8 Jul

cuddle palz

 

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know how much I love CuteZCute products. The Animal Friends and the Animal Palz have been featured many times because they’re cute, easy to use, easy to clean, practically indestructible, and most importantly – they’re affordable!

That’s why I’m super excited to be able to share the newest addition to the CuteZCute family with you today, Cuddle Palz!

 

Cuddle Palz

 

Cuddle Palz can be used to cut or stamp bread, meats, cheeses, fondant, cookie dough, pie dough, fruits, veggies, fruit leather, tortillas, and so many other things.  You can mix and match the cutters and stamps to create over forty different combinations!

And when you’re done, Cuddle Palz can be washed on the top rack of your dishwasher. Hooray for easy clean up!

There’s so much you can do with this set. I just love it.

I used the koala cutter to make Cam’s lunch today. I showed her the handy dandy combination guide (that can be downloaded and printed out from the Cuddle Palz web page) and let her choose what she wanted. She asked if her koala could be doing a hand stand just like the one pictured and I was happy to oblige because the body cutter makes it so easy.

We used the cute koala pick in her bento today as a food pick but it can also be used to help you remove the small cut-outs from the cutters. We like multitaskers!

Camryn was even able to use our new Cuddle Palz sandwich cutters to make her dad a tiger sandwich. She had a little trouble getting the edges of the bread nice and smooth at first, but once I showed her the “push and wiggle trick” she was good to go and now she’s pretty much a pro. 😉

So if you’re looking for a fun way to spruce up your kids’ lunches in a hurry, I highly recommend Cuddle Palz.

I also think Cuddle Palz would make a great gift as well as a fun party or play date activity for little ones.

Want to learn more about Cuddle Palz? No problem. Just click here.

Want to see Cuddle Palz in action? Here you go.

Cuddle Palz and other CuteZCute products are available on amazon.com and from my favorite bento goodies website, allthingsforsale.com.

 

 

 

5 Jul

 

Up until just a few days ago, I had never in all my thirty-something years, eaten a fresh apricot.

I know. Crazy.

I’ve had the little dried ones that come in a snack mix of this sort or the other, but I’ve never, for whatever reason, eaten a fresh one.

There is an awesome family run produce store just across the street from us that has lots of local and organic produce and they arrange it in such a lovely way that you can’t help but walk out of that place with bags filled to the brim with produce even if you only went in for a tomato.

As I was shopping last week I came across a pretty wicker basket full of apricots.

Apricots were most definitely not on my list but they looked so cute piled high in that basket that I soon found myself tossing four of them into my giant long-handled wheely basket which I never should have had in the first place because I only needed a few things.

I’m ridiculous.

Since I hadn’t made any plans for what to do with them, I figured I’d cut them up and add them to my fruit salad or maybe I’d freeze some for smoothies. I was optimistic. The sky was the limit!

It took a few days but the conclusion I finally came to was to halve them, sprinkle sugar on them, throw them in the oven, and roast them until dark and caramelized on top.

Those roasted apricots made a darn fine parfait and I’d imagine they’d make an even better ice cream topping. They’d also be great on top of cottage cheese, with brie on toasted bread, or with a little whipped cream.

Here are the handy instructions in case you find yourself with some stone fruit that you need to use up. ♥

 

Roasted Apricot Parfait w/ Chai Spiced Almonds

For the chai spiced almonds:

12 oz. raw almonds

3 tbsp granulated sugar

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

pinch of cloves

1 large egg white

1/2 tsp vanilla

sea salt

First, you’ll need to make the almonds because they need to hang out in the oven for a bit. Speaking of your oven, go ahead and preheat that thing to 300° F and spray a baking sheet with non stick spray or line it with parchment or a silicone liner.

In a large bowl, combine the sugars, spices, and a good pinch of sea salt. Once your spice blend is well combined, go ahead and taste a bit. Not spicy enough? Add a little more cinnamon and/or ginger. Not sweet enough? Add a little more sugar. Be careful though, a little can go a long way here so add in small increments until your spice blend is just right.

You could also add ground cardamom, coriander, white pepper, and/or nutmeg. Seriously, go nuts. Just remember to taste and make sure your spice blend is just right before you move on from this point.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until it forms very soft peaks (white and super frothy) and add the vanilla. Whisk again to combine.

Pour the egg/vanilla mixture over the nuts and toss lightly to coat. Add the spices and toss again to coat.

