Watermelon Shapes

So recently I've been on a kick to get little man to eat more veggies and fruits. As we get further along with his Biomed his tastes are expanding. We have managed to get him to eat a few veggies on a pretty regular basis and I've launched an all out campaign to get him to eat more of them. The latest tactics are to get him excited about picking them out at the store and having him help me to cook them. This week he picked yams and watermelon. I made oven baked chips and french fries from the yams which he loved. Husband was commenting to me about how watermelons always seem to have a large waste factor associated with them and I totally agree. We've been trying our best not to let any food go to waste at our house lately, what with the economy being what it is and all. So I wondered if it could be frozen. Turns out ....yeah it can be frozen, and my son will eat it frozen or thawed. Now with my Bento craze being what it is at the moment I set out to make the watermelon cute for the Bento boxes. Believe it or not this visual style of presenting his food really encourages an enthusiasm for the entire meal including veggies so a little extra effort goes a long way to ensuring he'll eat a balanced meal.

So here's what I did. I used my electric knife to slice the watermelon (seedless) into thin-ish slices. Proper hardware to make your life easier is essential in a GFCF kitchen. Electric knives are around $20 and worth every penny! I grabbed a few different cookie cutters small to med sizes and cut out cute shapes placed them on a parchment lined pan and put them in the freezer. After they are frozen I threw them all into a storage bag and that way they won't stick together while in the bag. I used the scraps for serving first then just grab a bit of cuteness from the freezer whenever I need it for his bentos. The white seeds work well to decorate the shapes or to add eyes. The whole shebang took me maybe 30 minutes start to finish and now we've got a gallon size bag of tiny cuteness that won't go to waste. Watermelons are also an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and B6. They are also a great source of potassium, and low in sodium. Not bad for something that's a good popsicle swap. So... score one point for the Mommy Card and many big smiles on the little man's face come meal time.