Tasty Tuesday--Homemade Healthy Fruit Snacks

I found this recipe a long time ago and have been waiting to try it.  Tasty Tuesday seemed like the perfect opportunity (mostly because I didn't have the ingredients for what the kids had chosen to make).  They were super easy to make, but were kind of sour.  We want to experiment with some other types of juices and fruits.  Ephram and Faythe liked juicing the lemons, but Braedi was the only one who helped make these. 

My Birthday Boys

Jonathan and Ephram celebrated their birthdays a couple of weeks ago.  Ephram requested crepes for breakfast.  Jonathan is our resident crepe maker, so he had to cook his own birthday breakfast.  He's a good sport and will always do what Ephram wants as part of his birthday celebration.  He did get his own birthday cake though.  Ephram made a chocolate pudding pie and Jonathan got impossible pie.  As a birthday activity Ephram decided to order pizza and watch a movie.  He has never had a birthday party and I don't do parties until they are 8 (I used to do them all the time, but changed that before Ephram got one).  He really wanted a party.  I compromised and let him invite friends to enjoy pizza with us. 

 

 

WOW Wednesday--Scavenger Hunt

This activity was last minute, but it was super fun.  I created a list of items to find in a Wal-Mart store  Then we divided into teams (girls against boys), set a time limit and took off.  Each team took a picture of the item and the team that got done first won.  The boys were the winners, but they shared their prize with us girls. 

some of the items we had to find

 

In the car enjoying our shared prize--drumsticks.

Scavenger Hunt list:
food no one has eaten
a red food
organic granola
a fuzz food
a freshly baked item
backpack
purple ruler
giant glue stick
something cube shaped
clip board
sunglasses
modest swimsuit
picnic basket
beach ball
sand toys
Yahtzee game
Thomas the train
Star Wars Lego set
dress-up costume
game everyone has played
yellow fingernail polish
roll-on deodorant
Band-Aids with cartoon character
travel size lotion
razor
4 different types of M&Ms
item with discount sticker
item of clothing for a pet
basketball
DVD costing less than $5

Tasty Tuesday--Fruits & Veggies

We read All About Fruits and All About Vegetables today then made some yummy fruit and vegetable dips. 

Yummm-kin Pumpkin Dip
3/4 c. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. canned pumpkin (we used the pumpkin from our garden)
1 Tbl. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1. Combine cream cheeses, brown sugar, and pumpkin in a medium bowl.  Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined.
2. Add syrup and cinnamon and beat until smooth.
3. Cover and chill 30 minutes before serving.
4. Enjoy this dip with peeled apple slices or cinnamon pita chips.

Note: We tried this dip with all the fruits, but only liked it with apples and pita chips.  We thought it would be good with pears, too.  It was OK with bananas, but not good with raspberries, peaches, strawberries or grapes.

Creamy Ranch Dip
1/2 c. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbl. buttermilk
2 Tbl. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. chopped fresh dill (we used dried and forgot to change the amount--good thing we like dill)
1/2 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1. Combine cream cheese and buttermilk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended.
2. Stir in parsley, dill, garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Serve this dip with baby carrots, broccoli florets or other fresh veggies (we also had peppers, celery and cucumbers).

Note: This dip was extra runny, but it is probably because we used frozen and thawed cream cheese.  We added it to some homemade ranch dressing and that thickened it. 

Fruit Dip
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
1 7 oz. jar of marshmallow cream

1. Blend until smooth.

Note: This dip is a favorite and goes well with all the fruits.  I mixed it with the pumpkin dip and enjoyed that flavor with the pita chips. 

Tasty Tuesday and Wow Wednesday

Last week I mentioned that we read the "All About Meat and Fish" book and were going to make tuna melts but discovered that we didn't have any tuna fish.  Well, I bought some and that is what we made. . .or at least some of us followed the recipe. 

Tuna Sweet Corn Melt
2 oz sweet corn
1 Tbl mayonnaise
1 small can of tune in water, drained
.5 oz grated cheddar cheese
wholegrain bread roll
salt and pepper

1. Mix the sweet corn, mayonnaise, and tuna in a bowl with salt and pepper.
2. Spread the mixture on the roll.  (We used English muffins)
3.  Sprinkle the cheese over the tuna and grill until cheese is melted.  (We used the broiler, but a toaster oven would work as well).

The kids didn't like the idea of having corn in it.  I followed the recipe and made one for Jonathan and I.  Braedi and Corbin made sandwiches and Dyllan, Ephram and Faythe just at the tuna mixture plain or with crackers.  I don't think I'll ever use this recipe again.  I have others that I like better.

For Wow Wednesday we attended a Red, White & Blue Celebration that a friend invited us to.  There were crafts and speakers.  The kids enjoyed the crafts, but the speakers were a little long-winded for such a young crowd.  I enjoyed what they had to say, though.  I love learning about the founding fathers and the principles that our country was founded on.  Too bad I forgot my camera again.