Once all the nuts are coated, spread them out evenly on the baking sheet and pop them in the oven for 15 minutes, stir, and then put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Let the nuts cool completely and then bag them up. Or chop up a handful and toss them into a parfait!

For the roasted apricots:

Halve and pit 2-3 apricots per parfait. Place on a roasting pan pit-side up. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and slide into the oven once the broiler is nice and hot.

Once the tops begin to bubble and turn brown, remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Chop into bite sized pieces when cool enough to handle.

Now, just layer a little yogurt, a little granola, some chopped roasted apricots, and the chai spiced nuts into a bowl or glass and you’re good to go!

 

 

 

 

Summer Reading Update

22 Jun

Hi all!

Just popping in to share what Camryn read over this past week.

She is still reading The Cabin Faced West which is the very last book on her Mensa Excellence in Reading Challenge list but since it isn’t finished, I didn’t include it here.

I’ll be so glad when she is finished with that book, it’s not a very exciting read. She has twelve pages to go so I’m hoping she finishes it up tonight so we can all move on with our lives.

Here are the eight library books that Camryn read last week:

 

Her favorite of this group was The Terrible Plop. She said it was pretty funny and thinks that your kids might like it too.

Summer Reading Update

16 Jun

We’ve been on summer break since June 4th, which means that we’ve been sleeping in, hanging out in stretchy pants (okay, so that’s mostly me doing that) going to various parks in our area, and having one on one lunch dates with the kids.

I haven’t made a single cutesy lunch and frankly, I’m good with it.

Towards the end of every school year I tend to get what I like to call ‘bento burn out’ and my brain  just cannot come up with one more cute thing to put into a lunch box.

Even Cam’s last day of school lunch was pretty lame to say the least. I’m pretty sure that I just tossed in whatever leftovers we had hanging out in the fridge that needed to be used up.

All that being said, I don’t have any cute lunches to share. 😦

However, as far as our reading challenge goes, I can report that so far Camryn has read the following 12 books:

 

In no particular order of importance

1. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

2. Horrid Henry’s Joke Book by Francesca Simon

3. My Mama Says There Aren’t Any Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, Creatures,  Demons, Monsters, Fiends, Goblins, or Things by Judith Viorst

4. Leo Geo by Jon Chad

5. Ripley’s Believe It or Not Animal Antics by Ripley Publishing

6. Millions, Billions, and Trillions Understanding Big Numbers by David A. Adler

7. Really, Really Big Questions: About Life, The Universe, and Everything by Dr. Stephen Law

8. Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier

9. Tib & Tumtum #2: My Amazing Dinosaur by Grimaldi

10. Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara Levine

11. Wow! I Didn’t Know That: Surprising Facts About Animals

12. The Great Lollipop Caper by Dan Krall

 

 

 

 

Her favorite books out of those 12 were: Tib & Tumtum, Open This Little Book, and Bone by Bone. She highly recommends those three.

What about your kids? Have they read any good books lately?

If so, feel free to share. We always like getting book recommendations.

 

 

 

Summer Reading

1 Jun

It’s almost that time.

Kids everywhere are finishing up yet another school year and looking forward to their summer vacations.

For us that means it’s time for our yearly Summer Reading Challenge.

At the end of last June, I challenged my then six-year-old daughter, to read one hundred books before the new school year started.

One hundred books between the week of June 24th and August 18th. She was already a pretty voracious reader so it wasn’t beyond her to accomplish that task.

The deal was that she could read as much or as little as she wanted as long as she finished her last book before the first day of school on August 19th. And if she did, she would get a reward of her choosing.

She rocked that challenge and read all one hundred books before the first day of school.

And because I know someone will ask: No, she did not spend all day every day reading. Yes, she got plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Some days she read nothing at all and some days she only read for five minutes.

This year I’m letting her set her own reading goal and so far her plan is to read 7-10 books each week until school starts.

She’s actually finishing up a Mensa reading challenge this week which contained 64 books so I’m interested to see if she’ll want to take a little break from reading or jump right back in to it. Honestly, I didn’t think she’d ever finish Little House on the Prairie. That one was not what you’d call a page turner.

That might seem like a lot of reading for a kid but she really does love to read. I know that’s because we started reading to her very early on. We read to her when she was teeny and she had no idea what we were saying. We read fiction and non fiction. We read about math and space and Mickey Mouse. We read cookbooks and newspapers to her. We read about everything and nothing. The point is we read, a lot.

