• Cake mix
• White frosting
• Cupcake wrappers
• 25-30 strawberries
• 3/4 cup blueberries

Make cupcakes using the cake mix and following the directions for 20 cupcakes. While the cupcakes are baking, slice the strawberries and cut off the tops. Frost all the cupcakes white after they cool.

Add blueberries to 4 cupcakes to represent the blue portion of the flag and the white stars. Decorate the remaining cupcakes with the strawberries. Line the cupcakes up to look like a flag.

You could also individually decorate each cupcake with blueberries and strawberries to make patriotic red, white and blue cupcakes.
Pea-sicles

After picking peas out of your garden, shell them and freeze them. Serve these as a yummy

frozen treat. If you don’t have a garden, purchase fresh peas at your local farmers’ market or at the grocery store. Kids love ‘em!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A purple cow

• Grape juice
• Milk or vanilla ice cream

Pour an equal amount of grape juice and milk into a cup. Stir and drink.

You can also make this drink with vanilla ice cream and grape juice. Start with a scoop of ice cream in your cup and pour grape juice over the top. Drink out of a fun straw or use a spoon to eat and enjoy this tasty treat.

 

Traveling Chex Mix

Use the traditional Chex party mix recipe.

• 3 cups of Corn Chex cereal
• 3 cups of Rice Chex cereal
• 3 cups of Wheat Chex cereal
• 1 cup of peanuts
• 1 cup of pretzels
• 6 Tbsp. of melted butter
• 2 Tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 ½ tsp. of seasoning salt
• ¾ tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. onion powder

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Mix the dry cereal, nuts and pretzels in a large bowl. In a microwavable bowl, melt the butter and add the seasoning. Stir this together to get a nice consistency. Pour this over the top of the cereal mixture and stir to coat evenly.

Put the cereal mixture on a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for an hour. Stir the mixture every 15 minutes. After an hour, put the cereal on paper towels to cool.  When the mixture is cool, add some of the following ingredients:

• Chocolate chips
• Fruit snacks
• Raisins
• M & M’s
• Licorice nibs

 

 

Eat pretzels with peanut butter

When learning about the letter P, eat pretzels with peanut butter.  You can also draw a P in your peanut butter with the pretzel stick.

 

Homemade Parmesan chicken fingers

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

2 tbsp. of grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup of olive oil

1 package of chicken breast strips

Cook chicken strips in the olive oil on the stove top. Mix the bread crumbs and cheese in a large plastic bag. Put the chicken inside and shake to coat the chicken. Place the chicken on a cookie sheet or cake pan and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

 

Banana man

• Banana
  

  Try a delicious banana maCraisins

• Craisins
• Raisins
• Carrot

Peel your banana. Use raisins to make eyes, craisins for a mouth, and add a carrot for the nose. Enjoy eating your banana man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny sandwich faces

 

• 1 slice of bread
• Peanut butter
• Jelly or fruit preserves
• Bananas, apples, pears or raisins

 

Cut up the fruit into slices or fun shapes. Spread peanut butter on your bread or toast. Top this with jelly. Use the fruit slices and raisins to make a face.

Dehydrated bananas 

We love these because they are very easy to make and end up as a round treat!

Cut your banana into round circle shapes – about ¼ of an inch thick. Place these on your dehydrator racks. Dehydrate for 15-20 hours. Eat and enjoy your round snack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caramel apples in a dish

We made these often growing up. In fact, we sold many caramel apples for our mom’s early childhood program and our church. We like the ease of eating a caramel apple in a dish and hope you enjoy it too.

• Caramels or caramel sauce (melted)
• An apple – sliced or cubed
• Chopped nuts (optional)

Melt caramel sauce or unwrapped caramels in the microwave for 15-30 seconds. Add more time if needed. Cut up your apples first into slices and then into cubes. Sprinkle nuts on top, as desired. We prefer unsalted peanuts.

 

 

 

 

Fishing pond  

• Cream cheese or frosting
• Blue food coloring
• Goldfish crackers
• Pretzel sticks

Put several drops of blue food coloring in cream cheese or frosting. Mix this around until you make a nice shade of blue that looks like water. Drop some goldfish crackers on top. Fish the snack crackers out with your “fishing pole” pretzel. Eat and enjoy.

 

 

Sleeping dogs 

• 1 can of refrigerator biscuits
• 1 package of mini hot dogs
• 1 slice of American cheese singles

Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Remove the biscuits from the can and slightly flatten with your hand. Place the hot dogs in the middle of each biscuit and add a cheese slice. Roll them up and bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Take them out when they are golden brown.

 

Number 10 snacks  

• Count out 10 grapes and string them onto a skewer (being careful that little fingers don’t get pricked!).
• Count out 10 crackers, 10 raisins and 10 pieces of cereal to make a snack mix.
• Count out 10 fruit loops and make a necklace by stringing them on yarn.

 

 

Homemade popsicles

 

• Ice cube tray or a popsicle kit
• Popsicle sticks
• Your favorite juice

 

This week, we encourage you to make your own popsicles as there are many science elements in this activity.

Ideally, start with a juice concentrate you can mix into a pitcher by adding water. This will allow your child to see what happens when you mix the substances. Talk about how the flavoring is spread throughout the water and changes the taste, color and texture of the water.

Next, discuss what happens to the molecules in the water (they slow down) when you put the popsicles into the freezer. Discuss why the popsicles melt as you eat them (the molecules warm up and change back into a liquid)

 

Green punch 

• 2 liters ginger ale
• 1 pkg. lime Kool-aid
• 1 qt. lime sherbet

Chill the sherbet on the counter and place in a punch bowl. Mix two liters of ginger ale with the Kool-aid into the bowl. The ginger ale should help to melt the sherbet. Once mixed together, this will be a creamy, delicious punch. If desired, you can also add in some pineapple juice.

