Archive for Kid-friendly
Gingerbread Houses – Quick, Easy & Fun!
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This month has been pretty hectic at our house, as I’m sure it is at most homes this time of year. There are so many different holiday activities, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to do them all. In order to make time for as many as possible, I’ve found that I skimp on the everyday chores. The meals become simpler, the laundry goes a few extra days before getting washed, the house cleaning…well, let’s just say there are some parts of the house that just get ignored.
I really wanted to make gingerbread houses this year. I had a lot of leftover Halloween candy that I thought would be great to use on them. I thought about buying a gluten-free kit (A & J Bakery or Cherry Blossom Cakes), but I had already bought Jules special flour mix for making graham crackers and gingerbread. So, I didn’t buy the kit and I haven’t even opened the gluten-free graham flour. There are only a couple days left until Christmas and I’m thinking about finishing my shopping, wrapping presents and sending out the last of the Christmas cards.
So, I’ve decided to do what I did last year: use pre-made gluten-free graham crackers (Josef
This would be a great project for a support group for celiac kids (R.O.C.K. or Cel-Kids). The project is quick enough to be done in a reasonable amount of time, takes little preparation for the organizer, and the houses are small enough for each kid to take home.
Royal Icing using Egg Whites
Ingredients:
3 egg whites
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
- Beat egg whites until fluffy and add in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.
- Mix in the other ingredients and beat until thick and stiff.
Additional Notes:
- Once you’ve made up the icing, be sure to keep it covered in the bowl so it doesn’t dry out.
- This makes a large batch of icing. It’s probably enough to make 6 small (cracker-size) houses.
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Royal Icing for Gingerbread Houses
(I got this recipe from my sister, who says she got it from Better Homes and Gardens.)
Ingredients:
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
4 tsps Meringue Powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 Cup warm water
Directions:
Combine sifted powdered sugar, meringue powder, and cream of tartar. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until combined, then on high speed for 7 to 10 minutes or until very stiff.
Additional Notes:
Add 1 to 4 Tbsp of water, 1 tsp at a time to make glaze of desired consistency.
Want to make your own gluten-free gingerbread cookies or houses from scratch? Try one of these recipes:
Gingerbread House Heaven
Jenn Cuisine
Only Sometimes Clever
For more gluten-free holiday treats, check out this week’s edition of “What Can I Eat That’s Gluten-Free?” at The Gluten-Free Homemaker.
Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins made with a Gluten-Free Cake Mix
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With the first yummy taste of these, I knew I had to share this recipe with you. Just look at how quick and easy it is to have a chocolate dessert or snack ready.
I made these Chocolate Mini-Muffins for my daughter to take to school to share with her classmates. I intended to make banana muffins, but didn’t have any ripe bananas. So, this is what I came up with at the last minute. I guess I should call them cupcakes because that’s really what they are. But, I didn’t frost them like cupcakes. I was trying to keep them from being too sweet. It didn’t matter to anyone in our house that they weren’t frosted, the muffins disappeared very fast! I did, however, manage to save a few of them to see how they would last. Thanks to the pumpkin, they were still moist after sitting on the counter (in a sealed container) for a few days.
I’m linking this to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays this week because the pumpkin adds to this treat a good amount of vitamin A, but adds no saturated fat or trans fat. And, no egg, oil or milk is needed to bake these; the pumpkin provides all the moisture needed. That’s good news for our friends with additional food allergies, too.
Chocolate Pumpkin Mini-Muffins made with Betty Crocker’s Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Mix
Ingredients:
- 1 box Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Chocolate (Devil’s Food) Cake Mix
- 1-1/3 Cups of pumpkin (about 12 oz.)
Directions:
- Combine the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Scoop batter into a Mini-Muffin Pan
with paper liners
or lightly sprayed with oil. You can also bake these on a flat baking sheet. Just place scoops of batter onto a baking sheet lightly greased or lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 350° F.
Additional Notes:
- Makes about 36 mini muffins.
- No need to add egg, milk, oil, or anything else.
- I used 1-1/3 cups pumpkin because I had it leftover from a pumpkin pie I made. You could probably use 1 Cup, but I wouldn’t try a whole can (15 oz.) of pumpkin. On second thought, one can (15 oz.) of pumpkin would probably work with two cake mixes.