Not only did this ignite her curiosity and encourage a love of learning, but it also taught her to sit still and pay attention which is kind of important in a classroom setting.

Don’t get me wrong, she’s not a perfect child. Not even close. She’s stubborn, and mouthy, and has a fit when she doesn’t get her way, and I still can’t take her shopping with me because she jacks around in the aisles, hangs all over the cart, and insists on buying ALLTHETHINGS! And she still leaves her dolls face down on the floor or against the wall (Blair Witch style) because she knows it freaks me out.

She’s quite a little punk but she’s also smart… really smart, and learning comes easy to her. I know that it’s because she’s a reader.

Children who read or are read to tend to do better in school and research continues to support this.

So whether your child is a brand new reader or a more experienced independent reader, I hope you’ll join us in our reading challenge this summer. Even if your kids hate reading and you only get them to read the back of their cereal box, that counts as a win!

Be sure to share your kids’ progress and their favorite books in the comments section below. We’re always looking for good books!

Even if your kids read just a little this summer, I promise their new teachers will be grateful come fall.

 

If your kids just can’t get into reading:

* Check with your local library to see if they have any programs geared towards their age group. A lot of libraries offer story time, book clubs, and/or incentive programs where kids can earn rewards for reading.

* Create your own incentive program at home and still keep it cheap or free! Extra video game play time may be all it takes to get your kids to pick up a book.

*Many Barnes & Noble locations have story time for kids on the weekends. Check to see if yours is participating. Additionally, your child may be able to earn a free book just by reading any eight books and recording them in their reading journal. Click here for more info.

*Sometimes it’s not that kids don’t like to read, it’s just that they prefer being read to. So another suggestion (aside from you reading to them, obviously) is to check out audiobooks from your library along with the actual book so your kids can follow along. I do this with Cam often. She will lay in bed with headphones on and listen to a story just before bed or as she’s doing a quiet activity in her room. 

* For little ones who don’t like to sit still for very long, try reading to them while they’re in the bath or on the potty.

* Keep books in the car. If your kids know they’re there, they may be inclined to crack one open.

* Bring books to restaurants, appointments, or any situation where they may be forced to sit and wait.

* Institute DEAR time in your house this summer. DEAR stands for Drop Everything And Read. It’s pretty self-explanatory.

* Do your kids have a favorite TV or movie character? Chances are good that there’s a book at your local library that that character is in. 

* Ask your kids if they’ve read any good books lately. Have them tell you about their favorite books and what they liked about them. Do you remember reading that book as a child? What did you like about it? Discuss with your kids.

* Create a special space for reading. Is there a big shady tree in your yard or a quiet spot in your house where you can create a book nook?  Something as simple as a blanket on the ground,  or a few pillows in a quiet corner of your home can provide a special place for the two of you to read together. My husband makes a blanket fort every Saturday night for Camryn by laying blankets over our dining room table and chairs so that she can crawl underneath and hang out. I’m telling you, if you can build a fort for your kids, do it! And throw some books and a little flashlight in there too.

*And finally, crack a book open yourself and let your kids see you enjoying it. Sometimes, that little action is enough to get kids interested in reading.

 

Websites to Challenge Readers:

shmoop.com

googlelittrips.org

wonderopolis.org

funbrain.com

nationalgeographic.com

starfall.com

between the lions

storylineonline.net

readwritethink.org

PBS reading games

Game Goo

Word World

meegenius.com

bookadventure.com

readingrockets.org

readingresource.net

smartygames.com

storynory.com

readtomelv.com

wegivebooks.org

barnesandnoble.com

abcya.com

scholastic.com

 

Games and Activities to Motivate Your Reader Here

Free E Books here, here, and here

 

 

 

31 May

chocolate avocado pudding

 

I know.

I keep posting vegan and gluten-free recipes when I am neither vegan nor gluten-free.

My brother actually brought this up the last time we were all together.

So what gives?

With very little exception, I eat pretty much everything.

And more importantly, I can eat everything.

I realize that I’m in a very lucky position because I don’t have to put restrictions on the foods that I eat due to health or other reasons. However, I know plenty of other people who aren’t so lucky.

I also realize that one day my luck may run out and, for whatever reason, I may have to change the way I eat. So I think it’s important for this blog to have something for everyone, regardless of dietary restrictions.

