All Things Pumpkin

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Carmen

In the month of October there seems to be a lot of pumpkin about. From Thanksgiving feasts that include delicious pies and cheesecakes to Fall festivals and trips to the pumpkin patch, even right up until Halloween when we are carving pumpkins for the kids and all our trick or treaters.

I love pumpkins. I not only love the taste, but I love the bright orange color they are, the unique shapes and sizes and all the different things that you can do with pumpkin, from eating and recipes to decorating and crafts.

I do have to say that I tend to lean towards the pumpkin food items the most, as I really do enjoy those. And lately I have been finding all kinds of pumpkin delights that I have tried or am about to try such as pumpkin pancakes, muffins, latte, fudge, cheesecake, ice cream and of course pie. I even discovered a recipe for a Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake, which though I have to make a few dietary adjustments I can’t wait to get it into my oven and more importantly in my tummy!

The pumpkin pancakes I discovered a few years ago when I bought Halloween pancake molds that came with the recipe (those are so fun!). The pumpkin spice latte is a slow cooker recipe I discovered last year and made for the first time last week for my open house. The fudge I have yet to try but believe me I am all over this and it won’t be long! And I have always loved pumpkin muffins, though I have been dappling in some new recipes. I always enjoy variation and who knows you might be missing out on something even better if you don’t at least try it!

I am not sure what it is I love about pumpkin dishes so much, but I am sure that it also has to do with the allure and smell of all those delicious spices that go in it; like ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Mmmm… just the thought of it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

My greatest (and most fun) pumpkin discovery this Fall was actually not a food item. Which is ok, I was just super surprised at whoever came up with this as it is so simple, yet so ingenious. It is Pumpkin Play Doh! I thought this was fabulous! My kids loves playdoh and what a fun way to tie in a theme, those spices we love and play and create at the same time.

I found the recipe on another blog While He Was Napping. She makes her playdoh on the stove top which I am sure works well, but I have my own playdoh recipe I decided to use and adjust instead (as it is just a mix everything together, I like to avoid extra pots and pans). All I needed to do was add my pumpkin pie spice and color it orange. Presto! Pumpkin Playdoh.

The twins loved it! Thought it was the most fabulous thing ever, yeah it was playdoh but it was new and it was pumpkin! Even Matthew and his friend smelled it and said it smelled really good. Plus I played it up a little, got out the Halloween cookie cutters for them to use and sat down and played with them for a while. Chloe loved making pumpkin hair for the Fuzzy Cuts Barber Shop we have. Luke just rolled it and created as he usually does. Fun was had by all.

I’m wondering now what other ‘flavours’ of playdoh I can make, perhaps mint or chocolate. It could be done, I’ll have to experiment… In the meantime enjoy the pumpkin…

Pumpkin Playdoh

Mix together in a medium bowl:

2 c. flour

4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 c. salt

2-3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (amount depends on how strong you would like the scent) or 2-3 drops On Guard essential oil

Add in:

1 1/2 c. boiling water

2 tbsp. oil

Mix together. Knead well. Add in orange food coloring. Knead again until well mixed. Store in ziploc bags.

*For ordinary playdoh simply omit the pumpkin pie spice and add whatever color of food coloring you want. Batch is fairly large – so can easily be divided to make a few different colors or scents.

Halloween Joy

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Carmen

Halloween is almost upon us and as parents we get excited about what to dress the little ones up in. The euphoria of the older kids who know what it’s all about eagerly pick out or make their costumes, anticipating the candy rush that is to follow an evening of going door to door. But the little ones, say 3 and under, have no idea what is going on and could probably care less.

Yet we as parents are so excited to get the little ones into a costume cause honestly it is so cute! We can’t wait to get the perfect picture and share it with all our family and friends. Yet many a time we have a picture like this – where the child is crying cause they are so unhappy about this costume thing, whether they are too warm, squished into it, or just don’t like the idea. And we tend to look at the picture and go “Oh poor little guy!” and then gush about how cute the costume is.

You know sometimes we say “The things we do for our kids” but sometimes we should consider the things they do for us 🙂 ha ha

A Halloween Breakfast -Pumpkin Pancakes

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Carmen

Last year I made Pumpkin pancakes Halloween morning for the kids. I found these mini Halloween pancake molds at Williams Sonoma -in the shape of a cat, pumpkin, bat and ghost. It came with the pancake recipe so I thought I would try it out. It was so fun! It was a great way to start the day and to make it fun especially when meeting our no sugar requirement.

I am planning to make them again this year, except I will make them the night before and reheat them in the morning. Because Halloween falls on a school day, I would have to get up quite early to make them fresh and I am having a hard enough time getting up on school days as it is 🙂 It’s way too early for me.