- The batter is very thick, so you can’t pour it into the muffin pans. I used a small cookie scoop
, which gave it a round shape. Baking it did not make it spread. It actually kept its shape on a flat baking sheet.
- Please note that these do not have a pumpkin flavor. I used the canned, plain, solid pack 100% pumpkin. I also didn’t add any pumpkin pie spices. You could certainly do that if you’re wanting more of that flavor. But, if you do want a pumpkin-flavored muffin, I would try it with Betty Crocker’s Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix and add in some pumpkin pie spices.
Ready to get baking? If you need one of these cake mixes, why not enter the giveaway of the Betty Crocker gluten-free dessert mixes I posted last week.
Gluten-Free Snacks for School
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Back to School Week continues at Celiac Family. Today my daughter starts preschool! She attended the same preschool last year, and will have the same teacher my son had two years ago. So, we feel comfortable that we can maintain her gluten-free diet without much ado. However, I did put together a list of gluten-free snack ideas to share with the teacher (and parents, if they request it). The items I included on the list are snacks you should be able to get at just about any grocery store. Perhaps I’ve got one or two new ideas for you? Please leave a comment if you have some other gluten-free snack ideas that aren’t on the list. I can always use some new ideas. 
Gluten-Free Snacks:
Fresh fruit – most fruit cups are gluten-free, too
Fresh vegetables
Cheese – sticks, shapes, string, etc.
Raisins – Sun-Maid
Applesauce – most brands without added flavorings are gluten-free
Chewy Fruit Snacks – most brands are gluten-free. Betty Crocker has even started printing “Gluten-Free” on the front of the box!
Juice – most brands (especially “100% juice”) are gluten-free
Yogurt – most brands without any added toppings; Stoneyfield’s, Yoplait Go-gurt, Trix, Dora
Rice Cakes
Corn Thins
Cereal – Make a trail mix with cereal, raisins, M&Ms, nuts, etc. Chex cereals are now gluten-free but to make sure, it should say “Gluten-Free” on the box: Rice Chex, Honey Nut Chex, Chocolate Chex, Cinnamon Chex; Erewhon Brown Rice Crisps; Koala Crisp; Panda Puffs; (Kelloggs Rice Krispies is not gluten-free.)
Popcorn – most brands are gluten-free; Orville Redenbacher’s, Jiffy Pop, Act II (except extreme butter)
Kettle corn – LesserEvil Classic, Orville Redenbacher’s
Gelatin cups – Jello, Wegman’s brand
Pudding cups – Jello, Swiss Miss, Hunt’s, Wegman’s
Potato chips – most brands without added flavorings are gluten-free; Lays original, Lays Staxx, Wegman’s, Utz, Ruffles, French’s potato sticks; (Pringles are not gluten-free.)
Tortilla Chips – most brands without added flavorings are gluten-free; Tostitos, Mission, Wegman’s
Corn Chips – Fritos, Wegman’s
Other snacks – Cheetos, Original Tings, Pirate’s Booty, Cheddar Airs
I know that the list leaves room for error, but I was trying to make the point there is plenty of gluten-free food out there that doesn’t have to come from a specialty food mart. Please keep in mind, that I plan to check the ingredients of the daily snack everyday when I take my daughter to school. You, too, should check the food labels because manufacturers can change the ingredients at any time.
For specialty gluten-free snacks, check out some of our favorites at Celiac Family’s Amazon Store.
Menu Plan – Back to School Week
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It’s Back to School Week for the Celiac Family. For my daughter, 5-day preschool isn’t starting soon enough. And my son is happy to be starting Kindergarten this year, but he is ecstatic about getting to ride the bus! With all the excitement and changes that will be going on with sleep schedules, school, and after-school activities, I’ve decided to make it another kids’ choice menu plan. I’ve included some of their favorites as well as a couple days of fast food due to a busy weekend.
Monday – Hamburgers
Labor Day seems like the perfect day to cook burgers on the grill. We’ll serve them with French fries and Brussels sprouts.
