Elliot's 5th Birthday - Bouncy Kingdom and Dinosaurs

Well, my littlest boy is turning 5 ..... and yes, I am in shock how fast the time has whooshed by us.

Mommy and Elliot five years ago...

Elliot is a rough and tumble kid, with a heart of gold, a hot temper and a devilish grin. 

Hugs and time-out all at the same time ..... but he always make me giggle!

For his 5th birthday (going to big school in the Fall!) we wanted to do something special and a little bigger than normal. He solved the dilemma for us by asking straight out for a bouncy kingdom and dinosaurs.

We invited about 25 kids (plus five of our own) because when you have a giant inflatable playground in your backyard you want to share the fun! 

This looks a little deflated, but everyone was on-board just for a picture!

As far as party games and activities went, we kept it to a minimum. Past experience has taught us to keep it simple. The two hours we had planned would zoom by and the kids would be quite content with the bouncy house and cake. 

With the wide range in ages of the kids coming (18mths to 10years) I picked up a few giant bottles of bubbles, boxes of sidewalk chalk and inflatable beach balls just to fill in the gaps.

Sidewalk chalk and bubbles!!!

Small water bottles, chilling on ice in big tubs were around the yard. With outdoor activities, kids are always busy working up a sweat! I'm not a big believer in soda or sugary drinks, especially with all the bouncing involved. 

For refreshments, we kept it easy-peasy with picnic favorites like watermelon, grapes, carrots, cucumber, cheese and crackers. We also threw in some organic purple tortillas and pretzels for some crunch.

We served this halfway through the party, buffet-style on the deck. A nice break from all of the bouncing, giggling and fun! 

I didn't spend much time or money on decorations as the party was outside. We did have a few balloons in the trees and helium bouquets around the cake table. This giant #5 was awesome and was still floating around our house a week later!

I found foam dinosaur hats at our local Dollarama. The kids got to take them home at the end of the party as an extra party favour. What else would one do with 30 dinosaur hats?!!!

Soon it was time to serve up cake and ice cream! Everyone came inside to sing Happy Birthday, grab a cupcake and headed back out for one last bounce until their parents arrived.

Elliot handed everyone a favor bag and thanked them for coming. These little treats were loaded with bubbles, chalk, Dino gummies and a boomerang to mimic the party theme.

It was a fun day with a great group of friends. Thanks to everyone who attended. :-)

Happy Birthday Elliot!!!

Pancake Tuesday + Recipe

Almost every Tuesday is Pancake Tuesday at our house. Little ones can sometimes be picky, so it originated for us as a way to get their bellies full with something that everyone loves.

Swimming practice also falls on this night, and who wants a full stomach of "heavy" food when you're in the pool? Ugh!  So this recipe topped with some fresh fruit is a quick, light meal that gives them what they need.

Through the years, I have reworked this recipe to eliminate (or cut down on) bad oils, salt, white flour and now sugar. Gross you're thinking, right?

Well, like a lot of people, we are becoming more and more aware of what goes into our bodies. Making healthy substitutes in your favorite recipes aids in this cause and can actually improve the texture and taste of your food. 

One thing that I love is coconut products. So pure, and good for you! I have yet to find a good quality coconut flour, but when I do, you can be sure it will be a substitution for the all-purpose flour ( I have cut it down in this recipe, but find it is still needed to keep the pancakes light.) 

I got this recipe from Canadian Living magazine years ago while searching for a whole wheat pancake recipe. The first time I made them I was worried but the kids gobbled them up - instant success! 

We like a variety of toppings, a touch of pure maple syrup, homemade berry sauce, caramelized apples, bananas & chocolate chips, or fresh fruit are always a favorite. They are also great to make in big batches and freeze for busy times or early mornings.

Enjoy!

WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups low-fat milk or vanilla soy milk (Yum!)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla

 

In large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk,  oil and vanilla; pour over dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.

Heat large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake; cook until bubbles break on top but do not fill in and bottoms are golden, 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Turn and cook until golden on bottom, 1 minute. 

Make-ahead: Layer between waxed paper and freeze in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: April 2004

Altered by:  Rebecca Todd - The Tangled Treehouse

Please give them a try and let me know what you think! 

Happy Pancake Day!

Shaklee Shake and Day 3 Results

Hello! I'm writing a lot these days trying to catch-up on my running results. Since I've been reworking my schedule and working-out, things have been busier than ever! Plus we've been experiencing some wintery weather which equals school cancellations...so I've had five little ones under my toes while juggling all of my commitments.

So today I wanted to share with you a recent yummy discovery. I have been obsessed with Shaklee products for about a year now. I discovered them while searching online for the best natural household cleaners. And they did not disappoint, they are AMAZING! 

I've been so impressed with them that I am considering selling them as they are not widely available here in Nova Scotia...Cape Breton in particular. But before I sign on the dotted line, I want to personally test the products so that I have confidence and experience to back them. 

