If your kids are ready to munch and the dinner’s not quite ready, you might like to surprise them with a “kid salad”. We started these a few years ago when my son began to notice that the toppings on Mommy and Daddy’s salads looked pretty good, even if he didn’t care for the lettuce. So I started making him little plates with the toppings only — dried cranberries, feta cheese, nuts, etc. Now I make these even when there is no grownup salad. It’s usually a mishmash of whatever I can grab quickly from the cabinets or fridge while making dinner – crackers, cheese, dried fruit, even semi-frozen peas (which I was surprised to learn my kids really love). The key is to use just a tiny bit of each kind of food, to put 3 or 4 different items on the plate, and to use a tiny little dish. I just read about these little white porcelain dishes from Crate and Barrel on Stephmodo, which would be perfect.

$0.95 – $1.95 at Crate & Barrel