Tag Archives: food

Spooky Snacks & Crafts For Halloween

21 Oct

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My girls couldn’t be more excited for Halloween.  This year we were unable to get our decorations from where we store them so we have been busy making our own to decorate the house.  While we decorate it’s always fun to have Halloween Themed snacks (these could also be a fun afternoon craft activity with food).  Below are some of the activities we have done together and snacks you can make for your halloween play dates, parties or bake sales:

Spider Hands with Web: A simple activity you can do with almost anything you have in your house.  Have your child trace both hands on black construction paper or use computer paper and have them color in their hands after traced.  Cut out hands and glue together.  Have your child make the eyes or you can use google eyes if you have any available.  On a piece of white paper, draw a web and then cut it out. Hang somewhere around the house.

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Creatology Foam Pumpkin Kit:  This kit is available at Michaels.  It’s perfect for making signs and Halloween pictures to hang around the house.  It comes with foam stickers for eyes, ears, nose, black cats, and spiders as well as google eyes to glue on.   We also made a Halloween mobile out of them by punching holes in the stems and hanging them from a hanger.  (use can also punch holes in the hand spiders mentioned above and hang them as well on the mobile).

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The Sparkly Pumpkin:  The easiest craft to keep busy.  All you need is miniture pumpkins and crayola glitter glue. To give it a little spooky touch, add rubber rats or spiders.  A great decoration for around the house.

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GoGoSqueez-enstein: I made these for a snack when my girls came home from school one day.  I made one on the computer and the other I made with construction paper, glitter glue and a black marker.  My oldest thought they were so cute, she went and made a bunch to bring to her friends Halloween party.

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There Was A Little Girl Who Swallowed A Spider:  My girls love the series There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed….A Fly, A Bat and so on.  The other day I made these snacks for a Halloween craft play date.  We started joking around about The Little Girls Who Swallowed a Spider.  These snacks are simple to make.  All you need are brownie bites from Whole Foods (note that they are made in a facility that also processes peanuts and tree nuts).  UTZ Halloween Pretzels, edible Eyes, and Wilton Gel Writers.  Break the wings off the pretzel bats and push them into the Brownie to make the legs,

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The Haunted House : We made this house last year and will continue making haunted houses with some of our favorite halloween candy.  See my previous post to see how you can make them.

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Happy Decorating and Crafting this Halloween!

 

 

 

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How I Got My Daughter To Try Zucchini and Zucchini Noodle Dishes I Love

8 Oct

 

I never thought I would be able to get my girls to eat zucchini.  Not long ago my mom gave me a Veggetti™ Spiral Vegetable Cutter. It’s been the best gift.  It turns Veggies into thick or thin “spaghetti” noodles.  I use it almost every day for lunch and dinner, mostly with Zucchini. One day my youngest, who won’t touch zucchini when its cut into chips or sticks, saw me eating the Zucchini Noodles. She loved zucchini noodles. She prefers the simple version with olive oil, garlic, salt and a little parmesan cheese or in vodka sauce.

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Below are some of my favorite creations that I put together using simple ingredients:

Simple; with olive oil, salt, garlic. Topped with parmesan cheese.

Simple; with olive oil, salt, garlic. Topped with parmesan cheese.

 

Sautee noodles with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, red onion, adding tomatoes at the end. Top with feta cheese.

Sautee noodles with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, red onion, adding tomatoes at the end. Top with feta cheese.

Sautee with chile olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper, adding heirloom tomatoes a few minutes later. Top with goat cheese.

Sautee with chile olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper, and carrots. Add heirloom tomatoes a few minutes later. Top with goat cheese.

Zucchini Noodles topped with Whole Foods pre-made Eggplant Balls that were simmered in Cucina Antica Vodka sauce. One of my favorites.

Zucchini Noodles topped with Whole Foods pre-made Eggplant Balls that were simmered in Cucina Antica Vodka sauce. One of my favorites.

Sautee Zucchini Noodles with salt, pepper, olive oil, crushed red pepper. Heat two Whole Foods ready-made Turkey Balls and mix in. Top with parmesan cheese.

Sautee Zucchini Noodles with salt, pepper, olive oil, crushed red pepper. Heat two Whole Foods ready-made Turkey Balls and mix in. Top with parmesan cheese.

 

Cook Pancetta and roast butternut squash first. Cook Zucchini Noodles. Add pancetta and butternut squash, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic. Top with goat cheese.

