Mindy Zald didn't set out to become an Instagram influencer. She — like most parents — just wanted her toddler to get psyched about healthy eating. Her eureka moment happened over breakfast one morning, as she cut up bananas and strawberries for her two-year-old son.
"It looked so boring, so I thought, if presentation matters to adults, it probably matters to kids too," Zald explained. "I made a banana snail for him, and when I presented it to him, he started laughing so much that I thought, okay, I've got to do this more often."
Before long, Zald was turning all of her son's snacks into crabs, puppies, giraffes, and frogs. Her son loved it.
"I realized it could be an educational moment, so I started making them and asking him questions like, 'What animal do you see? What foods do you see? How many pieces are here? What sound does that animal make?'" Zald said.
Occasionally, she'd post photos of the finished dish to her personal Instagram account. Each treat got so much attention from friends and family that a few months ago, she decided to turn her son's snacks into a more serious pastime, launching a separate Instagram, @ThePlatedZoo.
Gradually, her following started growing, but she remained focused on her core audience: her toddler. To challenge herself, Zald started taking requests.
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mickey, Curious George — whatever he's into," she said. In fact, her son loved the Man With The Yellow Hat's BFF so much he started requesting it every day.
"What's cool is that the shape of the fruit gives each one its unique character, so even if I made the same animal three times, it'll always look a little different," Zald said.
There's one character she hasn't conquered yet, but she doesn't consider it a failure — nor is she giving up on it.
"I attempted Mama Bear from Berenstain Bears for Mother's Day, and that was a disaster, so I'll try that again one day. That wasn't even picture-worthy," Zald admitted. "Blue is hard. Blueberries are the only fruit that's really blue, so I tried dying the fruit instead. I tried pears and cauliflower, but it was really hard to do that. I'll come back to her at some point."
Zald often turns to coloring books and cartoons to help her break down the basic shapes of animals, simplifying her designs so they can easily be carved out of fruit.
"One time, I was making a yak and I was standing in the produce aisle for a very long time. This guy came over to me and was like, 'Do you need some help?' and I just said, 'Does this kiwi look like a yak to you?'" she said. "He had no idea what I was talking about. At that moment, I was like, I need to get out of here. Clearly, I've been spending way too much time thinking about this."
As her passion project's grown, Zald's been banking designs — knocking out a few at a time, so she can maintain regular posts — and dreams of turning it into a book one day. The coolest part, so far, has been watching her son's reactions, and seeing other people get so inspired they start making (and Instagramming) replicas of her snacks.
"One guy does everything with his daughter — he's done the frog and the sheep — and he posts himself making it and her reaction to it, and that's been amazing," Zald said. "I love that."
And if it makes kids everywhere a little more excited to eat their veggies, even better.
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