I made these heart-shaped fruit skewers for my daughter’s Valentine’s Day party at school.  Her teacher asked for a fruit option for the party and I wanted to make something fun for a bunch of 2nd graders to eat, so I decided to cut fresh fruit into heart shapes and put them on a skewer.  I mean who doesn’t like to eat something on a stick!  Maybe it’s just my kids, but put something on a stick and it’s instantly gone.  Seriously, my daughter is not a huge fan of meat but something magical happens when I serve it on a stick; it’s as if it’s somehow transformed into a fun, delicious food that she can’t resist.  Now, if I had served that same meat off the stick; she probably wouldn’t touch it.  I’m telling you, the stick is a powerful, magical thing.  If there is something your kids give you a hard time eating, try putting it on a stick, I bet they’ll at least taste it.

So, yes, eating food off a stick is fun.  You don’t need utensils.  You get to eat with your hands.  What’s not to love about it.  Therefore, I thought since my daughter loves eating food off a stick, I bet her class would like this too.  Sure enough I was right.  The class devoured it.  Nothing but sticks were left.

This looked so pretty at her party and the teacher was so impressed that I made it myself.  I can think of so many ways at different occasions with different shapes where this would make a great addition to your table.  This is so simple and options are limitless.  And not to mention, it’s a fun, healthy, allergy friendly option.  Here’s what you need for the heart-shaped skewers:

Heart Fruit Skewers

Ingredients:

• Watermelon
• cantaloupe melon
• Honeydew melon
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Long wooden skewers
• Heart shape cookie cutters, various sizes and shapes as desired
• Ribbon
• Candy to decorate around tray if desired (optional)

Directions:

1. Wash strawberries and grapes.  Set aside and let dry.
2. Cut the melons in half lengthwise.  Scoop out seeds from honeydew and cantaloupe using a spoon.
3. Slice the melons to desired thickness allowing enough room for skewer to be inserted without breaking the melon shape.  Carefully remove rind with sharp knife and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
4. Remove the stem from the strawberries with a paring knife by cutting in a “V”-like pattern so that you create the look of the top part of a heart.
5. Assemble your skewers starting with a grape, then the heart melon pieces, and finally top with a strawberry.
6. Add a little ribbon to dress up the skewers.
7. Arrange holiday candy around the tray, if so desired, to create a more festive look.
8. Enjoy!