I do not have a picky eater of my own, since I am not a mom yet, but I know many (have 7 nieces and nephews) and was a die-hard one myself. Growing up in Brazil, at dinner time, I would usually try to decide my menu based on colors and/or shapes of the delectables. I must have been 4 or 5, but had, since early on, decided that anything vegetable-like would not make the cut, no matter how colorful. It drove my mom mad that I would not go along with the family's healthy choices, especially because we would have mandatory homemade soup twice a week. Those two weekdays were my worst nightmare: I hated soup with a passion. I remember being told to finish the one scoop of bean soup before being allowed to leave the table. By the time I'd finally comply, the soup was cold and had tears floating on it (drama, anyone?) Somehow I now love soup... go figure!

So yes, I was a finicky, selective, drive-any-mom-crazy kind of eater, and I remember my mom's efforts: promises, threats, pleads, the old flying silverware disguised as a plane, funky multi-compartment trays (still love those) and the most memorable fun plates (my favorite was a square-shaped stainless steel unit with a girl, boy and dog imprinted on the bottom - kinda like this). I remember having fun finger food every now and then (fries are a hit in any culture, it seems) and all kinds of pretty and fruity juices with curly straws - all to no help for my personal diet.

Unfortunately, I have to say, little did my mom know that food could look so awesome. That the colors and shapes could play so well with any kid's imagination. Had she tried what these pictures* show, maybe things would have been different for little pain-in-the-butt Laine. But that was the early 80's, so she's forgiven. With the help of Google, moms nowadays are ON to picky eaters, no excuses.

When you think about it, all nice restaurants make foods for even grown-ups look extra special, so why not do that at home for the kiddos as well? Ok, it's highly unlikely that all you busy moms out there will be pulling masterpieces daily at dinnertime - and I know it's close to impossible to "shape" and dress up soup - but if your little guy really doesn't care for broccoli, comes broccoli night, you may want to surprise him with a miniature forest inhabited by carrot monsters and see his reaction. It's worth a try!

Who wouldn't want to devour these plates?

*The photos used in this post are bento creations of Anna The Red. See more on her Flickr.

Her work was featured at Parenting.com and you can learn how to create them here.

These are just a few inspirational ideas. There are so many different ways to make food extra fun!

Make sure you look up "Cute Food for Kids" on Facebook & Pinterest as well - yummy!