Eyes are not almonds, skin is not made of coffee or milk, hair is not honey. Most food metaphors used to describe the (usually female) human body are so familiar they're stale if not rancid. Unless a theme such as cannibalism makes food genuinely relevant, think twice before using it to evoke bodily attributes, especially race and skin color. People do it because it's been done before — which is exactly what most writers should avoid, or at least reinvent. (You wouldn't use a phrase from a hallmark card or put a "hang in there" poster with dangling kittens in your prose either, right?)

PROMPT: Describe a character physically (or rewrite an existing character description) entirely avoiding food imagery. If you weren't tempted to go that direction in the first place, try getting out of the visual realm entirely, into smells, sounds, textures and actions such as gait, tics or quality of breath. Or hone in on a single, particular detail — say, scabbed cuticles — that reveals an emotional state — perhaps anxiety — that might serve as a character's trademark. (This last is especially useful for secondary and tertiary characters, who are often insufficiently distinct and can benefit from "wearing a funny hat" that will be noted and remembered by readers.)