The short time that my husband and I spent failing as vegans about a year ago allowed me the opportunity to discover new recipes as well as vegan cooks, bakers, and bloggers that I still follow today.

I will say that once I stopped eating animal products, I felt better and looked better than I ever have in my life. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Sadly, my weak constitution coupled with my fondness for butter, cheeseburgers, seafood, and cheese kept me from becoming a role model vegan, or any kind of vegan for that matter.

Even though we gave up on veganism, we continue to incorporate quite a few of those vegan recipes into our everyday cooking and baking, but I like to put my own little spin on them from time to time.

This chocolate pudding is based on a recipe that I came across about a year ago but didn’t really care for. So I spent a little time tweaking it until it was just right. It’s a much healthier alternative to the powdery boxed stuff and almost as simple.

You will need a food processor or a blender but that’s about as difficult as this gets. You’re basically just going to dump everything into the machine and let it do the work for you.

I also want to note here that there are so many different variations on this recipe out there in blogland and on pinterest and it all comes down to personal preference. So with a little trial and error, maybe a little adjusting here and there, you’ll find what works for you.

I prefer honey or maple syrup as a sweetener but maybe you prefer agave or brown rice syrup.

My husband likes a pinch of cayenne mixed into his and sprinkled on top for good measure. I need a little sea salt on top.

Go with your heart on this one.

 

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

1 large ripe avocado – pitted and roughly chopped

3 tbsp cocoa powder

1/4 cup vanilla almond milk (gives the pudding the best flavor but you could substitute any milk)

1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (I used about 1/8 cup of each)

1/4 tsp cayenne plus a pinch more for the top

 

Just dump all of that in your blender or food processor and blend until it’s perfectly smooth.

Add more honey or maple syrup if you think it needs more sweetness, then cover and let it chill for about thirty minutes. It’s better eaten cold.

You can eat it as is or use it as a dip for fruit, or smear it on a warm tortilla with some thinly sliced strawberries or bananas, or use it as a frosting for cupcakes, and I’m pretty sure that you could make pudding pops out of it.

I’m going to have to try that.

If you’re not a fan of heat, you can leave the cayenne out and add a little instant espresso powder, chocolate chips, peanut butter, or just leave it plain.

You’re probably wondering if you can taste the avocado.

I would be.

If your pudding is nice and chilled and your avocado wasn’t overly ripe, you shouldn’t be able to taste it. Additionally, eat this the day it’s made. If you dig this out of your refrigerator three days after you make it, the avocado will have overwhelmed all of the other flavors and you’ll hate it.

So… don’t do that.

 

 

 

 

Daily Bento

30 May

A couple of bentos for Friday:

 

bento 5-29-14

The first is yesterday’s lunch which contained a strawberry preserves and cream cheese kitty sandwich cut with our Cutezcute kitty cutter, Triscuits, grapes, fresh pineapple chunks, and a few sugar snap peas.

 

Today’s lunch is macaroni and cheese pizza (pizza with macaroni and cheese baked on top!), strawberries, veggie straws, and chocolate covered almonds. I added a couple of pups from this set to add instant cuteness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Bento

27 May

bento

 

Today’s easy lunch contains leftovers from last night’s dinner.

We had teriyaki chicken sandwiches with an Asian style slaw on the side. Since there was plenty of the slaw left, I just mixed in some cooked edamame and then crumbled dry ramen noodles for some crunch this morning, gave it a toss, and it was good to go.

I meant to add in the leftover shredded chicken as well but I stepped away to do something else this morning and forgot. Whoops!

I also added a few grapes with these fun new picks, a Babybel with a creepy face, and some dark chocolate covered almonds.

Today’s lunch was all packed up in this box.

Daily Bento

23 May

 

Because I’ve been slacking on blogging…

 

Here are a few lunches from this week:

 

This was a simple lunch for Miss Camryn, packed in her super cute little pink house bento. She had salami roll-ups, veggie chips, pineapple, watermelon, carrot, celery, and red bell pepper sticks.

Aren’t those kitty picks precious? Cam got them for her birthday and she loves them.

 

This was a work lunch/snack that I packed for the Mr. He doesn’t need a lot of food because he eats dinner with us before he goes to work.

On this day. I sent him on his way with some celery and zucchini sticks, a little ranch dressing (in the panda sauce cup) for dipping, a homemade granola bar, and some pistachios in the super cute squirrel container.

