Bright, colorful, and jam-packed with delicious snacks both kids and adults will love, this super easy Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board will be the highlight of any party!
This post has been sponsored by Lorissa’s Kitchen, but all thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.
Fair warning- this post starts out with a long story about my sons first year playing soccer. I thought about deleting it to make the post more “user-friendly” but I decided that would be silly since memories are more important.
That said, please feel free to jump past the story. I totally get it.
This weekend officially marked the start of soccer season for my tiny human. You guys, have you ever seen a group of 3-4 year olds play soccer? It was my first time at a tiny tot soccer “game” and it was probably (definitely) the funniest thing I have witnessed in months. First, you have the older 4-year-olds that dominate the 3-year-olds, literally plowing them down as they (most probably) kick the ball to the wrong goal. There were many tears on the field from tiny little egos being crushed. I shouldn’t laugh, but I can since my child was plowed down at least twice. Speaking of goals, I think that half the time the ball made it into the net, it was by accident or with their hands. Totally cool with me.
The most entertaining part for me was taking a moment to observe all the kids, not just my own. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in what my kid is doing that I obsess over what he could be doing differently or (as much as I hate to admit this) better. I am usually very good at remembering what is age appropriate and what is not, but sometimes I need a little reminder, or slap in the face.
So I looked around.
One kid was literally crying hysterically. I couldn’t figure out why, but man oh man, could this boy cry because he cried the whole game. Actually, come to think of it, there were a lot of kids crying. Seriously, I don’t blame them. Talk about overwhelming. Plus, I’m a cryer, so I would probably be crying and clinging to my mom’s leg if I had been thrown into soccer at 3 years old.
Then there were the daydreamers. Octavian falls into this category (is it bad that I’m categorizing the kids? It is, isn’t it? Whatever). Anyway, the daydreamers were the ones who literally, (no literally, you guys) didn’t know what to do when the ball hit them in the face (or leg or arm). These kids usually ran around the field pretending to be an airplane, would get distracted by birds (and run to tell the coach about it- oh yes, this was my child) or think it’s fun to run and get caught up in the net (also my kid).
So we have some kids crying, some kids flying and birdwatching (and later picking flowers- yep, also my child), and then, of course, the kids who are actually playing the game.
Pure comedy.
Joking aside, Octavian did well for his first soccer game. With tons of encouragement from his coach and dad and me (and equal amounts of bribery for awesome snacks and an after soccer play date) he even got in the game a kicked the ball a few times before getting discouraged/annoyed/plowed down/unmotivated and resuming his flower picking or team switching (he liked to go over and sit with the other team?).
Now, with soccer games, come snacks. You guys, having ample snacks for your kid after soccer practice and soccer games is mandatory. Kids go crazy for snacks on the laziest of days, so you can only imagine soccer days. Kids are also incredibly picky. Ok, my kid is incredibly picky. The boy love his snacks, but he’ll only eat certain ones. Crackers and carbs are not his thing; my child likes meat and fruit. Unfortunately, I’d rather not carry around a rotisserie chicken in my purse for two hours and on super hot sunny days, I would have to drag a cooler around to keep fruit cool and fresh. I’m already chasing him around, let’s not add a chicken and cooler to the mix.
Then I realized, snack meat! Duh!!
Ok, confession, I didn’t come up with this on my own. Lorissa’s Kitchen asked me to try their meat snacks and write a little post for you guys sharing my thoughts and stuff. THEN it hit me- chicken, beef, pork (MEAT!) is the perfect snack for my meat-loving child! It packs easily and can go anywhere.
But, here’s the thing. I wasn’t going to feed my kid…rubbish. The ingredients need to be legit.
So, upon further inspection here’s some important info about the meat from Lorissa’s Kitchen,
- 100% grass-fed beef
- No nitrites
- 11 grams of protein per serving
- No added MSG
- Gluten free
- No preservatives
- No added growth hormones
- 11 grams of protein per serving
- Antibiotic-free chicken and pork
Octavian was a HUGE fan of the Ginger Teriyaki Chicken with his second fav being the Sweet Chili Pork. He practically ate the entire bag after his game. I don’t know about you guys, but I would much rather he fill up on protein than sugar-packed snacks and empty carbs. With that said, I don’t want him to ever feel like he’s “missing out” – after all this can lead to overcompensation when he’s older. So, when I find snacks like this, snacks that are both healthy and he loves, it makes me very very happy (and my life a ton easier).
Since I also promised him a little post-soccer playdate, I thought it would be fun to incorporate our new favorite snack in a kid-friendly Charcuterie Board. Instead of fancy (expensive) meats that go bad when they sit out for too long, I added several varieties of Lorissa’s Kitchen meat snacks. Those who eat meat may have some, and those who don’t can eat something else.
You guys, the kids went crazy when they saw this super fun and bright Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board (and so did the adults 😉
Packed with fresh fruit, crunchy veggies, cheeses, crackers, sweet dips, savory dips, and meat snacks, this Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board is probably one of the best things I’ve ever created.
Now, if you’re thinking that is too fancy for kids, or, that is so unsanitary with kids being so dirty! I will say this… Kids are disgusting, no matter how you look at it. Put it on a platter for kids to share or on separate plates, somehow it will all get mixed together anyway. Of course, I set out some paper plates and bowls and make the gross little monsters wash their hands 🙂
Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board
Ingredients
- 2-3 bags Lorissa's Kitchen meat snacks
- Hummus
- Vegetables- carrot sticks - sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes
- Chips
- Crackers
- Pretzels/Cookies
- Hazelnut Chocolate Butter
- Cheese Slices
- Fruit- what's in season
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients and assemble.
If you love this Kid-Friendly Charcuterie Board, you may also enjoy-
Beautiful Autumn Cheese Board (Vegetarian)
Weekend California Beach Adventure + My Favorite On-the-Go Wine
What a beautiful plate of food! So much good stuff on there. I love those colorful carrots!