So I have been busy trying to keep up the demands of motherhood and wifehood! But I've been having a blast! Here is a look at some of the things that have been keeping me busy, from home school activities for my son, or snacks for him, to snacks and meals for the whole family!
Rock Dominoes
These are simple and fun to create. It's a little time consuming, waiting for the colors to dry. I bought these 'River Rocks' from the dollar store and had them sitting around, so I decided to pull out the paints and see what would come to mind. These dominoes turned out great! You may want to seal them with a top coat so the paint doesn't chip off. But my son can't get enough of them, granted he just wants to hold them and carry them in his hands all day...may be making rock pets in the near future for him.
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
Prep time: Cook time: 12 mins Total time: 15 mins
6 tablespoons all natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons all natural almond butter
1 small banana, mashed well in a bowl
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cinnamon (optional... I love cinnamon)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mash banana in a bowl until nice and smooth. Add in nut butters, spices, and salt, and mix until very well combined.
- The dough should stick together into one big ball by the time it's all mixed together. Nothing should stick to the side of the bowl.
- Grease a cookie sheet with a healthy oil.
- Plop into little balls on the cookie sheet and press down with a fork (or just smoosh down with your hand)
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until firm to the touch... but watch that the bottoms don't burn!
- Let cool and enjoy!!
Dinosaur Fossil Hunt
My son is obsessed with The Land Before Time, and doesn't know the scientific names for dinosaurs, he only knows the dinosaurs as the characters from LBT! It's adorable! I wanted to do something fun and sciencey with him, and voila, dino fossils. These are super simple and fun, it's just a simple play dough recipe (1 cup water, 1 cup flour, 1 cup salt; I used wheat flour so they have a brownish tint) baked at 200-210 F for 2 or more hours until dry and hard. You may have to flip them over if they are super thick, to ensure drying all the way through.
I made bones, teeth and talons. I didn't use dirt this time, but will next time, with small rocks, for his sensory bin. I used the moon sand we made a while ago, added some Spanish Moss, sticks and leaves we collected the day before at the park, to make dinosaur nests. Gave him his shovels and rakes and he went to town digging around. I also let him bring out his toy dinosaurs to stomp around in their "natural" habitat.
Eggplant Pizzas
Ingredients:
- 1 globe eggplant, about 8 ounces and 9-10 inches long
- about 1 T salt, for drawing water out of eggplant
- about 2 T olive oil, for brushing eggplant before roasting
- about 2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, for sprinkling on eggplant before roasting
- 10 large basil leaves, cut in chiffonier strips (optional)
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1/3 cup finely grated low-fat mozzarella blend
- hot red pepper flakes for sprinkling finished pizza (optional)
Sauce Ingredients:
- 2-3 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 large garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- 1 can good quality petite diced tomatoes with liquid (or use 3 cups peeled and diced fresh tomatoes)
- 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning blend
- 1/4 tsp. dried oregano (use Greek or Turkish oregano)
Instructions:
Cut off both ends of the eggplant; then cut it into 3/4 inch thick slices (trying to make them the same thickness!) Put the eggplant pieces on a double layer of paper towels and sprinkle both sides generously with salt. Let the eggplant sit with the salt on it for about 30 minutes to draw out the liquid. (After the eggplant sits for 15 minutes, turn on the oven to 375F.)
While the eggplant sits, make the sauce. Heat 2-3 tsp. olive oil (depending on your pan) and saute the finely chopped garlic just until it becomes fragrant. (Don't let it brown.) Add the petite diced tomatoes, dried Italian seasoning, and dried oregano and let the sauce cook at a low simmer until it's thickened, breaking up the tomatoes with a fork as it cooks. (Add water as needed, a few tablespoons at a time as the sauce cooks, keeping it hot by simmering at very low heat until it's needed for the eggplant slices.)
After 30 minutes, wipe the eggplant dry with paper towels (this also removes most of the salt.) Spray a roasting sheet with olive oil or non-stick spray, lay eggplant slices on, brush the tops of the eggplant with olive oil, and sprinkle with dried Italian seasoning. Roast the eggplant about 25 minutes (but "not so long that the slices become mushy and lose their shape" as Julia says.)
While the eggplant roasts, thinly slice the fresh basil leaves (if using) and combined freshly grated Parmesan and low-fat mozzarella blend. After 25 minutes or when eggplant pieces are done, remove eggplant from the oven and turn oven setting to broil. Spread a few tablespoons of sauce on the top of each eggplant slice, sprinkle with thin basil slices (if using) and top with a generous amount of cheese. Put pizzas under the broiler until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. (This took 6-7 minutes for me, but I was using a toaster oven and in a more powerful broiler it would probably only take a few minutes.) Serve hot, with red pepper flakes to sprinkle on pizza if desired. --From source
Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
INGREDIENTS:
2/3 c raw cashews
1/3 c oats
2 Tbsp Agave
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup (Omit and use Agave to preserve true Raw Status if you care)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 c Chocolate Chips (or to preserve true raw status, take 2 Tbsp Raw Cocoa Powder and add 1 Tbsp Agave, optional dash of vanilla extract, whisk and blend. Spread into a thin layer on wax or parchment paper, freeze. Take frozen chocolate off parchment and crumble the shreds into the mixture as your raw "chips".)
