Archive for Parenting
Hot Wheels Birthday Cake
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It was such a busy summer that I never got around to sharing this birthday cake idea with you. My son loves Hot Wheels
I started going through his Hot Wheels tracks for ideas. I found a fun little track that I thought would be fun to incorporate with it. But, I couldn’t remove all the track pieces from the base and support structure. As I discussed the idea with my husband, he suggested that we just use the regular flexible Hot Wheels track pieces
I didn’t get pictures of the building process. I was too busy trying to figure out what to do to stop and take a picture. And, I’m really sorry I never got a video of it working. We had to enlarge the tunnel a little, and find the right, low-profile car
More specifics:
I baked two round 9″ cakes. I used Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Cake Mixes
I made Wilton’s recipe for Chocolate Buttercream Icing, and used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
).
For the bottom layer cake, I cut a path for the tunnel 3/4 of the way through the middle. (At this point, it looks almost like the letter U.) Then, I frosted the top and inside the tunnel.
For the top layer cake, I cut out another path for the tunnel. Then, I placed the cake on top of the bottom layer. I had to make some adjustments for the tunnel, by cutting a little more here and there so that the cake becomes like a ramp down the middle. After testing it with the track, I frosted the top, sides and inside the tunnel.
For the side of the cake, I tried to keep the decoration simple. I used a plastic chop stick to make indentions along the side of the frosted cake to resemble tire tread.
For the flames: I used simple icing made with powdered sugar and water. (I start with 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp water and adjust as necessary.) Then I separated it into three small bowls and used food dye to create red, orange and yellow frosting. I used Wilton’s small round #3 decorating tip
For the support of the track, my husband used a yard stick and a dowel rod secured with a nail. The track and clamp
More Great Birthday Cake Ideas:
- Heidi made a show-stopping Monster Truck birthday cake at Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom.
- Heidi also made a fabulous Star Wars Clone Trooper Helmet cake you should check out.
- And, don’t miss Andrea Meyer’s Lego Star Wars Stormtropper Cake at Andrea’s Recipes.
- If you’re looking for a Cars cake, Andrea also built a great Lightning McQueen cake.
I’m also linking this post to Gluten-Free Wednesdays at The Gluten-Free Homemaker, where you’ll find lots of wonderful gluten-free recipes, reviews and ideas.
Disney Princess Vitamins Gluten Free!
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Just wanted to share the good news: The Disney Princess chewable vitamins
I took a picture of the label (posted below), in case there are other ingredients you avoid. But check out what isn’t in them: milk, lactose, gluten, wheat, yeast, shellfish, and sodium. That works for us! (Be sure to check the label before you buy them. There may still be some bottles on the shelves that contain wheat starch.)
My daughter loves to pick out the princess shape and color to have each morning with breakfast. She prefers the chewable vitamins over the gummie vitamins. However, if your child prefers the gummies, you can also purchase Disney Princess Gummies Vitamins
Notable Links:
- Celiac Family writes about Flintstones, Spider-Man Gummies, CVS brand, and more
- Celiac Family writes about Wegmans W-Kids chewables
- For information about the gluten content of other medications, check out www.glutenfreedrugs.com.
Make Your Own Snack Mix – GF/EF
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Due to all the snow days we’ve had this winter, my son just hit his 100th day in school last week. His teacher planned all kinds of fun counting activities for the kids to mark the 100th day. The week before the activity, the teacher emailed me saying that she wanted to have the kids each make their own trail mix snack. They would each count out 10 pieces of 10 different food items and combine them to come up with 100. So, she gave me a list of snack foods that she has used in the past for this activity, and asked me what we could do to make sure it was gluten-free. There is another student in the class that has an allergy to eggs, so they needed to be egg-free, too. I was surprised how quick and easy it was to come up with a list of items.
The teacher was able to find 9 different items at her local grocery store with no problems. I provided the 10th item, a bag of small pretzel twists for the class because I had a spare bag in the pantry. Glutino makes great pretzels that are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, casein-free. If you haven’t thought about making a trail mix for snack foods, here’s a list of items to get you started. Choose two, three or ten! items to create that perfect snack for you and your kids. Obviously, you can make it as healthy or unhealthy as you like. And, of course, check labels to make sure that the items you are buying are gluten-free (and egg-free if you need it to be egg-free as well).
This is a great activity for the kids. It certainly makes a good counting activity, but also encourages them to prepare their own nutritious snacks. Give them a choice of appropriate snacks to choose — maybe one of each of the categories below. Whatever works for you and your family, just have fun and enjoy eating gluten-free!
Cereals:
- Chex cereals (Rice, Corn, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Honey Nut)
- Envirokidz Panda Puffs
- Evirokidz Gorilla Munch
- Perky O’s
- Erewhon Crunchy Corn & Amaranth cereal
Dried Fruits:
- raisins
- cranberries/craisins
- blueberries
- yogurt covered raisins
Protein:
- Peanuts
- Cashews, almonds, or other tree nuts
- Sunflower Seeds
Snacks:
- Gluten-Free Pretzels
- Popcorn
- Corn Puffs
Sweets:
- Mini marshmallows
- chocolate chips
- M&Ms
- Skittles
- Fruit snacks
- Gummy bears
So, I’m sure I’ve missed some snack ideas. Do you have any to share? What do you put in a snack mix?
