This is a fun and colourful activity to undertake with your kids that they will absolutely love. Setting up a rainbow tea party can get everyone involved from setting the table/picnic rug, making the food and serving it to their family and friends.
I have included rainbow bread, strawberry & marshmallow kebabs and fruit platter but of course you could have fairy bread, rainbow cupcakes, vege sticks, frozen yoghurt, cookies, jelly, sandwiches and plenty of other colourful options. You could also organise some rainbow craft activities such as playdough or crepe paper collage for them to do after they eat.
My 6 year old had fun setting the table and each of my children sat down and clinked cups and enjoyed the party. This is a fun idea for a birthday party too.
Strawberry & marshmallow kebabs
You will need:
- Skewers
- Strawberries
- Marshmallows
Thread the strawberries and marshmallows onto the kebabs and lay on a platter. Optional, drizzle some melted chocolate over the top for an extra bonus. You can also skip the marshmallows and make fruit kebabs.
Fruit platter
Dice fruit into small cubes and arrange on a platter. Use the most colourful fruit available – Watermelon, rockmelon, kiwi fruit, apple, grapes, papaya, pineapple etc to create a rainbow effect.
Veggie Platter
Colourful vegetables are a lovely addition too.
Rainbow bread
My kids absolutely loved this idea and it made eating bread new and exciting – who would have thought! It is actually a really simple process but a little messy with the food colouring added. Adding traditional food colouring to food isn’t for everyone and can affect some children so using natural colouring is an option also.
I adapted this recipe from the Thermomix recipe community.
Ingredients:
- 300g water
- 3 tsp yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- 600g bakers flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp bread improver (optional)
- 15g oil
Thermomix preparation:
- In mixing bowl, add water, yeast & sugar. Heat 1 min 30 secs/37C/speed2.
- Add flour, salt, bread improver (if using) and oil. Knead 6 min/interval setting.
- Leave dough in mixing bowl and place in a warm place until doubled in size. I put the mixing bowl and lid into my oven (turned off) and leave for 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size. Other options would be to place dough in a microwave with a cup of boiling water or sit the bowl in a heat pack to assist with rising.
- Once risen, knead for a further 30 seconds – either by hand or using the Thermomix.
- Roll out the dough and cut into small pieces as shown in the photo. Add some food colouring to each ball and massage into the dough. This step gets messy and will leave your hands totally stained. Don’t worry, it comes off!
- Roll out each ball and place the layers on top of each other.
- Roll up the layers into a large sausage shape and place in a greased loaf tin. Place in a warm spot for 30 mins or until the dough has risen to the top of the tin.
- Once risen, place dough in a cold oven and set to 200 degrees fan forced. Placing dough in a cold oven gives the dough more time to rise as the oven heats up. Cook for 30 mins. Tip: spray the top of the dough with water before baking and this will give the loaf a crusty top.