1/3 c oats
2 Tbsp Agave
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup (Omit and use Agave to preserve true Raw Status if you care)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 c Chocolate Chips (or to preserve true raw status, take 2 Tbsp Raw Cocoa Powder and add 1 Tbsp Agave, optional dash of vanilla extract, whisk and blend. Spread into a thin layer on wax or parchment paper, freeze. Take frozen chocolate off parchment and crumble the shreds into the mixture as your raw "chips".)
DIRECTIONS:
Blend the cashews and oats in a Vita-Mix, food processor, or high speed blender until they're a fine powder. Don't overblend or you'll wind up with cashew butter very quickly.
Add the agave, maple, vanilla and blend until incorporated. Be careful to just blend in short bursts and only until combined; don't over-process.
Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.
Form into balls and serve. If dough is sticky, chilling it in the refrigerator or flash-chilling it in the freezer helps make it easier to work with. --From Source
Gummi Fruit Snacks
Ingredients:
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice or fresh orange juice (if you don’t like sour go with orange!)
2/3 cup frozen or fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries are all great.)
1 – 2 Tbs honey
5 Tbs gelatin (from grass fed cows)
2/3 cup frozen or fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries are all great.)
1 – 2 Tbs honey
5 Tbs gelatin (from grass fed cows)
Directions:
1. Pour juice and berries into a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until berries become tender and begin to soften.
2. Add honey and stir until completely incorporated. You will want the fruit to dissolve quite a bit until you have a compote.
3. Puree mixture using a immersion blender or small blender (my magic bullet works great for this!)
4. Let sit, off heat, for 5 – 10 minutes.
5. Whisk in gelatin, one tablespoon at a time. Whisk vigorously until completely incorporated, mixing the gelatin in very gradually to avoid lumps. (If you do get lumps, just run the mixture through your blender again or you can put it back on the heat to help dissolve the gelatin.)
6. Pour into a 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 glass dish. Refrigerate until set (30 minutes to an hour). Cut in small squares. (You could also use some cute molds like this and create awesome shapes. I’m not awesome like that… but you could be!)
These are strawberry with lemon juice, and are super sour/sweet, and cold, they are extremely refreshing! Haiden eats them by the handful!--From Source
Peanut Butter Granola Bars
INGREDIENTS
2 cups quick oats
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup Peanuts
1/4 cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups quick oats
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup Peanuts
1/4 cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Line 8×8″ pan with parchment paper leaving excess on each side for lifting. (I used a larger pan and they were still pretty thick, next time I will use the 9X13 pan to make them more 'granola' size).
Combine oats, peanuts and Rice Krispies in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Combine peanut butter, honey, brown sugar and salt.
Microwave on high for 1 minute, remove and stir.
Microwave for another minute. Stir in vanilla and stir 30 seconds.
Pour microwaved mixture over dry mixture and incorporate evenly.
Pour into prepared pan. Press down to form an even layer.
Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over top.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove from pan using parchment paper and cut into squares.
Line 8×8″ pan with parchment paper leaving excess on each side for lifting. (I used a larger pan and they were still pretty thick, next time I will use the 9X13 pan to make them more 'granola' size).
Combine oats, peanuts and Rice Krispies in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Combine peanut butter, honey, brown sugar and salt.
Microwave on high for 1 minute, remove and stir.
Microwave for another minute. Stir in vanilla and stir 30 seconds.
Pour microwaved mixture over dry mixture and incorporate evenly.
Pour into prepared pan. Press down to form an even layer.
Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over top.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove from pan using parchment paper and cut into squares.
Gluten-Free Almond Protein Bars
INGREDIENTS
1 cup almond butter (I used sunflower "peanut" butter, and if you do, don't be alarmed by the green color, that is just what happens with you bake the sunflower butter)
3 ounces vanilla plant-based protein powder (I used chocolate protein powder because we don't use vanilla)
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 ounces vanilla plant-based protein powder (I used chocolate protein powder because we don't use vanilla)
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-by-11-inch pan with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, use an electric mixer to mix almond butter, protein powder, and maple syrup. Beat in the eggs.
- Stir in rolled oats, coconut, and baking soda, and mix well.
- Firmly press stiff dough into the pan using the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 12 minutes or until the top browns slightly.
- Cool pan on a rack, cut into 18 squares, and store leftovers in an airtight container. --From source
- Fried Mozzarella Sticks
- String cheese and Lumpia Wraps is all you need.
- Wrap a string cheese with the wrapper tight, and use a little coconut oil in a sauce pan to brown on all side or until the cheese is melted and starts to leak out of the wrapper. Serve with a side of dipping sauce, I just used marinara sauce. Enjoy!
