Kid-friendly snack platter

Kiwi social media influencer Simone Anderson. PHOTO: Melanie Jenkins

Kiwi social media influencer Simone Anderson is known as the "platter queen" to family and friends. She loves a good platter, from prepping the food to styling and serving it and then finally seeing every inch get demolished. In her latest book she provides platter "recipes" which she says are just a guide to the kind of things she likes to include on different occasions. There are not any hard-and-fast rules to what you include, just go with what you like.

Kid-friendly snack platter

Serves 2

There is something about having the opportunity to pick and choose from a platter that children just love. I often find they end up eating more this way, as well as sampling a greater variety of things. Keep the items bite-sized for little hands and mouths.

Ingredients

Peanut butter and cacao nib protein bliss balls (or any bliss ball of your choice)

1 cup hummus

1 cup pretzels

10 baby carrots, peeled or scrubbed

6 strawberries

1 cup blueberries

selection of crackers or crostini

Orange Hedgehog

Ingredients

100g Edam

4 cherry tomatoes

4 large grapes

4 pieces pineapple

8 skewers

1/2 orange

Method

Cut the Edam into 24 cubes. Cut the cherry tomatoes and grapes in half (or use 8 small grapes). Use a star cookie cutter to get 4 small star shapes out of the pineapple pieces. Thread 3 pieces of cheese and 1 each of the tomato, grape and pineapple pieces on to each skewer.

Poke the skewer ends into the orange half to make a hedgehog shape.

Egg on Your Face!

Ingredients

2 hard-boiled eggs

8 small pieces of red capsicum

4 thin slices of celery

So Delish! Super easy, fresh meals for every day by Simone Anderson. Photography by Melanie Jenkins. RRP $39.99. Published by Allen & Unwin.

Method

Halve the hard-boiled eggs. Decorate the egg halves with capsicum pieces for ‘eyes’ and celery slices for ‘smiles’. Cut any leftover capsicum

and celery into batons and add to the platter, if desired.

Fruit and Cucumber Shape

Method

Take some small cookie cutters and cut shapes into slices of fruit — rockmelon, mango, watermelon and pineapple are popular choices.

You can also slice some cucumber lengthways and cut shapes from the cucumber strips.