Tuesday – Parmesan Chicken Nuggets
Chicken nuggets served with steamed carrots. I’ll get the kids to help me make fruit kabobs, too.
Wednesday – Hot dogs and Macaroni & Cheese
My kids are not big fans of Mac & Cheese. But, I’m hoping to encourage their interest, by letting them help me make it. We’ll make the Mac & Cheese earlier in the day. Then I’ll just need to heat it up quickly with some hot dogs after soccer practice.
Thursday – Chick-fil-a
We’ll be out, so we’ll be stopping somewhere for dinner. Chick-fil-a is the kids’ choice. Grilled chicken fillets, waffle fries and fruit cups for the kids, and salads for the adults. If you need a fast food meal this week, check out Chick-fil-a’s gluten-free menu.
Friday – Leftover Chicken Nuggets
Serving leftover chicken nuggets with mashed potatoes and peas.
Saturday – Leftover Mac & Cheese
We’ll heat up some hot dogs to go with the Mac & Cheese again. Serving with steamed broccoli.
Sunday – McDonald’s
Finishing up the week with a trip to McDonald’s for Happy Meals. We order hamburgers with no buns, and haven’t had a problem — except when we forget to ask for forks and knives.
Need more menu ideas?
Manda at Asparagus Thin is hosting Gluten-Free Menu Swap this week with the theme ingredient of tapioca/manioc/cassava/yucca. The only time I really use tapioca is in a mix of gluten-free flours. I use tapioca flour in my recipe for King Cake. Now I know we’re not even close to Mardi Gras, but this makes a nice breakfast pastry, too.
As always, there are hundreds more menu plans (not necessarily gluten-free) at OrgJunkie.com. Or, check out some of my past menu plans.
Kids Make Fruit Kabobs
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I love to get the kids in the kitchen and have them help prepare meals. Well… that’s what I like to say. But honestly, when dinnertime comes around, I’m often rushing around to get it done. Instead of finding something the kids can do, I’m often scooting them out the kitchen, out of my way. With our summer activities finally slowing down this week, we were able to take our time and make something together. We decided to make something that’s always a kid favorite: Fruit Kabobs!
Fruit kabobs are a great activity for kids. You can use almost any fruit, they are in bite-size pieces, and the kids can put it together themselves (or with minimal help, depending on their ages). Melon is a perfect fruit to use on the kabobs because it is so easy to cut. I did the big cuts, and removed the rind from the fruit with the big, sharp knife. But then the kids could use a butter knife to easily cut the melon into bite-size pieces. They thought it was great. We had a cantaloupe, but watermelon and honey dew would be good additions. You can see from the picture that we used strawberries and grapes, too. Go ahead and use up whatever you have in the house. Of course, some fruit turns brown quickly, so if you’re making them in advance you’d probably want to avoid those.
Cutting the fruit. If your kids are older, consider letting them cut the fruit themselves with Rachael Ray’s Young Cooks Cutting Set
The Sticks. You can use a variety of sticks for skewering the fruit: toothpicks, bamboo skewers, coffee stirs, small skinny straws, or even chopsticks. But my favorite is plastic swizzle sticks, or Drink Stirrers
Good for kids and the family. This activity encourages kids to help out in the kitchen. Kids feel good about what they created. They get to pick the fruit they want, and then eat it! With the kids going back to school soon, I’m also thinking this activity is great for helping kids build fine motor skills.
Now that I got the kids back in the kitchen, I’m hoping to continue it more often. So, when I sit down to plan our meals for next week, I’m going to include one or two items that the kids can help prepare. Planning in advance will allow me to schedule around after-school activities and give us plenty of time to get it done. If you’re looking for some kid-friendly recipes, or maybe a little more inspiration, check out these online posts and articles:
Gluten-Free Kids in the Kitchen
Happy Kitchen Jam Tarts (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free)
Kids in the Kitchen: Spaghetti and (Gluten-Free) Meatballs
Other Online articles about Kids in the Kitchen:
Cooking with Kids Teaches About Simple Snacks
Dads and Kids Cooking Together
Why Invite Your Kids Into The Kitchen?
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Cantaloupe is the theme ingredient this week for Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang. So check it out for more gluten-free recipes with cantaloupe.
