My children LOVE Olives.  They can never eat just a few.  Olives are one of those naturally fun foods for kids because they can put them on the ends of their tiny fingers and walk around like little octopus or something.  This is why my girls can never eat just a few.  They must have 10 at a time - 1 for each finger.

What are olives anyway?  A vegetable? A fruit?  Olives grow on trees and are technically a fruit because of the seed in them.   Olive trees can live to be really, really old.  Some trees are claimed to be 2,000 years old!  Have you ever thought about this.........if Olives are a fruit, then is Olive Oil really just a fruit juice?  Ha ha.   Olives have some good benefits. They are a great source of Vitamin E. Their dark color means they are full of phytonutrients.  The good, healthy fat in olives helps to protect cells from damage and improve heart health. Either way, Olives are a great snack food for kids, in moderation.

I wanted to add some additional goodness to a snack of olives and decided the sweetness of carrot and smoothness of cheese would compliment it nicely.  I peeled a few carrots.

Cut the ends off and then cut them in half.

And then cut them into smaller strips.  They have to be pretty thin for this to work.

Then I took a string cheese stick, and popped it in the microwave for about 8 seconds to soften it up a bit.

The reason being, is that you will need to cut a small hole in the middle of each slice, and it is much easier if the cheese is a little softer.

Cut on one side of the slice, and then turn it over to finish cutting and pop out the cheese bit.  Your kids will love eating the extra part.

Then just alternate a string cheese slice and olive to make a kabob.

And Voila!  You have a Tiger Stripe snack for any voracious appetite.

I whipped up a little ranch dip using this mix.  Delicious - and Kid Kritics Approved, meaning a lot of kids have tried it and liked it.

Lets observe the hunt....... Inspecting the prey.  Yep - I approve.  And scarf!  Success!

Disclaimer - The ranch mix was sent to me for free to tame the wild beast ranch lovers around here.