"Don't play with your food" - but maybe you can make works of art out of it!

Maleen Mac is a mother who, like many others, found herself having to convince her son to eat vegetables and other foods the child did not like - an undertaking that sometimes turns out to be really stressful. There are those who solve this problem with games and promises of rewards - and then there are those like Maleen, who think up creative solutions. Her answer is to create meals to take to school that are colorful and good to look at. Really imaginative compositions were born in this way, which use food as the artistic materials to design almost anything, as we will see below.

There are animals, cartoon characters and even works of art: in the end, it has also become a creative activity that Maleen shares with her followers on her social media channels, and where you can see the progress of her works. It's not easy to find the right balance between using healthy ingredients and what it takes to create her edible artworks, but the results are a pleasure to see, and they sure are fun to eat!

Rice, meat skewers, and slices of carrot cut to look like flowers: together they give life to a mother sloth with her cub. This dish was created to celebrate Mother's Day.

A delicious breakfast with cereals, fruit and even chocolate pieces and peanut butter. It wasn't meant for her son, but a lovely piece of art came out of this project.

Dis you ever think that rice, wurstel and asparagus on a plate could create a cute drawing like this of this giraffe?

A Cruella DeVille (of 101 Dalmations fame) to devour! It is made with jjajangmyeon - a difficult dish to pronounce but very tasty. These are noodles topped with a black bean, meat and vegetable sauce, and is a culinary meeting of Chinese and Korean cuisines.

Characters from animated films (cartoons): There are also these characters in Maleen's collection. In this case, it is Vaiana Waialiki from Disney's Oceania!

A dancing girl with a fluffy tutu: have you ever thought that sautéed shrimp could be used to create the image of a ballet dancer?

An indulgent piece of toast with Nutella and peanut butter that mimics the Louis Vuitton logo.

And these designs are not only for dinner plates: even an egg and ham sandwich can come to life with a grumpy face.

A chic dish: it looks like a cover from some fashion magazine, and is made of chicken nuggets, red cabbage, sauces (mayonnaise and tonkatsu) and, of course, rice!

These are Oreo-flavored mini pancakes in the shape of Totoro, one of the most beloved characters in Japanese animation by Studio Ghibli. In addition, they are decorated with food colouring ... so, you can eat everything!

Another tribute to the worldwide stars born in the Far East: anyone who is a fan of the South Korean band BTS will probably recognize Shooky, the character created by one of the members of the band, Suga.

If you want to have fun looking at all of Maleen Mac's other creations, go to her Instagram profile!