Now I have tried the Shaklee Get Clean products, vitamins, supplements and facial care products and love them all. But for the past couple of months, I have been fighting these last 20lbs of my weight-loss journey. So I thought this would be a good opportunity to try their Cinch products. They are a bit like SlimFast, where you replace either breakfast or lunch with a shake, but much healthier and more natural. At the same time, I was looking for a recovery shake for after my run. Because this is milk (or soy milk) based and full of protein, I could use it for both purposes.

The first day, I did my run and mixed up a shake for my recovery and lunch. I love vanilla, so I chose the vanilla powder and mixed it with light vanilla soy milk.  I will admit, I was not fully impressed. It was delicious in flavour, and extremely filling (I even skipped my afternoon snack!) but it was.....powdery.....almost gritty in texture.

The next day, my husband was home and was making his NutriBullet shake and suggested I use his machine to mix my Shaklee shake. 

My adjusted recipe is as follows:

-2 scoops of Cinch Vanilla powder mix

-1 cup of light vanilla soy milk

-1 cup of ice

- half of a banana....

Holy Cow! YUM!!! No more powdery taste, just deliciousness!

So I've been using it everyday since and I will be sure to keep you updated with the results. But so far, I am impressed with another Shaklee product. Have any of you tried or currently using any Shaklee products? Other weight-loss products? Recovery shakes? I love hearing results! Let me know!


Speaking of results...here are the Day 3 Results for my February Pledge to Run...Daily!!!


Manual Program: 25minutes

-4mins walk 3.5, 2.5 incline
-16mins run 5.0
-1min sprint 5.5
-4mins walk 3.5, 2.5 incline

1.84 miles

214 cals burned

25 minutes total workout

Super Bowl, Crayons and Day 2 Results

I'm here, I'm here, I didn't skip town on you.....although, in all seriousness I don't think I could "skip" anywhere right now.....my thighs are on fire!  This February Pledge to Run...Daily!!! has been hard on this old girl.

We had a few friends in for the Super Bowl last night (Go 49ers!!!!....I guess it's a little too late for that....boo!) so I didn't get a post together yesterday as there was a tonne of stuff to do around here in prep for our guests/party.

As many of you know, life with kids is a constant discovery show. My boys are crafty kids. Everyday there are markers, glue, glitter, stickers, paper bits, and clay everywhere. Our dining room is the most under-used room in our house, (we are pretty casual around here) so it has become a makeshift craft room. Until yesterday, when we were expecting guests and I had a boatload of food to serve. I needed to rescue my table, so I grabbed a handy laundry basket and filled it with the table contents. And much to my horror, under all of the pencils and paper, I discovered this....

This was just after I had wiped it down with a damp cloth.

Now, I love that my kids enjoy crafting as much as I do...but Hello!, THAT is a HUGE mess on my dining table!  I know, I know, Mommy should have put down a protective cover of some sort, but Mommy is busy and really didn't think of it.....until she was in a mad dash prior to our house party. 

What is that? crayon? marker? I have no idea! So I grabbed my Shaklee Get Clean Scour Off, thinking it needed a little grit to get things moving. And move it did!

With a damp micro-fibre cleaning cloth, a touch of Scour Off and some elbow grease, the "artistry" was removed from my dining room table. I didn't want to really scrub like I would my kitchen sink, as I was afraid of lifting the finish. So I gently wiped back and forth, going with the grain of the wood, Now it did take a little bit of time... around 10 minutes for the whole table. But using Shaklee's Get Clean line of natural cleaners makes me feel a lot more secure... especially around food surfaces.

After finishing with Shaklee Scour-Off.

Added a touch of orange oil to recondition the wood after cleaning.

So thankful, as we were too close to guests arrival for fussing. We covered the table with lots of munchies and a big pot of chilli...YUM! (Go 49ers!!!....still no?....boo!) 

Super Bowl food table.

Fun was had by all and even though my team didn't win, we enjoyed our Super Bowl night.

I even squeezed in my workout mid-afternoon, as I knew that I had a pledge to uphold as well as a night of high-calorie indulgence ahead. 

Here are the results from Day 2 of my February Pledge to Run....Daily!!!

Now you'll notice a jump from Day 1 Totals. I set a manual program of 20 mins to include a 5 minute cool-down. But while I was running and getting into my groove, the clock reached the cool down portion of my workout. However, I felt like I had more left in the tank...so I kept going. And let me tell you, I felt like I had just won a gold medal! Breaking through barriers and personal goals are the ultimate motivators!

Manual Program - 20 minutes (4mins walk 3.5, 2.5 incline)(16mins run 5.0)

1.54 miles

185 cals burned

Extra 5 minutes - Cool Down (walk 3.0, 2.5 incline)

0.25 miles
21 cals burned

25 minutes total workout

Cheers!

Deli Wraps Platter

My youngest boy, Elliot, is testing for his yellow belt in Taekwando.  He's only four years old but he is a mighty little thing. Awhile back when his older brothers were testing, the parents were asked to donate some yummies for the buffet table to congratulate the participants and parents. So I whipped up a cheese and cracker tray(aka High Kicking Cheese Platter) shown here.

