As a little girl I used to have hot chocolate in a china cocoa set from 1860. The ritual and care required so as not to chip the cups etched the experience on my memory. The hot chocolate was the powder kind and on special occasions, it would contain dehydrated mini marshmallows. You could watch the sugar crystals in the powder as they dissolved. Back then a product was a product and nutritional ‘truths’ were a given. Soup, salad and milk were good for you. Candy was bad, and unless potatoes accompanied your meat, it wasn’t a proper dinner. Eating from the four food groups detailed in Canada’s Food Guide and doing some school ‘particip-action’ would keep you fit.
You’re going to think this is silly, but I have a recurring fantasy about snacking with a cow. I know, this is a seriously cheesy confession, but I have to be honest. For a while now I have been fixated on The Laughing Cow Cheese Dippers.
It all started in the last few days of summer. I innocently packed up a cooler full of snacks to take to our local park. Knowing all the kids would be running through the sprinklers, I skipped sandwiches and chips, loading up instead on fruits, veggies, hummus, and various snack-type cheeses.
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Summer should be laissez-faire, easy and fun. Unfortunately, work, kids and life still must go on so finding ease where we can is crucial. My kids have been yelling at me daily for enrolling them in summer school (I told them it was ‘education camp’ but they saw through the ruse quickly). We have had visitors, raced in weekend sailing regattas, gardened, camped and canned blueberries. Canadian summers seem so very short when there is so much to enjoy! The ‘easy’ and ‘fun’ bits need to be strengthened when there are so many activities going on. My motto, despite the packed calendar, has been to make snacks as easy as possible. As well, desserts need to be delicious and easy to prepare for when friends drop by for an impromptu BBQ.
Attention padawan learners and Rey fans everywhere! Fancy seeing more Star Wars on Netflix? Members in Canada are now able to stream Star Wars: The Force Awakens along with the last days of the Galactic Republic with the entire Clone Wars series and feature film. Because it is summer vacation, after all, and there are many, many lessons in Star Wars. (You may want to watch it a few times…).
The International Baccelaureate program encourages kids to think independently, drive their own learning, become more culturally aware, and engage with people in an increasingly globalized, rapidly changing world. Our family is very lucky that we live in an area with public IB schools that begin at the kindergarten level.
Take a walk down memory lane with me, won’t you? It’s the end of August (or perhaps July, depending on where you live). The new school year is fast approaching and you are STOKED, my friend. Because, while your summer break was all sorts of wonderful, you and your kids are SO READY to get back to your routine.
Summer means long family road trips, and also the onset of ‘Are we there yet?’ and ‘I’m HUNGRY!’. Parents can hardly get the car packed and still have time to come up with healthy road trip snack ideas for kids, but we’ve come up with a few cool ideas that gan get you out of a rut. Well, hopefully not a real rut. Maybe driving safety tips will be next…
Fudge is a Christmas tradition in my family, my mom or sister always makes it for us to enjoy on Christmas Eve (and for days after!) I’ve never really made it myself but I recently came across a recipe for Apricot Raspberry Cheesecake Fudge from A Mom’s Take and while it looks amazingly delicious, I’m personally not a big fan of white chocolate or apricots by my little pregnant brain immediately went to: That would be awesome as a Peanut Butter and Jelly fudge!!!
Smoothies are just plain fun, aren’t they? Fun to make and fun to drink. They’re great for breakfast on-the-go, pre- or post-workout boosts or as a satisfying snack. They are vibrant, cool and creamy. And they are as simple to prepare as this matcha kale power smoothie. While not all smoothies are created equally, it is important to try to pack as much of a nutritious punch as possible when considering what to throw into the blender. Think ‘green’ for the main ingredient: as in a leafy green like spinach or kale or rainbow veggies like beets or carrots. Updated: September 2020
Yogurt is a staple in our family – so much so that I often think it must be it’s own food group! While universally accepted as a breakfast or snack choice, I will admit that there have been times when yoghurt became lunch or dinner after the kids begged. When hungry little tummies are growling and moods are rapidly down-spiraling, a few spoonfuls of protein-rich yogurt goes a long way to getting them through until mealtime. We have recently become huge fans of iögo yogurt, and in particular the new large-sized pouches.