Tips for Using Molds for Pumpkin Pancakes

When using the molds there are a few tips and tricks that I would recommend in order to make your pancake making experience successful.

First, is to buy a pancake pen. They are also available at Williams Sonoma and it is well worth the money spent. You fill the pen with batter on one end and then you squeeze it out of the tip on the other when you are ready. It has a cover on the “pen” end so you can stand it up with the batter at the end and ready to go. This is way easier and faster than spooning it into the molds.

Second, make sure that your griddle or pan is hot before you start and that you grease the pancake molds with a little bit of oil. They are non stick molds but you still need that extra grease to keep the batter from sticking, especially in the corners. And even with that I found that I had to gently push around the edges with a butter knife to get them to come out. And grease them EVERY time you put in a new batch of batter.

Third, don’t overfill the molds. If you use the recipe below they will puff up so only fill them about halfway. If you overfill them they will be hard to get out regardless if you grease them.

Fourthly, they do have little handles on them to help you take them out, but they become hot as they are metal like the rest of the mold – make sure you use a pot holder or oven mitt to handle them.

Interestingly last year I discovered I had no pot holders as I never found them to be useful and were just taking up space, so I gave them all away. Now I have found a reason to have at least one around, as using an oven mitt is too bulky and awkward to handle the molds. Fortunately I found a Halloween pumpkin pot holder on sale after Halloween last year, so I’ll put it to perfect use.

My last tip is be patient with yourself and give yourself enough time to make them; hence doing them the night before. I have to admit they are a bit finicky to make but once you get the first few under your belt you get the hang of it and it becomes easier. By the time I was done my batch I could get the pumpkin and the ghost shapes out without having to use my butterknife around the edges.

And oh they are delicious! The kids loved them. They found the shapes super fun and now ask for them each year.

So try something unique this Halloween for breakfast; even if you don’t have the molds the kids will still gobble them up. You could Hallloween -ish by simply make faces on them using pieces of fruit like sliced bananas, blueberries, strawberries, apples, etc.

I adjusted the original recipe to sugar and dairy free to meet our needs and is the recipe posted here.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/2 c. flour (I used half whole wheat and half white)

1/4 c. date sugar

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon (or 1 drop Cinnamon Bark essential oil)

1/2 tsp. ginger (or 1 drop Ginger essential oil)

1/4 tsp. ground allspice (or 1 drop OnGuard essential oil)

4 eggs, separated

3/4 c. canned unsweetened pumpkin

1 1/2 c. almond milk or other preferred non dairy milk

4 tbsp. melted Earth Balance

1 tsp. vanilla extract

100% pure maple syrup (for serving)

In a large bowl whisk together flour, date sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and allspice. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until medium peaks form. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, pumpkin puree, rice milk, Earth Balance and vanilla until well combined. Whisk the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture just until the batter is smooth and no lumps of flour remain. Fold in egg whites in 2 additions.

Heat griddle over medium heat until a few drops of water flicked onto the surface skitter across it. Lightly grease the griddle and the inside surface of the mini pancake molds. Set the molds with handles up on the griddle and heat until hot.

Pour 1/4 c. pancake batter into each mold. If necessary use a butter knife of small spatula to spread the batter into the corners of the molds. Cook until bubbles form on top and the batter is set, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove molds, and flip the pancakes over. Cook until golden brown on the other side, about 3 minutes more. Keep warm until all pancakes are cooked. Makes between 24-32 pancakes.

*Please note that if using essential oils in this recipe to ensure that your essential oil brand is safe to take internally. Not all essential oil brands are created equally and some use synthetic fillers and chemicals in their processing of the oil or added to the oil itself. Due to no governing regulations on producing essential oils a company can say they are 100% or Organic. Due your due diligence and research the brand you are using to ensure your safe usage.

Enjoy! And Happy Halloweening!

Fun Healthy Halloween Snacks

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Carmen

Getting around the sugary treats at Halloween can be a challenge. But with a little creativity you’ll find that not only will your kids love the alternatives you provide but you will have a lot of fun making them.

Halloween is one of the best holidays to get creative! There is so much you can do, especially with your snacks! You can carve and shape your food into something gruesome! healthy (without all the sugar) and that the kids will enjoy.

Last year I planned a whole menu of healthy Halloween meals and snacks, starting with pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, pumpkin smoothies for afterschool snack and spooky mini pizzas with a veggie man for dinner. It was awesome and so much fun!

Matthew’s class also decided that they were going to have a Horribly Healthy Halloween, and as a group decided not to bring in sugary treats for the class party. So everyone who brought food had to make sure that it was sugar free. They had veggie trays, fruit, cheese and crackers. Our contribution of Witches Teeth and Boo-nanas were a big hit and the kids gobbled them up, with the Boo-nanas being the favorite!

