Food Coloring Pages

• Breakfast: pancakes, waffles, fried eggs, toast and a bowl of cereal.
• Lunchbox food: sandwiches cut in triangles, wraps and apple slices.
• Diner classics: burgers, hot dogs, fries and a milkshake with a straw.
• Food from around the world: tacos, sushi rolls, ramen, dumplings and spaghetti.
• Cute food: smiling toast, a sleepy dumpling and a taco with rosy cheeks.
• Kitchen and table scenes: a cook at the stove, a table set for dinner and a picnic blanket.
• Food groups plate: a plate divided into fruits, vegetables, grains and protein, with a cup of dairy on the side.

Food looks tasty on paper when the colors are warm and a little uneven. Flat, single-color food looks like plastic.

• Bread and buns: start with pale yellow, then go over the top with tan and golden brown. Leave the cut inside nearly white.
• Burger patties and grilled meat: dark brown, with a few darker lines for grill marks.
• Cheese: yellow-orange. Where it melts over an edge, add a small white highlight.
• Lettuce and herbs: two greens, a bright one for the leaf and a darker one in the folds.
• Tomato and ketchup: a true red, slightly orange in the middle of a slice.
• Rice and noodles: don't color them at all. Outline the shadows in light gray or pale yellow and let the paper be the white.
• Fried food: yellow first, then orange-brown along the edges, where it would be crispiest.

Cooks like to say we eat with our eyes first, and a plate looks best with at least three colors on it. Try the same rule on a page. If the food is mostly brown, add a green garnish, a red sauce or a blue plate.