Celebrate Dinovember with DINO DIY Food Art!

Hi everyone!

I hope you and your little ones enjoyed a happy Halloween. You may be wondering what fun, themed activities you can do between now and Thanksgiving. Well, let me introduce you to….

🦖 DINOVEMBER! 🦖

That’s right! You can kick off your November with some dinosaur-themed fun. Today, I want to show you a quick and easy DIY food art activity that is sure to have your kids excited to create.

RECIPE:

🦖 A Delicious Prehistoric Eruption 🌋

Ingredients

• Your favorite pancake mix (and any ingredients it requires, such as eggs, milk, etc.)
• Dinosaur-shaped cookie cutters (for dino pancakes)
• Broccoli florets (for the prehistoric trees)
• Hard-boiled eggs (for dino eggs)
• Chopped strawberries or Red fruit jam (for lava)
• Sliced fruit like bananas or apples (for dinosaur legs, tails, spikes, etc.)
• Other miscellaneous toppings like chocolate chips or Nutella (to add color or detail)

Instructions:

Prepare the Pancake Batter: 

Follow the instructions on your pancake mix to prepare the batter.

Craft the Volcano:
a. Pour a large circle of batter onto a heated non-stick skillet roughly in the shape of a volcano.
b. Once bubbles form on the surface and the edges look set, flip the pancake.
c. Cook until golden brown and set aside. 

Dino Pancakes:
a. Pour batter into dinosaur-shaped cookie cutters placed on the skillet or roughly in the shape of a dinosaur torso (you can use fruits or other toppings to create other parts of the dinosaur’s body… I used banana and apple slices to create the stegosaurus shown at the top of this post). Ensure the skillet is on low-medium heat to allow the pancakes to cook evenly without burning.
b. Once the bottom is set, carefully remove the cookie cutter (using tongs if needed) and flip the pancake to cook the other side.

Dino Eggs:
a. Place hard-boiled eggs in a bowl.
b. Gently crack and peel the shells.
c. Cut in half and set aside.

Assemble the Scene:
a. Place the volcano pancake in the center of a large plate.
b. Arrange the dino pancakes around the volcano.
c. Place the broccoli florets around as prehistoric trees.
d. Add the dino eggs to the scene.
e. Add chopped strawberries or drizzle red fruit jam coming out from the top of the volcano to resemble lava.

Serve & Enjoy: Serve your prehistoric pancake landscape with syrup, and watch your little ones light up with joy!

Tips for Anyone New to Food Art

The biggest thing with food art is to just have fun! That’s the most important thing. Whenever food (and 🦕dinos 🦖) are involved, even the simplest creation can put a smile on your kids’ faces! So don’t be afraid to keep it simple enough to have a good time. Give the kids some freedom to imagine their own scenes and I’m sure they’ll surprise you with some of the things they come up with.

I hope you all enjoy this activity! Let me know in the comments or on Instagram how it went for you!