Eatzy Bitzy is a food art blog that provides both enjoyment and a learning experience to those interested in seeing delightful creations made with simple ingredients.  Samantha Lee, a mom whose goal it is to get her children to eat their food, is the creator of this blog.  She founded this blog in 2011 to showcase the meals she had prepared for her children.  These are not ordinary meals though.  Lee gives a great deal of effort to create intricate and fun designs with all the food she uses.  She often creates real and fictional characters for the meals to get the attention of her children.  Some characters she has designed include Michael Jackson, Audrey Hepburn, Fred Flintstone, and Spongebob Squarepants.

            Lee’s blog has a very simple layout design that is not displeasing to the eyes.  Most of her posts include a picture and a sentence about the meal with a “Continue Reading” link at the bottom.  There are no pop ups or ads on the sides of the page.  The top of the page features only four navigation links.  These include the home page, the about page, a page dedicated to the posts that feature a step-by-step guide, and a press page that shows where Lee’s work has been promoted.  What is great about the blog is that on the right side of the page you are able to type in your email address in order to receive posting notifications.

            It is easy to lose track of time when viewing Lee’s blog.  She includes tips on how she made each dish and gives you the step-by-step process on how to achieve something similar to what she made.  Lee includes a list of tools and ingredients at the beginning, and then she lists the procedure for making the meal.  The instructions are very easy to understand and follow.  There is also an image of the finished product that Lee adds with the post so that the reader can visualize how the dish should look like when following the steps.  The image is also for the readers who have no interest in recreating the dish, but only want to see it for their own viewing pleasure.

          What makes this blog even more captivating is that Lee had no professional training to make these dishes.  This can definitely inspire anyone who does not have culinary training but wants to create fun meals.  She came up with each plating design on her own, and she continues to form new ideas when it comes to the different shapes and sizes of each ingredient and how to line everything up on the plate to make it as appealing as possible.  The most important thing is having fun with the presentation because there are a lot of children who have trouble eating their vegetables.  If the vegetables depict an animated character they love, it will definitely be easier for them to eat it.  Lee calls each dish “bento” which is a Japanese form of cuisine that is a single portioned meal.  Rice, vegetables, fruits, and bread are the ingredients that Lee often uses when making each meal.  One example of a dish she made was entitled “Moo Moo Cow.” Lee provided an image of the tools she used and then proceeded to use a row of images that showed how she cut the crusts off the slices of bread, how she filled the sandwich, the way she cut out shapes for the body parts of the cow, and the gluing off all the parts with mayonnaise.

            The only negative thing I can say about this blog is that the updates are not frequent.  Lee only posts every few months.  The last post was on July 21, 2013.   Lee also does not do step-by-step tutorials for each dish that she posts.  Some posts just include a picture of the food and a subtitle.  Lee posts more of her food creations on her instagram account.  She has developed a popular following on there and has tons of photos.  She already has four new images for October 2013.  Her blog does have plenty of comments, which she takes the time to respond to and thank the people who like her dish.  This is great because you can see that she cares about her fans.  You are also able to ask any questions with a good chance of getting a reply.

           Eatzy Bitzy is a blog I would recommend to anyone who likes food, enjoys looking at interesting and unusual designs, or wants to learn tips about making bento.  Lee does not use ingredients that are difficult to find in stores.  Looking at each plate makes me feel torn between wanting to eat the dish myself and also conserving the beautiful design so that it is not ruined.  It is exciting to see what new plating designs Lee will use and also the characters that she will try to recreate.  Each post is different and unexpected, which is something I always look for in a blog.  Eatzy Bitzy introduces you to a whole new level of food blogs.