I’ve found that it is really easy and fun to go healthy at Halloween if you choose to. And I have found that the kids will eat what is put in front of them and the things that look fun and cool are the ones that go first, regardless if it’s healthy.

Witches Teeth

Apples

Slivered Almonds (if you can’t do nuts use shelled sunflower seeds)

Quarter and core an apple, cut a wedge from the skin side of each quarter, then press slivered almonds in place for teeth.

Tip – If you are not going to serve them right away, baste the apples with orange juice to keep them from browning.

Boo-nanas

Bananas

Unsweetened shredded coconut

Raisins

Orange juice

Popsicle sticks

Depending on the size of your banana, cut them in half or thirds. Dip peeled bananas in orange juice, then roll them in the shredded coconut. Add raisins for eyes. Insert a stick in the bottom to make them “float”. Can be served as is or frozen.

Tangerine Pumpkins

tangerine or mandarin oranges

stalk of celery with leaves – cut into small pieces

This is the easiest and fastest fun treat yet! Peel your orange, do not take it apart and section it, keep it together. Cut small piece of celery and stick it in the middle of your orange (there is a natural hole there). Use a celery leaf and stick that in beside your stem. Voila! Done

Spooky Drinks

Make your own juice ie. apple carrot and then add some carbonated water and a few peeled grapes. The kids will think it’s gruesome, but they will love it and likely squeal with glee!

Nina Manolson of Healthy Yummy Kids shares many healthy Halloween recipes such as Caramel Apples (my favorite!), Banana Candy and many more. They are easy to make with ingredients that you likely have and use in your home already; and your kids will love them!

Looking for more? There are lots of websites out there that have many ideas for healthy, fun, cool snacks and meals for Halloween. If you google “Healthy Halloween snacks for kids” you’ll have a plethora to choose from. Enjoy and have a spooky, fun and healthy Halloween!

A Horribly Healthy Halloween – Tips for Sugar Free Halloween

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Carmen

Since eliminating sugar from our diet holidays have taken on a very different look for our family (yet we still enjoyed pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving! -sugar free of course). There is so much sugar and sweets that come with each holiday that it can be challenging to get around. The key is to find alternatives that meet the child’s needs without making him feel different or like he is missing out.

Halloween is no exception, in fact I would venture to say that it is the worst holiday connected to candy and treats. I remember Matthew asking me shortly after we eliminated sugar if he would be able to go trick or treating for Halloween. Thinking ahead, I already had an answer for him and told him yes he would be able to and then I told him the plan.

These are the things that we will be doing this Halloween to ensure it is sugar free and still enjoyable.

Tips for a Sugar Free Halloween

Go to a Candy Buy Back (or do the Switch Witch)

Matthew will go trick or treating this year but he will take all of his candy to an event called the Candy Buy Back, put on by a local dentist here in Calgary. It is the day after Halloween and they give the kids $1 for each pound of candy that they bring in. They have all kinds of prizes and they wear their Halloween costumes again.

We have done this for the past couple of years and he uses the money he receives to buy a book. So he still gets to participate in the “main activity” of Halloween and get something that he wants and is able to have.

Now some people may be upset by this as they go out and spend money on candy to give to kids and then they go and sell it. I do see their point but it is a choice and once you give it away who knows what happens to it. You could buy something else that is non candy and give that out (and people are starting to do that), decide not to hand anything out, or be ok with it. If we as a society want things to change then it has to start somewhere and the method may not be preferred but at least it is a start.

Have a Healthy Fun Supper

There are also other things that you can do to eliminate or reduce the amount of sugar your child ingests this Halloween. Nina Manolson of Healthy Yummy Kids, suggests that for supper that night you prepare a full healthy meal that the kids will enjoy with a nice healthy yummy sweet at the end (you can make the cookies, cakes and treats without the sugar- check out some of my sugar free recipes). I take it one step further and make it a fun Halloween themed supper. This is basically taking healthy foods and getting creative and making them spooky. In the past we have done Monster Face Pizzas, Monster Brains and Skeleton Veggie tray.

This will not only satisfy their craving for sweets but they will also feel full, and therefore when offered candy to eat, they won’t eat it because they are not hungry. (Nina also suggests this strategy for afterschool outings and birthday parties).

Attend a Halloween Community Event

It is also important to remember that there is more to Halloween then just the candy; there are many events and activities around it. If you look at the history of Halloween it originally had nothing to do with candy -it is society that has added the “treats” over the years.

When attending an event, the kids still get to dress up, and there are usually games, crafts and other activities. There are many special events in the community (for instance in Calgary, we have the Boo-roofic Bash, Ghouls’ Night Out, Haunted Houses, etc). There are dances and classes that you can wear your costume to with other activities. Yes there are likely candy and sweets available but there are more to these events than the treats and it is easy enough to skip the treats if you choose to.

