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Make funny fruity monster faces

Make your five a day ferocious by creating a fruit (and vegetable) monster.

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You’ll need

  • Chopping boards
  • Knives
  • A selection of fruit and vegetables
  • Honey or peanut butter
  • Rice cakes

Before you begin

  • Gather a selection of fruit and vegetables in a range of colours. Choose vegetables that can be eaten raw, for example, carrot or pepper. If you can, include some that people haven’t tried before.
  • Wash the fruits and vegetables.
  • Peel any fruits and vegetables that need peeling, and chop any that need chopping with a sharp kitchen knife. Softer fruits, such as bananas or strawberries, can be left whole for young people to chop with a table knife.
  • Lay out the fruit and vegetables in bowls on a table.
  • Make sure you have enough adults to supervise people using knives appropriately. This may mean you need to limit the number of knives being used at once.

Get ready

  1. The person leading the activity should remind everyone how to be safe when using knives.
  1. Everyone should wash their hands.

 Pick your fruit

  1. Everyone should look at all of the fruit and vegetables. They shouldn’t touch anything, but they should look at all of the colours, shapes, and sizes.
  2. The person leading the activity should ask if anyone remembers how many portions of fruit and vegetables we should aim to eat every day. Everyone should share their ideas. The person leading the activity should tell everyone that people should try to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables every day.
  1. Everyone should think about the colours of fruits and vegetables. The person leading the activity should ask whether anyone thinks certain colours might be better for people. The best thing to do is it eat a ‘rainbow’ of fruits and vegetables, to get a wide range of nutrients.

Make a monster

  1. Everyone should choose the fruits and vegetables they’d like to use. The person leading the activity may want to remind everyone to choose a variety, including something they haven’t tried before.
  2. Everyone should use a table knife to chop the soft fruit and vegetables into the size pieces they need to make their monster. They could think about the different things monsters may have, for example, claws, spikes, fur, eyes, and tentacles.
  1. Everyone should make their monster using a rice cake as a base. They should use the honey or peanut butter to stick everything together. 
  2. Everyone should think about what their monster’s called, where they live, and if they have any superpowers or abilities.
  3. Everyone should gather together to show off their monsters. Then, everyone should enjoy eating them as a tasty treat.

Reflection

This activity was a chance for everyone to think about living healthily and try new things.

While everyone enjoys looking at or eating their monster, they should talk about why it’s important to eat fruits and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables have vitamins that people need to grow and stay strong and healthy, and they also have fibre that keeps people’s tummies working well. Different colours of fruit and vegetables have different nutrients in, so eating a rainbow is a simple way to get a variety of everything the body needs.
Did anyone try a new fruit or vegetable in this activity? It’s really great to give something new a go, even if people didn’t like what they tried. Does anyone have a favourite fruit or vegetable? What did they enjoy trying the most?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Sharp objects

Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.

Food

Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.

Have some example faces to give people ideas. You could try using other foods, for example just vegetables. You could try and stick to using things that are in season.

Some people may struggle with fine motor skills and find it tricky to chop the fruit. Help with cutting, or cut all of the fruit before you begin. You could also use larger pieces of fruit ­­– the scale of young people’s monsters is up to them. Check if anyone has any allergies or foods you need to avoid. 

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Beavers My Skills Challenge Award
Beavers Health and Fitness Activity Badge

Why not make up a story to go with your monster? What do they do during the daytime? Do they have any friends or family? What do they eat?

People can decide what fruit to include and what their face looks like.