Let's turn snacks into silly faces! Who will yours look like? This easy no-cook recipe is for ages 5 to 9 (grades K–3rd), takes about 15 minutes and serves 2. Crumb, our tiny chef, reads every step aloud with a picture, so a child can follow along.
Rice cake faces are a no-cook snack for little kids: a plain rice cake spread with cream cheese, then a face pressed on with cucumber, cherry tomato, carrot and a blueberry or two. A grown-up does the cutting; a child spreads and builds, in about fifteen minutes. It's an easy way to put vegetables on a plate that a child decorated themselves.
Ingredients
2 rice cakes
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1 cucumber
2 cherry tomatoes
1 carrot
1 handful blueberries (optional)
Tools
A cutting board, A sharp knife (grown-up), A butter knife, Measuring spoons, A plate.
Steps
Wash your hands with soap for twenty seconds, then let's make Funny Face Crunchers!
Grown-up step: A grown-up slices 1 cucumber into thin rounds and cuts 2 cherry tomatoes in half.
Grown-up step: A grown-up cuts 1 carrot into thin sticks for the smile and the hair.
Spread 3 tablespoons of cream cheese all over each rice cake, right to the edge.
Press on two cucumber eyes, and a blueberry in each one.
Add half a tomato for a nose and a carrot stick for a smile.
Give it carrot hair, then name your face and crunch!
Safety notes
Sharp! A grown-up does this part.
Contains milk. Tap "Allergies?" on the Kitchen's front page and the swaps fill themselves in where there is one.
Round, slippery foods are a choking risk for little ones under 4: cut them in quarters.
Raw carrot is hard and round-ish for little ones under 4: grate it or cook it soft.
Squash blueberries a little for little ones under 4.
Read the label on packets for allergies.
A bit messy.
Kitchen science
Crunchy and creamy feel different in your mouth: the dry rice cake snaps, and the soft cream cheese spreads and sticks the face on.
Make it your own
Make a whole family of faces, big and small.
Use red pepper for rosy cheeks or a big red mouth.
Swap the cream cheese for mashed avocado: a green face!
Questions about rice cake faces
Are rice cakes gluten-free?
Most plain rice cakes are, but some are made with other grains or in shared factories. Read the label if gluten matters at your table.
Is this safe for toddlers?
Cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks are choking risks under 4. Cut tomatoes in quarters, and grate the carrot instead of cutting sticks.
Can I make them ahead?
Not for long: the rice cake goes soft under the cream cheese. Build them just before eating.