Decorate your Home for Halloween

There are loads of Halloween crafts that the kids can make and then use as decorations to put up. You can also add in things like Halloween soap dispensers and towels, spider webs on mirrors, a graveyard and skulls in your front yard. You can get really into this (just check out Pinterest for great easy ideas!) That is all part of the fun and demonstrates another fun aspect of the holiday that is not candy related. My son is already asking me if we can put out the Halloween decorations (and has been since September).

I feel that Matthew will have a very enjoyable and healthy Halloween this year and I don’t think that he will feel like he missed out at all. It really is easy to do and I encourage you all to give it a go yourselves. You will eliminate all those wired and moody kids the next morning!

As for the twins, we dressed them up last year, but did not go trick or treating. So they are familiar with the event and love to dress up! We might take them out this year to a few neighbors, and we’ll contribute their candy at the Candy Buy Back, because for them it is all about the costume!

Apples, Apples, Apples

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Carmen

Inspired by our apple picking the other day and with the abundance of apples in my kitchen, I decided to hop on the internet and look for fun crafts, games and ideas to do with the kids around an apple theme. Of course, I was not disappointed by the abundance of ideas out there, especially at this time of year.

After checking out a number of websites, I made a list of my favorites and have been trying them with the kids over the last few days. Here are the highlights and my faves.

Apple Crafts

Fingerprint Apple Tree

Fingerprint Apple Tree – this craft is super easy and fun! You will need brown, red and green tempera paint and some paper. The kids place the side of their hand in the brown paint and then stamp it on the paper. Then using their index finger they dip it in the green paint to make leaves. Lastly using their pinky finger, they dip it in the red paint and touch it to the paper to make apples.

Matthew and I did ours just like the picture showed while Luke and Chloe, though they started out the same, ended up getting very creative with their tree. It was so cute to watch, both very focused, creating their tree. It was actually their first time using paints and they loved it! and have beautiful apple trees to show for it. And even though it doesn’t ‘look’ like the picture, they proudly call it their apple tree and share it with others.

Luke’s apple tree

Along the theme of apple trees, kids can also make a Pom Pom Apple Tree. Again very simple and easy. You will need brown paper, a brown marker, green paint, scissors, white glue and red pom poms. For this one I am going direct you to the website I found it on as they have done a great job of explaining how to put it together with great pictures.

There are other easy apple crafts I discovered that I like – Cinnamon Apple Wreath, Toilet Paper Roll Apple, Stained Glass Apple and one of my favorites, the Worm in Apple.

You can even do apple prints, like potato stamping, and create beautiful lunchbags, dish towels or a homemade greeting cards. A craft from Martha Stewart of course.

Cinnamon Apple Wreath

Apple Games

Hot Apple – Just like hot potato except you use an apple instead. Children sit in a circle passing around the apple while there is music playing. Children pass the apple from one to another; they want to pass the apple quickly because when the music stops if they are holding the apple, then they are out of the game. Game continues until there is only one child left.

Apple Relay – Divide the children into 2 teams. Designate a starting line and an end line. Teams line up one behind the other at the start line. The first person on each team places the apple on their head and must balance the apple on their head while they walk to the end line and back. If they drop the apple they must stop, count to three, then place the apple back on their head and continue. Once they are back to the start line, the next person goes. The first team to have everyone on their team finish wins.

Apple Hide & Seek – this is great for younger children. Have the children sit in a circle and close their eyes. While their eyes are closed hide the apple. Once it is hidden children may open their eyes and then move around the room looking for the apple. Once they find the apple they leave it where it is hidden and simply return to the circle. The last person to find the apple can hide the apple for the next round.

Bobbing for apples

Of course there is the traditional Bobbing for Apples, which we typically do around Halloween, which is always a riot. I like the version where you have to bob for the apple, then go and use your nose to find a candy in the flour bowl. It can get quite messy but it’s a hoot!

Apple Books

An apple theme would not be complete without books about apples. From Apples, Apples, Apples to How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
there are many stories that will teach and delight children of all ages.

Apples, Apples, Apples is a wonderful children’s book that I discovered while doing my research on the internet. Written by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, it’s about the bunny family’s trip to Long Hill Orchard where Mr. Miller takes them on a wobbly wagon ride and tells them all sorts of fun things about Fall’s favorite fruit. It also includes apple songs, sayings and a recipe to try.

How Do Apples Grow? is a delightful story about how apples grow from flower to fruit, ready for you to eat. Written by Betty Maestro, it is beautifully illustrated and easy to read.

Regardless of the apple activities you try, the kids will be sure to enjoy themselves learning about this abundant and delicious Fall fruit and you may even learn something new yourself!