 

I think this was Cam’s lunch on Tuesday. She had leftover macaroni and cheese in her thermos, a honeycomb flapjack from our Graze box, some cheese crackers, pineapple, and watermelon.

I arranged the fruit in a checkerboard pattern to fancy it up a bit only because I had an extra couple of minutes that morning.

The chicken pick is from a new set that she got for her birthday.

Daily Bento

16 May

The lunches are back!

I haven’t posted in a while so I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

These particular lunches that I’m about to share with you were my husband’s lunches/snacks over the past week.

Camryn has been bringing a lot of leftovers that have been warmed in her thermos for lunch, and those just don’t photograph well.

So, grown up lunches it is!

 

For the lunch pictured above, I used a rolling pin to flatten two slices of wheat bread and filled each one with a little egg salad. Then I cut them into bite-sized pieces. I tucked some puffed wheat crackers in next to the egg salad rolls-ups, and added cucumber slices, raspberries, and celery sticks. The sauce containers hold peanut butter and blue cheese dressing for dipping.

 

This Easy Lunchbox holds a veggie-heavy sandwich (turkey, mashed avocado in place of mayo, sprouts, lettuce, tomato, homemade pickles on multi-grain bread) with a few cucumbers on the side, sweet potato and brown rice crackers, and strawberries filled with spicy vegan chocolate pudding (recipe to come).

 

On Wednesday afternoon, I whipped up some delicious avocado hummus. Unfortunately, it goes bad fairly quickly thanks to the avocado, so I used quite a bit of it to make the Mr.’s work lunch. I smeared a good helping of the hummus on a multi-grain wrap and topped it with lettuce, shredded carrot, sliced red onion, thinly sliced cucumber, and sprouts. Then I rolled it up tightly, sliced it in half, and it was good to go. I threw in some pita chips, a few of my quick and easy peanut butter bars, and extra hummus for dipping in the fish container.

 

Avocado Hummus

1 15 oz. can of canellini beans – rinsed and drained

1 avocado

juice of a lime

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

a couple pinches of cayenne pepper – optional, except in my house 😉

salt and pepper to taste

Blend until smooth.

Store in an air tight container in the fridge. Best eaten within a day or two.

 

Quick & Easy Peanut Butter Bars

1/2 cup peanut butter – I used Wild Friends Sesame Cranberry PB

1/2 cup maple syrup or honey – I used maple syrup

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1/4 tsp cinnamon

optional add-ins – about a handful of dried fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, and/or seeds

Add the peanut butter and maple syrup to a large microwave safe bowl and microwave until smooth enough to mix together. This took about 30 seconds in my microwave. You can also do this in a pot on the stove.

Mix well until combined and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix to incorporate everything together and dump into an 8×8 pan.

Press to form an even layer and let sit for a couple of hours at room temp before eating. This helps the oats to soften.

You can also roll the mixture into balls if you prefer.

Store covered at room temperature.

 

This super simple lunch contains fresh zucchini, carrot, and celery slices, more peanut butter bars, dates filled with Wild Friends Cinnamon Raisin PB, and a little chocolate.

 

The lunch pictured above contains one of my new favorite sandwiches: A flaky croissant filled with ham, thinly sliced Bosc pear, and Muenster cheese. If you haven’t tried that combo you’re missing out. It’s delicious!

If you do try it, slice the croissant, add the cheese and pop it in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese is melted, then add the ham and pear. That’s the best way, it just is.

To go with the sandwich, I added some strawberries, raspberries, and sweet peppers that I sliced in half and filled with tzatziki.

 

This lunch is packed in one of my favorite cheapo containers that I found at Marshall’s a while back. I think I paid less than $5 for this one and I use it all the time so it was worth every penny.

Not wanting to make another sandwich or wrap, I added chopped chives to softened cream cheese and then spread a little onto a few slices of turkey. Then I wrapped the turkey around a few of my homemade pickle spears and called it done.

Also included in this lunch are carrot sticks, broccoli, blueberry Belvita biscuits, sweet potato and brown rice crackers, and a couple of pieces of chocolate in this sweet little food cup. The sauce container holds ranch dressing for dipping.

 

I hope these lunches will inspire your own lunch packing next week. Seriously, try that ham, pear, and cheese on croissant. It’s so good!

Have a great weekend!