In 2020, when daughter was 3, I was working on a campaign about Kellogg’s Unicorn Waffles. These pink waffles are made with artificial colors, artificial flavors, and other very processed ingredients. Harley came into my office, sat on my lap, and saw the graphic I was creating. Her face lit up when she saw that colorful purple box with a rainbow unicorn and pink waffles on it, and she exclaimed, “Mom, mmm those waffles look good!”…

And, of course they did! Those colorful boxes are VERY ENTICING to any young child; that’s exactly what Kellogg’s is banking on and how they are able to sell boxes of Unicorn Waffles by the truckload.

I was so angry about these waffles at the time that I wanted to jump on a plane, fly to Kellogg’s headquarters, and give them a piece of my mind. 

But it was the beginning of the pandemic and traveling wasn’t possible. 

Instead, I used this as a learning opportunity and talked to Harley about how they make Unicorn Waffles this pretty pink color by putting fake colors in them that aren’t actually real food, and that actually those fake colors are not good for our bodies and can make us sick. You’d be amazed at how quickly young children pick up on this and understand, and now, whenever Harley sees brightly colored food she knows to ask if it is artificially colored.

I also published a blog about these waffles, blasted Kellogg’s on social media, and wrote about them in my new book Food Babe Family, warning parents everywhere about the artificial ingredients they use.  

Thankfully, you soon won’t be able to find them in stores because Kellogg’s just discontinued Unicorn Waffles!

(So I already have to update my book that comes out next Tuesday!)

This is a big win, but the sad reality is…

There are still thousands of toxic products being pushed on our kids with cartoon characters on their packaging like Paw Patrol Fruit Snacks, Super Mario Oreos, Disney Princess Goldfish, and Mickey Mouse Eggos.

This whole experience got me thinking about ways that I could make REAL FOOD fun for my kids to eat. If we’re competing with brands like Kellogg’s — we’ve got to have a few tricks up our sleeve, right?

How to make REAL FOOD fun for your kids from Food Babe Family:

• String berries and melons on skewers in a fun pattern. Children love to pull them off and eat kebabs.

• Create a theme night. For instance, you can have a “princess night” where you prepare food for princesses and decorate the table with a few princess decorations. Put on some of their favorite princess music and have fun with it. You can do this for any character or hobby that your child is into.

• Take your children on foodie field trips. Let them explore your local pumpkin patches and pick from apple trees in the fall, pick berries at a u-pick farm in the summer, and shop at the farmer’s market to pick out their favorite smoothie ingredients.

• Let your children help in the kitchen. Kids love to get involved in what you’re doing! See my best tips for this on pages 57–58 in Food Babe Family.

• Use a cookie cutter to cut foods into fun shapes. This works well with waffles, pancakes, cheese, melons, cucumber, and sandwiches. Try the Fun with Shapes French Toast recipe on page 90 in Food Babe Family. 

• Set up a salad bar. Wash and prepare all of the makings for a salad in separate containers and let your child create their own salad bowl. You can do something similar for other dishes too, such as wraps, smoothies, tacos, pizza, etc

• Children love to dip! Soups, hummus, dressings, and nut butters all make great dips for veggies, crackers, and breads. You’ll find my favorite dip recipes in Kid Snacks on page 159 in Food Babe Family.

• Use real food to add color to foods. You can buy powders made out of 100 percent freeze-dried produce to add color to waffles, cakes, cookies, pancakes, and other dishes. This way you can avoid artificial dyes and boost nutrition too! For example, you can use freeze-dried dragon fruit powder or strawberry powder to color your own pink “Unicorn Waffles.” Or use spinach to make waffles green, like my Fast Green Waffles on page 105 in Food Babe Family. You’d never guess there’s spinach in there! 

• Use food to create a fun smiling face. For instance, if you are serving your child a pancake, you can decorate it with banana slices for the eyes and nose and strawberry slices for the smile. This helps motivate a child to try eating more fruit. This idea works well with homemade mini-pizzas, English muffins, rice cakes, and waffles. You can make flowers, spirals, and other fun designs with the toppings.

Helping you and your family love REAL FOOD is my mission. I want to make living in this over processed world full of products like Unicorn Waffles easier for everyone!

Food that is full of toxic chemicals is constantly being shoved in our faces by the media, celebrities, marketing giants and the terrible BIG food industry. 

It’s time to say no and that’s why I’m giving away a FREE 12 month meal plan subscription to everyone who pre-orders a copy of my new cookbook. This bonus ends in just a few days!!! 

My New Cookbook Is Here!

ORDER TODAY

After you pre-order, make sure you claim your bonus meal plans here!

This bonus is ending soon, so make sure you claim it today.

Every family needs this. Please share and spread the word! 

Get your meal plans here now. 

Xo,

Vani