It was the first holiday party I was hosting in our apartment in Berkeley, our home of less then two years and I wanted everything to be perfect. I meticulously arranged my charcuterie board with pride only to be appalled after watching all of the young children devour it. It wasn't for them...or was it? That was the day that I realized kids don't want lunchables they want charcuterie.

What exactly is charcuterie? It is technically a term that refers to how meats are preserved. When on a board these meats are accompanied by stinky cheeses, fruits, olives, fancy crackers and any other ridiculously expensive thing you can find in a speciality shop like Dalmatia fig spread.  You can now see why I was horrified when my perfectly designed charcuterie board was overrun by toddlers and pre-tweens. However my trauma was slowly followed by a cartoon light bulb floating above my head. If you arrange it...they will come....and (hopefully) eat it all. This ahha moment gave birth to my kidcuterie boards!

First and biggest difference between a charcuterie board and a kidcuterie board is you don't need to run to the local cheese shop or craft butcher to pick up expensive or artisinal ingredients. Its mostly about what's in your fridge and pantry and how to disguise all your regular snacks as "special" This is where the toothpicks come in. 

Bread sticks, cheese crackers, unripened mango sprinkled with Tajin, smoked turkey rolls with sliced cucumbers (some with pickled onions),
Bahlsen cookies and celery with almond butter topped with Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips.

I try my best to create a balance of foods, sweet and savory, as well as textures, crunchy and soft. I have one kiddo in braces and another with dangling loose teeth so I have to be careful. 

A few easy steps...

1. See what you have.  Last of the breadsticks? The end of the cheese? Just a few spoonfuls of hummus? Whatever you have bring it out.

2. What do you have to dress things up? Cinnamon, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, chopped mint just to think of a few.

3. Don't forget fruits and veggies. Your kids don't eat them? Keep trying. If there is any place you want to hide a fruit or veggie in plane sight it on a kidcuterie board.

4. Break out the toothpicks!! The other odd thing kids love as much as charcuterie is food on toothpicks.

5. Put it together. I've included a few boards I have put together. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

6. Lastly if needed act like you made it for yourself, you are super excited to eat it all and weren't planning on sharing. This is basically inviting your kids to abruptly interrupt any joy you were about to have so they can "have some".