Originally published by Two Healthy Kitchens on www.TwoHealthyKitchens.com.
Shared with permission.

• 1 Flatout Foldit (we use the 5 Grain Flax variety)
• Your choice of spreads, such as: peanut butter or other nut butters, sun butter, nut-free Wow Butter soy spread, reduced-fat cream cheese, 100% pure fruit jelly
• Your choice of optional sprinkled toppings, such as: thinly sliced kiwis, grapes, strawberries or other fruits; coconut flakes; thinly sliced almonds or other nuts; granola
• 2 small blueberries
• 1 small grape
• 2 thinly sliced almonds (or an additional grape, for a nut-free option)

To make each Hippo:
Step 1: We start with a protein- and fiber-packed 5 Grain Flax Flatout Foldit. You’re already hitting a nutritional home run, even before adding protein-rich spreads and fresh fruits – these Foldits are jam-crammed with whole wheat, 7 g of fiber, Omega 3s, and 7 grams of protein! Cutting away just a small section from each side of the Foldit makes a perfectly shaped hippo head (with the added bonus that those little scraps are great snacks as you work on creating your hippo!). It’s easiest to cut the shape of your hippo’s head first, before adding fillings. We found a tiny paring knife worked well and gave us precise control.

Step 2: Next comes the really creative part: choosing the fillings! This could be anything from simple peanut butter to your own inventive flavor combo (pop down to the recipe card for our whole list of ideas). No matter what you choose, though, we do recommend a fairly thin schmear, so your sandwich doesn’t end up too gloppy and messy. If you’d like, you can also sprinkle your filling with a little coconut, granola bits, sliced fruit, or nuts.

Step 3: To make the characteristic, curved hippo mouth, just lightly press the hippo’s top “lip” together a little in the middle. (This will be easier if you don’t have sliced fruit or bits of granola right up front). The sticky nut butter, jelly or cream cheese filling should easily hold it in place.

Step 4: Great! Now you just have to add a face. Although you can definitely play around with different items like raisins or dried berries, we love the look we get from fresh grapes and blueberries. Dab a tiny, tiny bit of spread (peanut butter, cream cheese – whatever you’re using) onto the bottom of each blueberry “nostril” and the cut side of each grape “eyeball” to hold them in place.

Step 5: For the final touch, gently press thinly sliced almonds into position as “ears.” It can help if you make a very small slit to nestle the almonds into. Alternately, you can use grapes as ears for a nut-free variation. If peanut allergies are a concern, opt for a reduced-fat cream cheese filling, or a nut-free spread like WowButter (a soy-based, nut-free product), or a sun butter (made from sunflower seeds). Use your nut-free spread to “glue” on the eyes and nose and then, instead of using sliced almonds to make your hippo’s ears, make little slits at the top of the hippo’s head and gently push in grape slices as ears, using a bit of nut-free spread to help keep the grapes in place, if needed.

And voilà! Your Hippo Sandwich is done! All ready for a special meal or to tuck away as a little surprise in a lucky kiddo’s lunch box!