How to Make Vegetable LEGO Bricks

Having a hard time getting the kids to eat their veggies? Here's a great way to encourage them to enjoy doing what's good for them: transform their vegetables into neat little LEGO bricks!

EditSteps

1. 1
   Pick the right vegetables. Many veggies are suitable, including carrots, potatoes, squash, rutabagas, etc. You could also use firm tofu and add a food color to the water, which the tofu will soak up. You can do this with the veggies, too. Be bold!
   
   
   
2. 2
   Prepare your veggies. Boil or steam the vegetables so that they're soft but not mushy. Soak them for a couple minutes in salt water. This will make them a little firmer by drawing out some of the moisture.
3. 3
   Cut the vegetables into cube shapes. As with real LEGO pieces, you'll need to decide what bricks you'd like to make: a single stud square brick, the four stud square, or the six stud rectangle. ("Stud" refers to the little bumps on top of real LEGO bricks).
   
   
   
4. 4
   Poke a straw all the way through the vegetable. This will create a round hole and will push out the inside of the vegetable brick. Be sure to match holes with the LEGO stud arrangement you're creating.
   
   
   
5. 5
   Using a toothpick, push the stud from the bottom of the vegetable brick until it sticks out of the top. This ensures that it looks like a LEGO brick, complete with studs!
   
   
   
6. 6
   Check that the studs are evenly positioned across the top by looking at the brick sideways. If it's not, carefully press a stud back in, or poke one farther out.
   
   
   
7. 7
   Serve with a smile on a colorful plate. Your kids will be delighted!
   
   
   

EditTips

• The time required for boiling vegetables is different for each type––use your own cooking knowledge to judge, or check in a vegetable cookbook.
• You can also use other foods such as broccoli, sausage and cheese, Japanese omelets, fruits, and firm jellies or Jello.
• 
  If the straw gets stuck when inserted in the vegetable cube, cut off a small slit as shown in the photo and this should remedy the problem.

EditThings You'll Need

• Vegetables you'd like your kids to eat and that can be cut into cubes or rectangles (carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, squash, turnips, rutabagas, beets, pumpkin, etc.)
• Plastic straw.
• Pot, or microwave with bowl (heat resistant) for boiling.
• Salt.
• Toothpick, bamboo skewer, or chopstick for poking studs.
• Knife and cutting board
• Food coloring.