This week's "rainbow plates"

For any of you looking for some new ideas on the children's dinner front, here are some of the "rainbow plates" assembled this week. Hopefully they provide a little inspiration for the five o'clock dinner.

Above: cheddar cheese cut into little bite size stars (very Martha, I know), trail mix (raw almonds, tamari almonds, and dried cranberries), sour cream (used as a dip for the burrito), and a rice and bean burrito (whole wheat wrap stuffed with a mixture of brown rice, black beans and cheese).

Poached pear (left over from the prior night's dinner party...one of my children LOVED it, the other spit it out and asked "why I ruined his pear?!"), cucumber cups (again, left over from the dinner party where I served them with a homemade crab salad...for the kids I just filled them with whipped cream cheese), dried cranberries, and a cheese sandwich on high fiber wheat bread.

Ak-Mak crackers (a favorite here, probably because of their slightly sweet/nutty taste), black beans (easy for little fingers to pick up), carrots, and chicken salad (made by Aux Delices, not me...nutty day that day!)

Roasted broccoli, apple slices, dried apricots, and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich.