Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Sailboat Sandwich

Update: No one really guessed, but I have to share that my husband did not learn this trick from his mom, either of his aunts, or from reading one of my many parenting magazines. No, my husband learned this from....his college fraternity. One of his tasks when he was pledging was to make this sandwich for a frat brother. Just visualize that for a second. Other guys had to do goodness-knows-what, and he had to make a sailboat sandwich. Just when you think you have guys all figured out, they do something unexpectedly cute like this. :)

When Peanut was old enough to begin eating sandwiches on a regular basis, my husband began a staple in our household known as "the sailboat sandwich." While making one recently, I thought I would share this fun tradition with my nice blog readers. So, here are the easy steps:

1) Make whatever type of sandwich your little one desires (Peanut --no shock here -- prefers the classic PB & J, but most sandwiches will work. I don't think I would recommend it for hot sandwiches like grilled cheese, though.)

2) Cut off the rounded part of the sandwich to make the boat, like this:


3) Then cut the leftover rectangle to make two triangles, seen here:


4) Flip the triangles so that they form two sails, like this:


5) Add Goldfish crackers (or whatever your kiddo likes) and enjoy!


Do any of you other moms out there do this? And do any of you have any sandwich or lunch tricks up your sleeves that you haven't divulged yet? I would love to hear them!

P.S. You may be as surprised as I was to hear that, no, my husband did not learn to make this adorable sandwich from his mom. Bonus points to anyone who correctly guesses who taught him this toddler trick. :) (And stop right there, Honey; you are ineligible.)

13 comments:

G4and2Cats said...

This is awesome! I've never seen this and I've never done anything more exciting than cut into 4 triangles. :[ Thanks for sharing! Hope all is well.

Anderson Family said...

We have used a Pooh snack holder to cut out a pooh shaped head and then use icing gel to make the face.

Lisa said...

That is cute. I may try that with my oldest boy. If the little one gets something that wasn't his idea he will freak out. Today he fell on the floor crying because his sandwich had the crust on it (just as it always does as he eats it first and has loved it the other 2,845 times he has had it). Anyway, I just give my boys a whole sandwich not cut in any way at all. Sad, huh? My mom always cut mine in two boring rectangles and I assumed the other kids that had sandwiches cut in triangles were more loved. My boys think they are big with a whole sandwich. I guess. ?

BB10: I think he deserved to win it.

Gemma said...

The sailboat sandwiches are the best. I have finally learned the technique. I also know where your hubby learned how to make them, but I will stay mum. :) Great post, and great photos, P &P's mommy!

Teresa said...

Hi- I am blog stocking through my SIL Kristin's blog, and you have really made my day. I just started doing a little preschool with some ladies from church, and I am in charge of B next week. I was thinking today what would be a good snack for B, and you came up with a perfect one!! That is so adorable, and I am excited to show it off to my friends. Thanks

Kathy B. said...

I don't have a sandwich or lunch trick - but - Nathan loves to take a "blue bath". I just put blue food coloring in the bath tub (no, it doesn't stain skin or tub) and he has a ball !
He isn't too keen on taking a bath when he sleeps over and this works every time.
Love,
K.

4under3 said...

Oh, I love that!!!
I am SO trying that this week.
Thanks for sharing.

Tiff

Adrienne said...

Oooh, I'm taking notes for my baby's future sandwich eating days... :o)

Amy Jo said...

Cool idea! I"ll have to try that for tomorrow's lunch. I've never seen it before!

L a u r a said...

Of all my years of making sandwiches for my kids, I've never seen the cute sail boat!

It doesn't work quite as well as yours with the bread we use (more rectangle than square), but our kids loved it! Thanks for the idea!

I've made other food creations with/for them...but they wouldn't fit very nicely in a take-along lunch.

You can make cute butterflies if you cut twice on the diagonal, but then you can't really tell what it is unless you embellish it further with a baby carrot for the body, etc. I do recall one of my sons making a tank from a sandwich, hot dog wheels, pretzel sticks, etc. Basically, if I put their food on plates in such a way that it resembles a face, they laugh together...and eat it all up!

Anonymous said...

Lol, that was cute and pretty awesome. I have seen different designs from sailboat. I've seen a handmade sailboat, sailboat cards and here you come with a bread sailboat.

The Beaver Bunch said...

FYI - I remembered seeing this on your blog, but I was in the middle of making sandwiches and too lazy to look on here for it. So, I just googled "sailboat sandwich" and guess what?

YOUR BLOG was the 1st on the list!

Woot! Trying them for lunch NOW.

Jessica said...

i found your blog through a google search for "sailboat sandwiches" and i love your design! i am going to try it for a party i'm having next week. I am also subscribing to your blog now. :D Jessica