Silly Snake Snacks!

Here is a yummy nummy, super sweet, good-for-you after school or anytime snack that the kiddos will love and you can feel good about serving!  I modified this adorable little guy from a great little book I picked up at Target.  It's called Fun Stuff:  Silly Snacks published by Publications International, Ltd.  As the name suggests, it's filled with fun and silly snack ideas to get the munchkins to nosh on healthier fare.

Mr. Silly Snake is pretty self explanatory from the picture above (which is admittedly not my best work, but I could barely keep him around long enough to snap this pic before the little ones gobbled him up!).  However, for those who learn best by reading, here are some quickie instructions :)

Ingredients:

2 small ripe bananas

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

10-12 medium strawberries, hulled

2 small strawberries

1 slice kiwi (optional) - * the seeds are used for the irises of the eyes in the book...I opted for a dab of decorator's icing instead :)

1.  Cut bananas crosswise into 1/4 inch slices.  Place in a medium bowl and toss gently with the lemon juice (to prevent browning)

2.  Leave 2 medium strawberries whole.  Cut the remaining berries crosswise into 1/4 inch slices. 

3.  Place whole strawberries on serving plates for heads.  Alternate banana and strawberry slices behind the heads to form snakes.  Arrange small strawberries (or the hind ends of one of the sliced berries, as I did) to form the end of the tail.

4.  Cut 4 small pieces of banana for eyes (I cut a 1/8 inch round and quartered it to make eyes for 2 snakes).  Arrange on snake heads.  Use a toothpick to place kiwi seeds in the center of each eye, if desired (or dab with decorators icing, as I did!).  You can also cut a sliver of strawberry to use as a "tongue". 

Makes 2 servings

Personal Notes:
1.  Ideally, you want to find strawberries with a similar diameter to your bananas.  In my case, the berries that were available were mammoth size (as you can see)!  Never fear, I guarantee it did not interfere with the presentation as far as the kids were concerned at all :)
2.  The best part about this project is that the strawberries and bananas naturally have a "sticky" juice, so you do not have to put the slices on a skewer or toothpick (nice to avoid when serving toddlers!).  However, the eyes and the sliver of "tongue" can be slippery suckers, so I recommend a dab of royal icing or decorator's frosting to hold them in place.  If not available, a toothpick cut to size would do nicely, just be sure to remove prior to letting very young ones dig in!
* Recipe courtesy of Fun Stuff: Silly Snacks by Publications International, Ltd