Cornstarch Sidewalk Paint

My sister and niece came over for play time and lunch today and we also made cornstarch sidewalk paint. This was such a fun and easy project! The kids loved it-- even more than sidewalk chalk, I think!

We mixed 1/4 cup plus a few more "sprinkles" of cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and added a few drops of food coloring.

We chose to keep it simple and stick with primary colors.

WE turned the kids loose on the driveway and let them have at it. They had so much fun! They used up all their paint, and wanted more. It was time for the girls to leave, though, so we'll do more another day!

Edited Tuesday morning: it rained overnight, so all the pretty colors and designs are gone! We'll do more later in the week!

Flames of Pentecost Cupcakes

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2: 1-4)

The Paschal season comes to a close Sunday with Pentecost, the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles. There are many simple ideas out there for celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit with children, and for several years I’ve been wanting to make these cute treats. They have the added bonus of being seasonal too!

Flames of Pentecost Cupcakes with sliced strawberries “flames” to represent the tongues of fire!

Pentecost is not as easy to explain to children as Christmas or Easter, but is certainly a day worth celebrating!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23, 25)

Snacktime Round-Up

I’ve shared many of my favorite “make it yourself” recipes. I wanted to bring this series to a conclusion by offering some encouragement as well as a dose of reality.

Simply put:

You cannot do it all.

I’m not sure about your kids, but mine eat approximately 10,000 times a day. Okay, maybe not that much, but it goes something like this:

Early morning snack with Dad

Breakfast

Snack

Lunch (or “snacky” lunch)

Snack

Dinner

Maybe even one more snack in there somewhere!

It seems like someone is always eating (this doesn’t include the baby’s nursing habits, of course!). As much as I would like to, I’m not there yet with making every single snack from scratch. I know some people do, but I’m not quite that organized!

Here’s what I recommend if you are making a shift from store-bought to at-home:

1. Pick and choose. Decide what’s most important to you. Is it to avoid added sugars? Dyes? White flour?

2. Start by replacing one store-bought item with homemade. You don’t necessarily even have to make the switch for each time the item is consumed. Go through a lot of bread? Maybe resolve to make bread for lunchtime PBJs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Maybe it’ll be chocolate graham crackers the third Friday of each month for a weekend treat.

3. Once you feel comfortable with one, add another.

4. Make a schedule. Know that Thursdays are always slow? Make your yogurt and applesauce for the week then.

5. If you stick with store bought, choose a better option. Instead of Ritz crackers, we eat Late July.

I tend to rotate what I make. I always, always bake my own bread/rolls and make my own yogurt. Other than that, it fluctuates. During apple season, I make a lot of applesauce. During the summer, I make ice cream. I go through cycles of making and freezing my own stock and tomato sauce. Occasionally, I make crackers. Once a week or so, I bake cookies or another dessert and make other items like granola bars, brown rice snacks, or Jell-o.

My next goal is to add tortilla making to the rotation!

Find what works! The journey from refined to real food does not happen overnight!

Brown Rice Treats

I had intended to move on to some summer meal ideas this week, but I keep thinking of snack ideas I cannot resist sharing! Here is one that is a more natural alternative to Rice Krispie Treats.

Brown Rice Snacks

Ingredients

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinammon

2 cups brown rice cereal

Directions

1. Add the peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon to a large bowl and mix well. The amounts listed above are flexible. I reduced the honey and increased the peanut butter. I thought they were too cinnamon-y, so next time I”ll reduce that as well.

2. Add the cereal and slowly mix until all the cereal is well-coated.

3. Roll into walnut-sized balls and place on a greased or wax paper lined pan.

After I had rolled about half the mixture, I added a little Ricemellow Creme to what as left. It added a little more stickiness and sweetness. I definitely wouldn’t add it without reducing the honey, as I did in the first step.

Really play around with these- roll the balls in crushed nuts or coconut. You could also add flax, nuts, or coconut right to the cereal mixture. Enjoy!

The Simple Woman's Day Book ~ June 7

FOR TODAY... June 7, 2011

Outside my window... the last light has just faded, but it's still hot!

I am thinking... about faith.

I am thankful for... a quiet house, a supportive husband, and a full schedule tomorrow.

From the learning rooms... so much to think about after our homeschool conference last weekend!

From the kitchen... menus and half-completed shopping lists await! Working on some new ideas for my posts at Fancy Little Things.

I am wearing... jammies.

I am creating... blog posts.

I am going... to bed soon and for a bike ride with the boys first thing in the morning.

I am reading... The Wilder Life.

I am hoping... for a peaceful night's sleep.

I am hearing... fans.

Around the house... some rooms need some work, and some rooms are sparkling!

One of my favorite things... a long day playing outside.

A few plans for the rest of the week: last swim lesson of the session tomorrow, grocery shopping, and some housework all between time in the fresh air.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

The newest musician.

Please visit The Simple Woman's Daybook to read more entries.

Heavenly "Jell-O" Treats

“So then the Lord Jesus…was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.” (Mark 16:19)

The Ascension of the Lord is celebrated 40 days after Easter, and this year that was yesterday (although some move the feast to the seventh Sunday after Easter, two days from now)! Either way, it’s not too late to include these tasty treats as you celebrate the completion of Christ’s redemptive work.

While this is not the healthiest snack for kids I’ve shared over the past few posts, this is an improvement over Jell-O (which contains artificial flavors, sugar or artificial sweetener, and dyes), and can be adapted by substituting your favorite juice. Leave out the whipped cream, and this is a perfect snack for a hot afternoon!

Note that this recipe does still use gelatin, but agar-agar is a good vegan substitute.

Heavenly Jell-O

Ingredients

4 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 cup cold blueberry juice

3 cups blueberry juice, heated to boiling

Heavy cream, for whipping

Directions

1. Sprinkle gelatin over cold juice in a large bowl; let stand one minute.

2. Add hot juice and stir until gelatin completely dissolves.

3. Pour into 9 x 13 pan or individual serving cups.

4. Refrigerate until firm, about three hours.

5. Enjoy with whipped cream!

The effect of a blue sky and white clouds isn’t evoked as well with the blueberry juice as blue dye, but the taste is heavenly!

For more traditional food celebrating the liturgical year, I recommend A Book of Feasts and Seasons and All Year Round.

Green Smoothies

I’ve already shared a few ideas for enjoying yogurt, and here’s a popular idea that adds to the nutritional value of yogurt even more: green smoothies.

Start with plain yogurt and add any combination of fruit (fresh in season or frozen), juice, sweetener (just a taste!), supplements (flax-seed oil is typically my choice), wheat germ, etc. Top off with a handful of greens (fresh or frozen spinach, kale, etc.).

This week I found some blueberries in my freezer from last summer’s picking, mango, and frozen spinach. I had honey on hand just in case, but the fruit made the smoothie sweet enough.

Eyeball your amounts and adjust to taste as you go along. I used approximately 1 1/2 cups of yogurt, a cup of spinach, a cup of blueberries, and a handful of mango.

Blend until you’re happy with the consistency, adjusting ingredients as needed.

Note: for those who may object to greens in their smoothies, a dark fruit like blueberry or raspberry is good at masking the color.

Enjoy!

This little guy kept proclaiming he didn’t like spinach while he gulped down two glasses!