These simple Fishbowl Mini Bagels are easy to out together but sure to put a smile on your kiddos faces (and in their bellies!)

Lately, I’ve been telling Alex I want to get Ryan a little fish. Don’t worry – he’s said no, because do I really need another thing to take care of in this tiny house? And also, he’s 3 – but I just really like the idea of him having his own little fishy in his room on his dresser that we can name and talk about and learn a little responsibility etc etc.

My mother-in-law has a giant fish tank at her house that the boys love looking into. We pull chair up and they stand and look at them swimming by, Ryan orders her to feed them, and Owen attempts to give them mini fish heart attacks and slams on the glass until I tell him it’s time for him to get down.

I was thinking of ways to bring fishies to the house without, you know, actually bringing fish into the house. And then it came to me – bagels!

Okay, that makes no sense unless you live in my weird warped brain, but we’ve been eating a lot of mini bagels around here. They’re an easy snack and I don’t have to heat up the house (or, you know, do much of anything) to prepare them, which is perfect for summer if you ask me. So when I split a bagel the other day and saw that one side was kind of flattened, making it have the same shape of a fish bowl, it was obvious what I  had to do.

These Fishbowl mini bagels have been a huge hit in our house the past week or so. Ryan keeps asking for “fishie bekls” and when Owen sees me grab the bag he just starts wailing and flapping his arms, which I’m assuming is a good thing. I dig them because they’re easy and fun and kind of make me feel like super mom, even if they only take a minute or two.

Fishbowl Mini Bagels

To make these, first split a bagel in half. You could obviously use a normal size bagel but my kids are little and don’t need that much bagel. I like things in smaller doses so that I have the option of giving them more, but I also feel like they take the opportunity to learn their hunger cues. If the holes in the middle of your bagel are too big, stuff it with something – PB, a raisin, a marshmallow – whatever works.

Next, take a few tablespoons for very thick Greek yogurt and add one or two drops of blue food coloring. You can also use softened cream cheese if you’d like. Mix it up and spread onto your bagels, leaving the very top bare.

Take a small amount of plain yogurt and spread it to the spot you left plain. This will create the top of your fish bowl. (where there is glass but no water.)

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Crush some cereal – for a natural look, something like Cheerios or Puffins work great, and for a neon fishbowl gravel look, try a fruity cereal like Froot Loops. Place your crushed cereal to the bottom of your fish bowl before adding in your fishies swimming around.

If desired, take some long green sprinkles to make some grass at the bottom.

And that’s it! It’s simple, but bound to impress your kids. I made mine the night before and gave them to the kids in the morning, but keep in mind that the yogurt is ‘wet’. It did make the cereal a tiny bit soggy but my kids didn’t care. I think using cream cheese would help with this a bit if you want to make this the night before or send it to school for lunch.

Okay, so tell me  – would your kids love this? When did you get your kids a fish? Let me know in the comments!

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