The Witch Sandwich (for Picky and Unenthusiastic Eaters!)

Intro: The Witch Sandwich (for Picky and Unenthusiastic Eaters!)

INTRODUCTION

There are sandwiches and then there is The Witch Sandwich. She is designed to entice picky and unenthusiastic eaters to eat something—anything!

In what must have been a somewhat desperate attempt to get me to eat as a young girl, my mom would make me witch sandwiches regularly, and I loved them. They were mostly made out of cheese and lunch meats cut into specific shapes which, when assembled, formed a most enticing sand-witch. She had a pointy hat (complete with buckle), a pretty, cheesy dress, and even a broom.

If Mom wasn't in the immediate vicinity while I was eating my witch sandwich, I would report excitedly on my progress:

"I'm eating her left eye now!"

"I'm eating her broom!"

"I just ate her whole dress!!!!"

Mom also dyed my milk red, so that I could pretend that I was a vampire drinking blood. And sometimes she let me pretend I was a dog, so I could eat under the kitchen table.

In the next section, you can briefly meet my mom and learn more about her process and philosophy. Then you can apply her wisdom, along with some extra pointers and suggestions from me, to make your own witch sandwiches for yourself or someone else who might not be feeling too excited about eating at the moment.

STEP 1: Consider the Eater of Your Witch Sandwich and What Could Be!

My mom used what she had on hand—and what she thought I would eat. So, if you have a particular eater in mind, make a list of the foods he or she does willingly eat. Then think about the textures, sizes, and shapes of those foods and how they could be used in a witch sandwich.

Here are some foods/witch part categories to help inspire you, but this is by no means an exhaustive list.

FOODS & POTENTIAL WITCH PARTS

FACE MATERIAL—pita bread, sandwich bread, a large lettuce leaf, sliced avocado, cheese, thin-sliced lunch meat (pimento loaf for spotted skin!)

EYES—blueberries, grapes, olives, hard-boiled eggs (all sliced into flat sections or halved); O-shaped cereal; raisins; cashews; sliced almonds; peanuts

NOSES—cheese, bell peppers, banana, carrot sticks, sliced almonds, O-shaped cereal

HAIR—cheese or thin-sliced lunch meat (sliced into overlapping strips); broccoli sprouts; bean sprouts; spinach, kale, basil, fennel; shredded wheat; small pretzel sticks; celery pieces; peanut butter blobs (slightly smashed with lines drawn on)

MOUTHS—raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, bell peppers (all sliced into flat sections or halved)

TEETH—peanuts, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, raisins, pineapple chunks

WITCH DRESSES—cheeses (try a dark-colored cheese base with a second overlay of Swiss for polka dots!); thin-sliced lunch meat; sliced avocado; fruit leather

BROOMSTICKS—nothing beats the classic, large pretzel rod; celery sticks; carrot sticks; bread crust; long-sliced banana; fruit leather (tightly rolled into a stick shape)

BROOM STRAW—shredded wheat; cheese or thin-sliced lunch meat (sliced into overlapping strips); peanut butter blob (slightly smashed with lines drawn on)

BELT BUCKLES—sliced cheese, O-shaped cereal pieces, tiny cut-outs from fruit leather

BUTTONS—(cross-sectional slices of) blueberries, grapes, or olives; raisins; O-shaped cereal pieces; sunflower seeds

STEP 2: Gather Your Supplies.

Got your list of foods to use? Excellent! To make my super-creepy witch sandwich, I used the following items. . .

RAW MATERIALS

• two kinds of cheese
• peanuts
• raisins
• mild green peppers
• cherry tomatoes
• green olives
• fresh basil
• kale
• a few sprigs of fennel

MISC. TOOLS

• cutting board
• kitchen scissors, sharp paring knives, and/or small pizza cutter
• serving plate

STEP 3: Cut Your Witch Parts.

You don't have to be an artist to be able to make a witch sandwich, but, for those of you who need a little extra help, I've drawn out some basic shapes to help guide your own witch part cutting. (Incidentally, kitchen scissors, sharp paring knives, and even small pizza cutters work really well on most witch parts.)

Also, you may not feel confident enough to tackle a full dress and broom right away. No biggie. A close-up of a witch face is still a lovely and appetizing thing.

ESSENTIAL WITCH PARTS

• face
• eyes
• nose
• mouth
• pointy witch hat
• hair

EXTRA FABULOUS SAND-WITCH FINERY

• teeth
• full dress with buttons
• little shoes
• broom stick with broom straw
• hands
• eyelids/eyelashes
• eyebrows

GOING WAY ABOVE AND BEYOND

• cat familiar
• cauldron
• background trees

STEP 4: Assemble Your Witch Sandwich.

It's important to note that no two witch sandwiches necessarily will look alike, and that's perfectly OK. The ingredients you use, the time you have available to spend, and your overall handiness with knives are all factors which affect sand-witches.

Case in point, pictured above is an oven clay replica of one of my mom's witch sandwiches. It looks nothing like the sand-witch I made for this Instructable. While hers were mostly made from cheese and meat, mine is more veggie-ified. No matter what ingredients make up your witch sandwich, here are some tips to help you assemble her.