Cook Pancetta and roast butternut squash first. Cook Zucchini Noodles. Add pancetta and butternut squash, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic. Top with goat cheese.

 

 Veggetti™ is available at Bed, Bath, & Beyond for $14.99.  It is top rack, dishwasher safe

Disclaimer:  I did not receive compensation for this post.  I am not a professional chef by any means but I love mixing simple ingredients together to come up with something delicious.  I also love to share products that help my girls eat more vegetables.  I’m still working getting my oldest to try them because I know she will like them if she does.

 

 

 

 

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Fun (FOOD) Friday: Under the Sea

3 Oct

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I should be talking about Halloween and pumpkins but my girls can’t stop reminiscing about their summer trip to  Magic Kingdom.  The highlights of course, meeting the princesses.  A new attraction from our last visit a few years ago was Ariel’s Grotto.  It was simply amazing for them to go “Under the Sea” and meet their favorite Mermaid.  For dinner the next night, I decided to do something a little fun with their food.  I made a mermaid (or Ariel) themed dinner, not as beautiful as the “real” Ariel but it was fun and exciting for the girls.

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It was simple to make.  For the…

Head: I got ready made Turkey meatballs from whole foods and heated them up. I then cut eyes and a mouth

Hair: I made spaghetti with Vodka sauce.  I placed the spaghetti around the head so that it looked like hair.

Shells: I used two Driscoll’s Strawberries.

Tail: I sliced up kiwi and placed it on the plate to look like a tail.

Arms: I used two carrots.

Fish: I had S’More Goldfish and took the chocolate fish out and placed them on the plate for an “Under the Sea” look.

The next time I make our Mermaid meal, I will use cooked spinach for seaweed or broccoli for “under water” plant life.

 

Does your child love mermaids as much as my girls do?  Here a few activities you can do to continue your “Under the Sea” themed evening:

 

Happy Friday!

Disclaimer: All images, ideas and opinions expressedare my own.   I was not compensated for this post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kids Food Festival: March 2nd & 3rd

22 Feb
Image from Kids Food Festival

Image from Kids Food Festival

Image from Kids Food Festival

Image from Kids Food Festival

One of my daughter’s favorite events last year was the New York Kids Food Festival at Citi Pond at Bryant Park (see post).  The Kids Food Festival has partnered with Cooking Light and the James Beard Foundation to help fight childhood obesity.  The event engages children in fun activities such as a food plate scavenger hunt, cooking sessions, performances and a chance to get up close with some of your favorite characters in hopes to teach families and children how to make balanced choices with food.  Build your own pizza or make spiced gluten-free waffle sticks in one of the cooking sessions.  Tickets are required for each session.  Free events will include a meet and greet with Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba as well as performances from The Dirty Sock Funtime Band and Super Sprotz.  Click here for a complete list of events, times and dates.

Washington D.C. friends, family and followers, keep checking the Kids Food Festival website for an event near you!

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Yummy Valentine’s Lunch

13 Feb
Image from Nuovo Pasta

Image from Nuovo Pasta

Picture 12

Image from Nuovo

You probably know Nuovo Pasta from the cute Mac and Cheezy Fish Ravioli they sell at Whole Foods.  Any time my kids pass the adorable shaped ravioli they want it.  The all-natural pasta also comes in a variety of shapes and delicious flavors. When I was at the Manhattan Costco the other day I came across Nuovo  Ricotta, Mozzarella and Asiago Heart-Shaped Pasta.  Delicious for grown-ups and lots of fun for your little Valentine’s.  For the kids I served it with a little olive oil, salt and garlic.  My husband and I enjoyed it with vodka sauce on top (my girls didn’t want to “mess up” their hearts with sauce).  Choose a vegetable and cut heart-shaped strawberries on the side for a yummy lunch or dinner on Valentine’s day!  For a little extra fun let the little Valentine’s dress up and set the table with flowers and have a “fancy restaurant“.

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Try It, You’ll Like It (Pumpkin Lentil Soup)

17 Oct

If you have a toddler, I’m sure you’ve seen Yo Gabba Gabba. My girls became OBSESSED a little over a year ago when my parents took them to a show. I never thought that Yo Gabba Gabba would encourage them to eat. Our favorite song, which gets sung at almost every meal because my daughter is so quick to say “I don’t like that”, is “try it, you’ll like it…”. Any time we try something new we sing it.  Another great song for getting my girls to eat is “Party in my Tummy”.