Notable Links:
- Don’t forget to check out this week’s Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang. It’s all about raisins!
- Celebrate the 100th Day in 100 Ways at Education World
- Kids in the kitchen making fruit kabobs.
Cinnamon Ornaments
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These cinnamon ornaments are a great homemade gift that your kids will love making…and giving to friends, family, teachers, etc. As a kid, I used this dough like a clay to make cinnamon bears with my mom. Now, I’m making cinnamon ornaments with my kids. With two ingredients, this is a fast and easy craft to make. However, it does take time to dry before you can decorate them, so plan accordingly.
As a kid, we started with a bottle of ground cinnamon and just started mixing in the applesauce until we got the right consistency. Recently, I’ve had good luck using the recipe below from the McCormick website. (I may have slightly modified the wording.)
Last year, we made two batches of these and gave them to all of the kids’ teachers for Christmas. The kids loved being able to give all their teachers, aides, coaches, instructors, etc. something that they made.
Cinnamon Ornaments Recipe
Ingredients:
3/4 Cup applesauce
1 large bottle (4.12 ounces, or 1 cup + 2 TBSP) ground cinnamon
Equipment and Other Supplies Needed:
cookie cutters
drinking straw
oven and baking sheets, or wire drying rack
colorful ribbon
fabric paint or glitter glue to decorate
Directions:
- Mix applesauce and cinnamon in a small bowl until a smooth ball of dough is formed. Adjust amount of applesauce and cinnamon as necessary to get a good firm consistency — not too crumbly nor too sticky.
- Using about 1/3 of the dough at a time, roll dough to 1/4-inch to 1/3-inch thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap. Peel off top sheet of plastic wrap. Cut dough into desired shapes with cookie cutters.
- Make a hole in the top of ornament with a drinking straw if making ornaments. Place ornaments on a baking sheet.
- Bake 2 1/2 hours at 200° F. Large or thick ornaments may need a little longer to dry. Cool ornaments on wire rack. (Or, to dry ornaments at room temperature, carefully place them on wire rack. Let stand 1 to 2 days or until thoroughly dry (turning about every 12 hours).
- For ornaments, insert ribbon through holes and tie to hang. Glitter glue is great for decorating them.
Additional Notes:
- Makes about 16 medium-sized ornaments.
- For my frugal friends, visit your local dollar store. You’ll find everything you need for this project, even the applesauce and ground cinnamon (which can be pricey).
- If you like the gingerbread smell, consider adding ground cloves, nutmeg, and ginger to the dough. Making gingerbread boys and girls to hang on the tree? Add some googly eyes and glitter glue to give them some dimension.
- You can also use these as air freshners — a bowl full of balls in the bathroom or some flat shapes to put at the bottom of the kitchen trash can or the ashtray in the car. The scent should last 3-6 months. You can add cinnamon oil to them later to extend the scent.
Notable Links:
- Cinnamon Ornaments at McCormick’s website.
- For more recipes using cinnamon, visit Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.
Energy Bars for Kids
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Last month I received samples of Can Do Kid energy bars in the mail. I love getting packages in the mail, especially when there are gluten-free goodies inside. Honestly, we don’t eat a lot of energy bars in my house, but since two of the flavors were chocolate, I was eager to try them. 
Timing was good, too. With the start of school and after school activities and sports, the kids need a little more sleep and a little more to eat. Sometimes an apple or banana just isn’t enough energy to get through soccer or swim practice.
My husband took some to work for sampling, while the kids and I had our own taste test at home. The bars come packaged in two small pieces, which is great for us because it’s easy to split between a 4-year-old and 6-year-old. At my son’s request, we tried the Can-illa Vanilla first. Being the chocoholic that I am, I assumed the chocolate flavors would be my favorite. Surprise! We all agreed that the Can-illa Vanilla had the best flavor.
The Can-illa Vanilla bar has a slightly chewy texture and is covered with a thin, smooth white chocolate coating. We were pleasantly surprised by the cinnamon flavor. I was expecting it to be a little bland, but I think it had more flavor than the chocolate varieties.
The other two varieties are both covered with a thin chocolate coating. The Chocolate Crunch is all chocolate with a little bit of soy crisps inside. It actually had the chewiest texture of the three bars – almost like a fudge. I actually thought that the Cookies and Cream variety had a little more crunch. The flavors of both of these were very mild. All three of the bars are made with soy, but I wasn’t overwhelmed with the taste of soy. If you have other allergies, you should know that they are also made with milk and peanuts.
The company says these bars were developed with active kids in mind. They are packed with protein (9 grams) — more than you would get from say a rice bar or granola bar (2 grams), but less than you might get from an adult, high-energy bar (20-30 grams). Each bar has 85 calories, or 170 calories for both in the package, and are low in sugar (no high fructose corn syrup). These bars are gluten-free, of course, and are made with natural, organic ingredients (70%).
We all liked these. Even my husband was looking for more to take to work. So now the problem is finding them. I looked for them at 7-Eleven and Whole Foods Market, but wasn’t able to find them in our stores. After checking their store locator, I confirmed that they weren’t in the stores near me. Fortunately, you can order online at the Can Do Kid website or at Amazon