WITCH ASSEMBLY TIPS

• The size and shape of your plate should afford you plenty of room to comfortably lay out your witch.
• Start with the face, dress, and other large items.
• Add smaller parts like her eyes, nose, and (optional) teeth next. Then place her lips, if she has separate lips.
• Add in her hair before placing the pointy part of her hat.
• After the hair and pointy part of the hat, cover the top of her face and bottom edge of her hat with hat brim.
• Add final touches like belts, belt buckles, hat buckles, dress buttons, etc. last.
• Present to your eater with a flourish, saying "I made you a sand-witch!"

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If you or someone you regularly feed is a picky or unenthusiastic eater, I hope you will make them a witch sandwich and share a photo with us here!

Also, this Instructable is my entry into the SANDWICH CHALLENGE. So, if you liked it, please vote for it! (And maybe even share it with a friend?...) Thank you!!

Comments

[AngelHouse]

What a great mom! I used to make Peanut Butter Pizza for breakfast for my picky little guy. An Eggo Waffle, with peanut butter, fruit bits, drizzle over "pourable fruit" or other lower sugar alternatives, voila. This is beautiful, thank you.

[pcapeto]

What an excellent mama you had!

[botinabox]

What a great way to make eating fun!

Surely a witchy-good way to cheer somebody up while getting them to eat a decent meal (no matter what their tastes are, since you offered a ton of potential options), and a great way to honour your Mom's creative culinary trickery.

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[SusanLand]

Oh! What a nice comment. (And great ascii witch, too!!!) Thank you so much. 🙂

[charlessenf-gm]

I made it. Well, not really - digitally.

[SusanLand]

HA! :-D

[jannie.lloyd]

Brilliant. I wish I had thought of something like this when I first looked after my (then) 10 year old twin grandkids. The lad, especially, was suucccchhhh a picky eater and the girl was soooooo slooow that it was hard work at meal times. I shall definitely pass this idea on to my sister to use for her grandson.

[SusanLand]

I had no idea there were so many other picky eaters in the world. What I do remember when I was a very young person was how odd eating anything seemed. The only comparison I have as an adult is returning from a bad trip to the dentist's office—when my mouth takes its time feeling like it belongs to me again. And putting food in there seems most dangerous and unappealing, indeed! ;-)
Here's hoping this helps your sister and her grandson—good luck!

[Clitcat]

Just read your intro, man I just drowned from the flood of memories. Thank you for sharing..

[SusanLand]

Thank YOU for taking a peek and saying hi! :-)

[rozzieozzie]

Very cool and imaginative! Wonder if it would work for seniors who have lost their appetite and just act like kids. (Like my 92 year old mother for example...) Have to try this!

[SusanLand]

That is a very good point. One doesn't have to be a certain age to be unenthusiastic about eating. A person could be grieving or anxious. Maybe they recently had a stroke or are dealing with severe depression or who knows? Lots of reasons eating can lose its appeal. But we all have to eat at some point—even if it is just a little something for the sake of keeping us going. Let me know if you do try it. I wish you and your mom well. :-)

[rozzieozzie]

Thank you! And good health and happy sandwiches to you and your mom!

[MuzicMaker]

This was awesome! I especially loved the interview, such a great idea. Your Mom seems like a super cool lady, and obviously she’s got a cool daughter... I have a niece and nephew (3 and 4yo) that I’m lucky enough to care for often. My niece will literally eat every single thing on her plate every time, whereas my nephew will do EVERYTHING but eat! His attention span can be measured in nanoseconds, and he’s picky about foods, so it’s a perfect storm. I will definitely be using this ible for inspiration, and making some food-art for him. I can already hear it - “I ate her head!” Success. Thank you so much for sharing this, and sharing your beautiful Mom with us.

[SusanLand]

Yayyyy! I am so glad you liked this and that you are going to make some of these, too. Please share photos, as I know my mom would like to see what you make, and I would, too. (Also, let us know if your nephew eats his witch sandwich!!!) I just can't say enough how special these were for me as a kid. Sure, I knew on some level it was all just food, but it kind of came to life on my plate in an enchanting way. I hope that happens for your nephew and your niece. :-)

[AnandM54]

Wow... Great instructables and also interview... Innovative idea!!

[SusanLand]

Thank you for your kind words! 🙂

[Treasure Tabby]

Very nice and well meaning idea. *thumbs up* But I was once a picky eater. I would not touch olives, mushrooms on pizza and or anchovies. I still don't like "sweated" onions and or some what cooked tomatoes. ;p Wierd sauses. Cooked peppers Ick! Stick to basic kid friendly ingredients. You may have to hide things like kale and broccoli in foods much better. I would also do different characters too such as monsters. Not every one likes witches.

[SusanLand]

Hello, fellow (reformed?) picky eater! Indeed, folks could totally come up with their own Count Snackulas or myriad other monsters. Knowing my mom as I do, she likely appreciated the pun involved—sand-witch! (Plus, at the time, I had a lot of trouble pronouncing the word "witch," so it may well have given her another excuse to work with me on my pronunciation...) As for my adding kale, olives, and such, Step 1 is to make a list of the foods your picky eater will eat and then think about how you could use those in your own customized witch sandwich. That might be mostly cheese, meat, and pretzels—true for me back in the day. The kale-y, olive-y witch sandwich in this Instructable is simply another example of one of many possible sand-witch incarnations. I concocted it for the adult-me living today—and she made my taste buds cackle with delight. ;-)

[jessyratfink]

Ahhhhhh I love it! Your mom seems like a super creative lady :D