Adrian Fiorino has been playing with food for a long, long time.

Heck, he grew up in a house where his papa wore whites to work, and schlepped a chef’s knife instead of a briefcase — because, of course, he was a chef. So too is Fiorino’s big brother. And his mom, well, she’s Italian and as long as Fiorino’s been around, she’s cooked everything from scratch.

So, no big stretch for Fiorino to find himself the creator of the blog insanewiches.com, and author of "Insanewiches: 101 Ways to Think Outside the Lunchbox" (St. Martin’s Griffin, $16.99), a 222-page play-along-at-home guide to some really out-there ‘wiches.

Back in summer 2009, the adman by day just started looking around his world, wondering, "What things in my life can I make into a sandwich?" The Flip-Phone Cellwich was Insanewich No. 1.

Not long after, Fiorino just had to make a Rubik’s Cube of pastrami, kielbasa and pork belly. That mouth-stuffer went viral, with more than 100,000 Web page hits from the hungry and the curious.

What’s with all the buzz? "It’s inspiration," says the 36-year-old who hails from Toronto. "Not only is it spectacle, it’s something so bizarre and crazy, it inspires people to make their own."

For kids who, like Fiorino, get a kick out of playing with their food, the creations are naturals. Here’s one starter ‘wich to get ‘em thinking outside the lunchbox (with your watchful eye — and essential coaching, but of course).

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DON’T EAT LIKE A BIRD!

Prep: 10 minutes

Makes: 1 sandwich

Note: Adapted from "Insanewiches," by Adrian Fiorino.

Ingredients:

2 slices light rye bread with caraway seeds

2 slices dark rye bread

½ cooked chicken breast, chopped fine

1 ½ tablespoons fat-free mayo

1 tablespoon parsley

Salt and pepper

1 pretzel stick

1. Using the birdhouse templates, cut house bases out of each of the light rye slices and roofs out of each of the dark slices. Reserve the excess bread from the roof pieces.

2. Using an apple corer, stamp a hole into one of the house bases. Make sure to leave space beneath the hole for the pretzel stick. Stamp one round out of the excess dark rye bread. Reserve.

3. Mix chicken, mayo, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Place the house base without the hole on a board; place 1 roof slice on top so they are butting up against each other.

4. Spoon the chicken salad on top of the first roof-and-house layer. Place the second roof-and-house slices on top of the chicken salad. Stick the pretzel into the sandwich right below the hole. Place the reserved dark rye round down into the hole.

Nutrition information:

Per serving: 420 calories, 6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 37 mg cholesterol, 65 g carbohydrates, 26 g protein, 1038 mg sodium, 8 g fiber.