Today, I decided to make something sightly different but still "banquet table-esque." Easy to handle, fits on a flimsy paper plate napkin, kid and adult friendly were all requirements that came to mind. I started thinking sandwiches, but I'm not the type that can send a plate of egg salad on crust-less white bread ...(not with my name on it anyway!) So I decided to jazz it up a bit, and went with a wrap platter.

I am doing this post after the fact, so I didn't take tutorial pictures at the time. Sorry! But I'll list what was used for ingredients and being the smarties that you are, I'm sure you can figure it out.

At the grocer there is a variety of choices in the bakery. But something with a variety of texture and colour is more appealing when dealing with food. So I chose the 10" tortillas in whole wheat, roasted red pepper and spinach.

For the meat, a variety of roast beef, ham and turkey.

For the cheese, a variety of havarti, cheddar and swiss.

I used a mixture of mayo and grainy mustard and for the turkey wraps used a cream cheese and salsa mixture.

Added a few leaves of romaine and rolled them up. I sliced them in half for easy handling. Although they could have used the extra security, I decided against adding toothpicks as I knew there would be a lot of little ones grabbing at them. We don't need any choking incidents!

For the making of the platter, I placed the wraps around the edge of an oval platter, cut-side out so that people could see what was inside. Then added a few more pops of colour with olives, red and yellow peppers (grape tomatoes and gerkins work great as well!) 

Quick, easy and tasty to boot!


AND...guess who passed his test?!!!

CONGRATULATIONS ELLIOT!!!

High Kicking Cheese Platter

Starting off on with a simple yet rewarding project, preparing a cheese tray. My boys and husband have joined the Taekwondo program here in Sydney at Island Martial Arts Center. They are loving every minute! Tonight was the blackbelt testing, so there was a call to the families to provide goodies for the banquet afterwards. As my first call of duty, I wanted to rise to the occassion and of course, be asked to contribute again. Nothing is more rewarding than someone enjoying what you have prepared with your own hands. 

Started off in my head with my usual fall backs, fruit trays, sandwiches, squares, etc. Taking also into consideration that there is a huge demand for peanut-free dishes in our community. The decision was ultimately made when browsing for inspiration at my local grocer and saw that block cheese was on sale for half price...cheese tray it is! I am very much a bargain hunter (with 5 kids you have to be!) and felt that I could add more garnishes to the dish for the same price if I took advantage of sale prices. This is usually how I also shop for nightly suppers, find what is fresh and on sale, find the recipe later. 

Anyway, I came home with a stock pile of goodies and prepped the kitchen. Scrubbed the counters, veggies, and fruit. Chopped the cheese into cubes of equal size. Stored in airtight Rubbermaid containers in the fridge until assembly time. (Note: When shopping peanut-free, consider crackers, spreads and cheeses...you may be surprised to what may contain nuts or traces of nuts...shop labels carefully and always look for the peanut-free label.)

Then the fun part, designing the platter.  I didn't want to send out any of my good trays in case of loss or damage, nor did I want to skimp on the quality that wouldn't hold the weight of the food. So I wavered in between and found a large, white, plastic oval platter that I found a Costco. Gave it a quick wipe and used my label maker to add our name to the bottom. 

I didn't like the white showing through, so i decided to cover the base with leafy red lettuce. Cleaned out a firm red pepper and placed it in the center and filled with stuffed olives. Mimicked the same with a green pepper only filled with a spinach dip. Used the pepper lids to add height and interest to the tray. Worked my way out from there. Using the sheaths of Breton crackers on each end. Filled out to each side with the cubed cheese, Triscuit triangles and the other end Vinta square crackers (using a variety of shapes.) Then added the grapes, baby dills, and pepperoni. Still looked a little less than full, so I added a few fresh sprigs of parsley to the mix.

Love using food for containers. You don't have to worry about them being returned after the event, plus it adds fun and interest to the platter.

Voila! So easy, big impact!

Thought it would be fun to also include a budgetary break-down. Please keep in mind that these are sale prices at my local grocer and prices vary according to region and seasonal products.

BUDGET BREAKDOWN:

Red Leaf Lettuce - $2.00

Seedless Red Grapes - $2.16 (used half bag - $1.08)

Seedless Green Grapes - $2.16 (used half bag - $1.08)

Sweet Green Pepper - $1.17

Sweet Red Pepper - $2.07

Curly Parsley - $1.39 (used very small amount - $0.25)

Spinach Dip - $3.79

Pepperoni - $4.73

Vinta square crackers - $2.50

Triscuit Triangle crackers - $2.50

PC Crisp&Thin crackers - $1.89

Mozzarella cheese - $4.27 (used 3/4 of block - $3.20)

Old Cheddar cheese - $4.27 (used 3/4 of block - $3.20)

Marble Cheddar cheese - $4.27 (used 3/4 of block - $3.20)

PC Green Olives - $4.99 (used half jar - $2.50)

PC Baby Dill Tangy - $1.49

GRAND TOTAL: $36.65

I will admit, this is a little more pricey than I would usually dish out for a tray. However, this was an important event for our family and felt that it was justified. If you wanted to cut back on expenses you could definitely make some substitutes. But I strongly advise you to cut back on quantity rather than the quality of the ingredients.

Check in again,

Rebecca