1.3.13

The Scandinavian snack squirrel

squirrel bowl by Ylva Olsson
What can I say?  It's Swedish, quirky, there was 40% off, and the squirrel was always going to be coming home with me.
Now you're possibly thinking, sure that's lovely but what's the big deal? And it is the kind of thing that could easily have ended up at the back of a cupboard. But I had plans for this little ceramic dish, and as strange as it may sound it's actually become a pretty important daily feature around here.

Squirrel now sits in the middle of the kitchen table, and before the kids get back from school I fill it with some kind of snacky treat. The original idea was for the snack to be healthy and wholesome, but in truth it seems to be on a sliding scale of healthiness, depending on what I can find in the cupboard, and how long it's been since the last shop..

All three love it, and charge up from the bus, with the youngest usually shouting, 'WHAT'S IN SQUIIIRELLLL!'
Sometimes I have to charge ahead, due to a slight snack oversight, grabbing a bag of raisins on my way to the table.
And squirrel seems to possess some kind of magical power, because my fussy eater is munching through dried fruit he wouldn't have even glanced at before.

They do have the usual bread or biscuits too because they're always ravenous, but squirrel has made this hectic part of the day a little more fun.

Healthy squirrel

Nutty squirrel (with a hot kick)

Fruity squirrel

Bad squirrel