I don’t really know how to describe this new hobby of mine… but here goes:
My new favorite thing to do is serve my family food that I’ve arranged on a big, wooden board.
I know, it sounds so weird! But for some reason- I’m not quite sure why- serving food like this makes dinner way more exciting!
Maybe I’ll just have to show you the pictures so that you’ll understand what I mean.
But fair warning: These aren’t the greatest photos in the world. I wasn’t actually taking these pictures with a blog post in mind. The lighting isn’t great. In fact, I took most of them with my phone, standing on a chair above the table, while simultaneously trying to keep hungry kids from grabbing food!
This is real life, you guys. Enjoy! 😉
Related: 9 amazing snack boards for kids
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Christmas snack board
This was the first board we tried. We saw a picture in a magazine, and it looked fun. So we tried to recreate it.
And the addiction began!
On the Christmas snack board:
- Cubed cheddar cheese
- Sliced bologna
- Pepperoni
- Green olives
- Mozzarella balls
- Rosemary sprigs
- Various crackers
Pancake board
A few months later, when I couldn’t stop looking at food boards on Instagram, my husband cut a board for me. Then he made me one of my favorite dinners- pancakes!
On the pancake board:
- Pancakes
- Butter
- Syrup
- Hashbrowns
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Avocado
- Scrambled eggs
BLT board
I think these summer-y boards are my favorites. This BLT board was as delicious as it looked.
On the BLT board:
- Rolls
- Bread
- Bacon
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Mayonaise
- Sliced cheddar
- Sliced fresh mozzarella
- Basil
- Sliced avocado
- Sprouts
- Fresh fruit
Another breakfast board
Just think of all the serving dishes I avoided washing by putting all of this food directly on a board. Haha!
On the breakfast board:
- Scrambled eggs
- Over easy eggs
- French toast sticks
- Sausage
- Potatoes
- Onions and peppers
Baked potato board
Baked potatoes and all the toppings!
On the baked potato board:
- Baked potatoes
- Cornbread
- Butter
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Cottage cheese
- Bacon
Hamburger board
We made this board for burgers and every possible topping you could imagine. Mmmm!
On the hamburger board:
- Burgers
- Rolls
- Bacon
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Potato chips
- Pickles
- Cooked and raw onions
- Cooked mushrooms
Ballpark board
Even though we couldn’t celebrate Andrew’s first birthday with a big party, we still decided to go big with a fun theme and lots of food!
On the ballpark board:
- Hotdogs
- Hamburgers
- Chili
- Packets of ketchup and mustard
- Nachos
- Soft pretzels
- Extra nacho cheese
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Mozzarella sticks
- Marinara
- Peanuts
- Chips
Baguette board
This is the board my kids ask for over and over. We had this for dinner at least once a week during the last half of summer. For this particular board, we included 5 different types of homegrown tomatoes from my dad’s garden. We easily ate this entire thing!
On the baguette board:
- Sliced tomatoes
- Basil
- Sliced fresh mozzarella
- Sliced cheddar cheese
- Olive Garden Garlic & Herb Italian Seasoning, mixed with olive oil.
- Sliced avocado
- Sliced baguette: Both toasted and un-toasted
Fruit board
My daughter recently turned 6, and requested lots of fruit for her birthday dinner. This was so fun to make. (We also had a chocolate fountain, which you can’t see in the picture.)
On the fruit board:
- Strawberries
- In the cut-out pineapple: Pineapple, blackberries, kiwi, raspberries
- Clementines
- Grapefruit
- Fruit dip (marshmallow creme mixed with cream cheese)
- Raspberries
- Apples
- Caramel dip
- Mango
- Kiwi
- Blueberries
- Grapes
- In the cut-out watermelon: Watermelon, kiwi, mango
- In the cut-out cantaloupe: Cantaloupe, strawberries, kiwi, mango
- We also had a pomegranate that was mostly just for decoration. 😉 We did cut it up and taste it later, which was fun since we had never had one!
Inspiration
I first found out about food boards from The Baker Mama, on Instagram. I asked for her book for my birthday, and loved it!
Since then, I’ve also started following Reluctant Entertainer, and I love the boards she creates, too!
How to make your own board
My husband kindly wrote down the steps that he used to create my giant board:
Materials List:
- A piece of wood
- Dewalt Random Orbital Sander
- Chop saw
- Food Safe Mineral Oil
Where to get the wood for your board:
- Select a scrap piece from a cut down tree, former project, or piece around the garage.
- Purchase a piece at a local home improvement store. Most home improvement stores will also cut the wood for you which will save you from cutting it at home.
- Purchase a piece at a lumber yard.
Directions:
- Identify the size of the board you are going to make. I measured our dining room table with plates, cups, and silverware already placed on it. I then measured the space on the inside and that is what size I made the board.
- Select a piece of wood to use. Based on my research, the best kind of wood to use is a hardwood. Woods such as American maple, teak, American Cherry, walnut, and olive are considered hardwoods. There is a lot of information on the internet about woods to use. Take time to do some research on it.
- Sand down the piece of wood using a sander. I used a Dewalt Random Orbital Sander. I started with a low grit sandpaper (60 grit) and went to (120 grit). My piece of wood was actually pretty smooth so I didn’t have to sand a lot.
- Clean off the piece of wood with a cloth.
- Apply the Food Safe Mineral Oil. It was super easy to apply. I allowed it several hours to dry.
Boards to buy
If you’re not interested in making your own board, check out these options:
Thanks for reading!
I hope that you enjoyed reading about my newest little hobby. Happy boarding!
-Laura
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