My wife and I are trying to determine the perfect beach food for our 18-month old daughter as we prepare for an upcoming vacation. The qualities we desire are obvious: Easy to make, travels well, and no heating required. Another factor to consider is our daughter's burgeoning independence and desire to hold everything and feed herself. I was thinking how perfect a wrap would be, if I could just make it small enough and devise some way to keep it from unrolling. So I got in the kitchen and, after a few false starts, came up with what seems to be a great solution, and I owe it all to one secret ingredient: Edible glue.
Yes, edible glue. It's really just cornstarch and water, but edible glue sounds a lot more fun! Here's how we assembled some perfectly toddler-friendly wraps with just a few simple ingredients.
What You Need
Ingredients
Wrap or tortilla
Filling - Anything that can be rolled up pretty small. I used hummus and peanut butter and jelly.
Cornstarch
Water
Instructions
1. Make your glue by adding boiling water to cornstarch in a 2:1 ratio, water to starch. Mix well and let cool. It will turn into a very sticky paste.
2. Trim edges off of wrap to create a rectangle. You can skip this step if you want, but the clean straight edge makes for a good gluing surface.
3. Cut wrap into whatever size will work for your toddler.
4. Microwave the wrap for 5 seconds to make it pliable (or cook it on a gas burner 5 to 10 seconds each side before you cut it).
5. Spread the filling down the center of the wrap and roll it tight.
6. Smear some paste on the edge and squeeze it together. If needs be, wet your finger to make it apply a bit smoother.
7. Place your perfectly-sized, easily packable, and patently portable snack in a cute little hand. Watch the wrap disappear.
Notes: My biggest issue was the tortilla layers delaminating. A different type of tortilla or wrap may solve that problem, I just used the glue to stick them back together.
More Good Food for Toddlers:
• My Pantry Essentials: 5 Staples for Feeding a Toddler
• What Are Your Best Smart, Quick, Toddler-Friendly Meals?
• Flying with Kids: What Snacks to Pack for the Plane
(Images: Richard Popovic, visiting from Apartment Therapy Family)
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Peanut butter isn't already enough glue?
Just this morning I was expressing thanks that my 2-yr old will eat almost anything I spread on a tortilla and wrap up. (Also try: cold refried beans and cheese; cream cheese with or without something sweet like jam or honey.)
So, does the glue keep well in the fridge if you only use it once a day?
I feel like i'd be worried that this might encourage the kids to think real glue was edible. Maybe not, if you don't let them see it.
Maybe put a touch of food color in the cornstarch glue so it looks like food, to keep them from thinking about the Elmer's.
I'd probably do this with lavash, which is both already rectangular and less likely to delaminate. (Plus whole wheat lavash is way tastier than whole wheat tortillas. In my opinion, at least. And if you're into that sort of thing.)
How about a soft cream cheese instead? Unless, of course, you are using peanut butter. Does cornstarch adhere better than these things?
I can attest that cornstarch makes a great glue. I actually used it for gluing paper to wooden decorative birdhouses shortly after moving into a new house with our newborn. I didn't know where our glue was, and it seemed to be too much effort to run out with an infant to buy glue for a quick project.
Anyhow, that was 2+ years ago. The glue is still holding the paper on perfectly and smoothly, which is not something PB or cream cheese would do.
The glue is extremely sticky, just like a proper paste, and it is pretty much invisible once it is rubbed on, so the worry of encouraging kids to eat other pastes and glues never crossed my mind. But the suggestion of adding food coloring is a good one if you are concerned. And I think the suggestion of lavash is spot on as well. As far as how long it lasts, I am not sure, I tend to make small batches as needed, since it is so easy to do. Thanks for the comments!