
- Watermelons can be carved into just about anything if you have a steady hand.
- American Fruit Salad; mix diced fruit (canned works great for this) with marshmallows and whip cream. Top with sliced strawberries and blueberries resembling a flag.
- Fruit Salsa; Dice everything small and serve with taco chips or cinnamon chips.
- Fruit Salad; Mix in ideas; nuts, toasted coconut, honey, raisins, marshmallows, whipped cream.
- Fruit Purees; Use for sauce for your grilled dinners, make into ice cubes, use for smoothies.
Papaya
- Cut off the bottom and top, stand up and slice off the skin.
- Cut in half and discard the black seeds.
- The kids can cut this up very easily with a butter knife, it’s slippery laughter may happen and if you have a dog watch out for flying papaya that they will enjoy.
Kiwi
- The skin can be removed easily with a knife but also with a spoon.
- Slice into rounds or let the kids turn into works of art with mini cookie cutters.
Star Fruit
- The skin can be eaten so just slice off the ends. Slice in thin slices to resemble stars. Sometimes there are seeds which can be removed with a paring knife.
- Star Fruit makes great decorations for fruit plates and your dinner plates.
Pineapple
- Fresh; cut off the bottom and top (also called the crown). Stand up and slice off the sides with a sharp knife and use a pairing knife to remove the brown “eyes”. Stand up the pineapple, the center core is uneatable so you want to cut the good stuff off from around it. Once you have the good stuff, give the kids a butter knife and they can cut it in cubes or dice it.
- Canned; buy it in rings so the kids can dice it.
- Crown; use for beautiful decoration.
- Core; Cut it in cubes and put in a freezer bag for ice cubes for your water or soak it in rum and add for ice cubes for your festive drinks.
- Grilled; grilling pineapple will wow your family, unbelievable flavor.
Have a fun fruity day!
-Angie