Last week I made Pumpkin Lentil Soup.  When I put it in front of my four-year old I received the typical response “I’m not eating that, its gross, I don’t like pumpkin”. My response: “have you tried pumpkin? Did you try the soup? Haven’t you liked all the other new foods you have tried?”. We then reverted back to Yo Gabba Gabba and started singing the Yo Gabba Gabba’s “Try It, you’ll like it”. Of course she ate the entire bowl and asked for it again a few days later.

Pumpkin Lentil Soup Recipe (adapted from Slow Cooker Pumpkin,Chickpea and Lentil Stew)

*It is a stew but my girls like calling it soup.

  • 1 pound pie pumpkin or winter squash,
  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • 3 medium carrots ( I used baby carrots since we had them)
  • 1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
  • 1 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 3 1/2  cups vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin beer (I used Dogfish Punk Beer)

Directions:

  1. Peel, seed, and cut the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes.
  2. Rinse and drain the beans.
  3. Cut the carrots into 1/2 in thick slices.
  4. In a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker combine pumpkin, chickpeas, carrots, onion, lentils, tomato paste, ginger, lime juice, cumin, salt, and pepper.
  5. Pour vegetable broth and beer all over ingredients in slow cooker.
  6. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8-10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4-5 hours.

I did not do this but it would be cute to use a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter and cut a pumpkin shape on a slice of cheddar or yellow american cheese to place on top of the stew when served.

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Enjoy Life Foods: Chewy Bars {Review}

13 Jun

Image from Enjoy Life Foods

I recently had the opportunity to try Enjoy Life Foods Chewy Bars in four flavors: Sunbutter Crunch, Caramel Apple, Coco Loco, and  Very Berry.  Each bar is portioned controlled to 1 oz and packed full of essential vitamins and minerals for added health benefits (Enjoy Life Foods ).  The texture or consistency is soft and chew and reminded me of a protein bar. My favorite flavors were the Coco Loco and the Sunbutter Crunch.  The Sunbutter Crunch is great for days I crave peanut butter and cannot have any due to my daughters peanut allergy.  My girls prefered the Very Berry bars since they love fruit and are full of a “very berry” flavor.

Images from Enjoy Life Foods. From left to right: Sunbutter Crunch, Coco Loco, Very Berry, Caramel Apple

We eat Enjoy Life Foods Chewy Bars for breakfast and dip them in yogurt, my girls love dipping their right now. They also eat them as a snack between meals mainly when we are on long car rides or in the stroller because they don’t crumble like most cereal bars and are less of a mess.  Enjoy Life Foods Chewy Bars make a great addition to snack time at playgroups and at school because they are free of the 8 common allergies and kids can “eat freely“.  Not only do we love them for breakfast and snacks, they also make a great dessert- alone or with ice cream. I plan on making Crunchy Chocolate Dippers, from Enjoy Life, with the girls this weekend for our Fathers Day BBQ.

Taking a break to snack on an Enjoy Life Chewy Bar!

Too much scooting made her hungry. Snacking on an Enjoy Life Chewy Bar!

Find out where to buy Enjoy Life Chew Bars!  Check out great recipes using Enjoy Life Foods!

Disclaimer: I received 4 boxes of Enjoy Life Chewy Bars for the purpose of this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

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Baby Mash

19 Apr

image from baby-mash.com

About a month ago I met Molly from Baby Mash at a MomTrends event.  She gave me a sample of Baby Mash Pumpkin and Oat teething biscuits to try.  Pela is about to get her two-year molars and is putting everything she can find in her mouth.  A few days ago she came across the sample of the biscuits I received from Molly and can’t put them down.  Maddie wanted to try one and Pela ran off with the bag and hid them.  If she loves them at 2, I can only imagine that an infant would too.  I wish I had them when my girls were going through the horrible teething stage to gnaw on to soothe their gums.   

About Baby Mash (from their website): Baby Mash was created after discovering that babies gnaw on everything  — I mean everything! — and being unable to find a biscuit that wasn’t rice based and loaded with sugar.  Teething Rings come in a variety of flavors and are allergy-friendly: free of dairy, soy and gluten — and not to mention vegan! They are baked in a facility that processes nut products, so unfortunately Maddie did not get to try them . To find out more, to purchase and see other available flavors visit Baby Mash on their site, facebook, twitter, and pinterest.

image from baby-mash.com

Disclaimer:  I did not receive compensation for this post.  I received a sample for review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

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