 

Carrot Ginger Soup

We thank our friends at Super Sprowtz for sharing this recipe. A link to the recipe on their site can be found here.  We also encourage you to check out the “Veggie Ladies” video! 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

4 medium sized carrots (about 1 1/2 lbs), peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch discs

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/4 cup minced fresh ginger root

6 cups chicken or vegetable stock (if using homemade, great, if not, use a low-sodium variety to keep the salt levels up to you)

1 cup plus 4-6 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt

Salt and pepper

Pinch of curry powder

Chives

In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil until the butter is melted and the oil is hot. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften and become translucent. Add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. Blend the soup to your desired consistency – leaving larger chunks if you like to chew on something, or turning it to a silky-smooth puree. If you’re using a regular blender, be sure to blend the soup in batches.

Return the blended soup to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Add the yogurt to the soup and heat over medium-low heat just until it’s heated through. Once the yogurt’s been added, you don’t want the soup to boil, or else the yogurt will curdle. Ladle the soup into serving bowls.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 4-6 tablespoons of yogurt (figure on one tablespoon per serving) with a pinch each of curry powder, salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning of the yogurt to your taste. Add one tablespoon to the center of each soup bowl and garnish with finely chopped chives.

Calories Per Serving: 202; Total Fat: 10 g; Total Carbs: 16 g, Dietary Fiber: 3 g, Sugars: 9 g; Protein 13 g

 

 

Brown cow 

Root beer soda

Ice Cream

Create your own Brown Cow drink. Place one scoop of ice cream in a cup and add root beer on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blueberry Yogurt 

•    Granola
  

  Add fresh blueberries and granola to your yogurt.

•    Yogurt
•    Blueberries

Start by putting a scoop of  yogurt in a bowl. Sprinkle on granola and fresh blueberries. Talk about the color blue as you eat your tasty (and nutritious!) treat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pineapple people

 

As the days get colder, it seems to be a special treat to enjoy fruit. This week we made pineapple people. Simply cut your pineapple into slices and use a person-shaped cookie cutter to make people. You could use other cookie cutter shapes as you desire.

 

Play dough 

• 1 c. flour
• 1 c. warm water
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/4 c. salt
• 1 tsp. oil (vegetable, canola, etc.)

Measure the ingredients and place in a medium-sized pot.  Cook slowly on medium high and stir the substance until the dough thickens.  When the dough has cooled enough, knead it on a flour-covered surface, allow your child to help.  Store in a large plastic bag or airtight container.

Cheese hammers

Pretzel sticks

Cheese cubes

This is a really simple, fun treat.  Start by cutting the cheese into cube-sized pieces, large enough to support a pretzel in the middle – about ¾” square. Add a pretzel stick to make your hammer. Kids can enjoy the fun when eating by pretending to hammer with the treats.

© 2011 Let’s Talk Kids, LLC

 

 

 

Stoplight treats 

Graham or club crackers

Chocolate frosting or peanut butter

Red, yellow and green

M & M’s

Start by taking a graham cracker and breaking it into four equal parts or use a club cracker.  Paint each with chocolate frosting or peanut butter.  Add a red, yellow and green M&M to make the cookie look like a stoplight.  Talk about when in life you stop, go and yield while eating and preparing this snack.

 

Pizza man

English muffins, sliced in half

Pizza sauce

Sliced cheese

Mini pepperoni

Green or red peppers

Black olives

Other toppings as desired
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Split the English muffins in half and place on a baking sheet. Add 1-2 tablespoons of pizza sauce to each English muffin. Next, cover each English muffin with a generous amount of cheese, about ¼-inch thick. With the additional toppings, be creative in making a face. Use olives for eyes, mini pepperoni for a smile and a green or red pepper for a nose. These can also be made as mini pizzas, adding additional toppings you enjoy.

© 2011 Let’s Talk Kids, LLC

 

Edible spiders 

4 pretzel sticks

1 mini chocolate donuts

2 M & M candies

Break the pretzel sticks in half and insert 4 into each side of the mini chocolate donut. Add two colored M&M for eyes. Allow your kids to help. Then, enjoy your scary snack.

Homemade face paint (for your Halloween costume)

To make a batch of multiple face paint colors; you will need the following ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of corn starch
• 3 teaspoons of cold cream (buy at local discount store and/or drug store)
• 2-3 teaspoons of water
• One box of liquid food coloring (in the baking aisle)

Mix the cornstarch and cold cream to a smooth consistency.  Next, add the water.  Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts by putting it in cupcake tins, baby food jars or small glasses and then add in the desired food color to each cup to make the colors you need for your costume.  (Add a pinch of flour to make white make up).

Most food coloring comes in a container of four colors – red, yellow, green and blue.  As an easy lesson, mix the coloring to get new colors.  Allow your children to help.  Talk about the colors you get by mixing red with yellow (perfect if you are going as a pumpkin), or red and blue (good for a purple people eater costume).  Enjoy the process and then have fun painting faces.

 

Homemade apple sauce

4 medium apples, remove core

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

Remove the stems and seeds of each apple.  Place apples in a medium-sized stove pan and boil on medium temperature for 15-20 minutes.  Test the apples softness with a fork.  When the apples are soft, remove the pan from heat and drain the water.  Push the apples through a strainer back into the pan you were using, leaving the skins inside the strainer. Discard the skins.

Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to the sauce.  Reheat on stove for 5 minutes.  Allow to cool and eat warm or place in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator for future enjoyment.