Easter food fun

Happy Easter everyone!
What a lovely time of year with family, friends, fellowship, fun and food.
This is often a tricky time for those with food allergies, trying to juggle through the chocolate mess, find appropriate eats, socialising and escape the season in safety.

I have been sick for the last 2 weeks and although I love cooking and baking have been dreading the baking involved in an allergy Easter. Thankfully I found most of our special Easter bunny chocolate in store and I didn't need to bake near as much as I thought.

I thought I'd share with you what was on the Easter bunnies list this year.

Pictured above is the items that will be appearing over this holiday break.

• Large Kinder hollow eggs for Mummy and Daddy with bonus toys inside for Mr 3 and Miss 2 (Mummy and Daddy wanted something that we could safely eat around Mr 3 without causing him any risk of a reaction. Thankfully some of the Kinder range is safe for nut and egg allergies as we don't have to worry about dairy allergies)
• Woolworth's Macro label  in the health food isle also had a packet of 12 nut free chocolate eggs available so I whipped them up for a egg hunt on Sunday morning :D
• Sweet William chocolate as usual had their bunny shaped Easter chocolates individually wrapped for the munchkins to enjoy too. I also got them each a special  Sweet William rice crackle chocolate Easter bunny.
• Mummy and Daddy could resist and also purchased some small cadbury milk solid eggs kept out of sight and reach for night time when the kids are in bed (as chocolate may contain nuts).

I don't think we will get through all this chocolate and will most likely share it with other family members but it was great to be able to buy all this and know it was safe to have in the house......nothing like seeing your child with a huge chocolate grin and know they are not missing out.

We were invited to a friends house last night for dinner along with another family with dairy allergies and also on the fail safe diet.
Our lovely hosts live a life with no food allergies but are extremely kind and understanding to our needs. All three Mummy's got together and organised the menu, who was to bring what and how to do it to ensure everyone would be safe and happy to make the most out of our night.

Desert was on my list which I love. My cold started getting better a couple of days ago so I was ready and rearing to get in that kitchen and do some baking.

So what do you bake to please a bunch of people with dairy allergies, anaphylaxis to nuts and eggs, four people on a moderate to strict version of the elimination diet and non food allergy friends?
...........this!

If you didn't see my earlier recipe post "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate cake click here to view.

This is hands down the best chocolate cake recipe for non allergy and allergy eaters.
It's dairy free, egg free, nut free and safe on the fail safe diet even with the decorations and was enjoyed by all last night.
The cake is decorated with white pascal marshmellows to make the Easter eggs on top, shaved sweet willaim chocolate, sweet willaim chocolate bunnies on the side and safe writing icing brought from the shops.
I figured it was good Friday and we were not going to go without chocolate to share just because of food allergy issues. So this was the answer and as well as tasting devine, EVERYONE got to eat their cake! :D

So what recipes are your staples come Easter time?

Pear muffins mayhem: easy fun baking for little hands

When you have a house full of runny noses, nasty coughs, clingy kids, a sunny day and a pantry that needs to be replenished with safe snacks.....what do you do?

This was our exact situation earlier this week so what better idea than baking together outside in the sun!
activity to entertain the munchkins. CHECK :)
a dose of sunshine and fresh air. CHECK  :)
Yummy snacks to eat. CHECK :)
Opportunity for learning. CHECK :)
Quite a mess. Oh well :P

I set up a table  with mixing bowel, 2 spoons and measured out the quantities of ingredients in separate little plastic bowels so the kids could get stuck in and mix it all up.

The beauty about muffin's is all the ingredients all get chucked in together in the bowel-there is not real beat this, then put this in, add half, mix again.
No complications, just chuck it in and mix.
                                                                 The other good thing about muffins is you don't have to mix them to a perfect paste, mixing the ingredients a little roughly and not too much mostly results in better lighter muffins. Too much mixing will end up creating a more dense result.

Here is the result of my munchkins sunshine activity....yummy!

Pear Muffin's

Low chemical. Free of egg, nut, dairy, gluten and soy
(simply pick the ingredients options that suit your family)

1 1/2 cup self raising flour or gluten free self raising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg lightly beaten (equivalent amount of egg replacement)
2/3 cup of milk, soy milk or pear syrup
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of canned or fresh pear, diced

• Sift flour into a bowel and add remaining ingredients, stirring till mixed.
• lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan with nuttlex or canola oil and use a spoon to three-quarter-fill cups.
• Bake at 180 degrees for 15-20 min (we used a mini muffin pan and reduced cooking time)

Variations:

• Apple muffin's: add 1 chopped Golden Delicious apple (salicylates) and 1 tbsp extra sugar
• Veggie muffin's: use 1/2 tsp salt instead of the sugar and add finely diced such as chokos, brussels sprouts, potato and green beans as another good way of getting vegetables into children.
• High fibre: add 1/4 cup rice bran, increase milk to 1 cup.

Happy baking!!!! enjoy

We looked! And we saw him! The Cat in the Hat!

The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.
So we sat in the house. All that cold cold wet day.

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The first smidgen of an extraordinary book by the one and only Dr. Seuss!!
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At this point in time I would like to say something very important.... If you have never read a Dr Seuss book SHAME ON YOU! and if you have never heard of Dr Seuss I am afraid that you NEVER have lived. If you haven't, you should,these things are fun and fun is good :)

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Only a Dr. Seuss fan would understand.

Lucky for my Dr. Seuss loving munchkins and I, we had the opportunity to share a very special Dr. Seuss experience with some friends.

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Our local shopping centre put on a Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat concert for children in the school holidays for a week so we made it our priority to be there.

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A few of our friends got together the week before in preparation for the big day.

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One of the mother's (otherwise known now as 'Cat in the Hat hat making extraordinaire' :P) had a great idea of helping the kids make their very own Cat in the Hat hat's to wear to the concert.

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Somehow,this said Mummy made up a template for the hats, how they would be put together after the kids had a chance to get to work at crafting their hats....the hat templates even had the stylish ability to have the extra special kink/bend that is seen in the
book itself !!

There was much enjoyment as the children applied the gloopy glue, sparkles, feathers and squiggles to their very own hat templates..waiting for the master hatter to do her magic and put the pieces together for 5 very special little Dr
Seuss fans to wear (I hear she had a little help from a male friend mad Hatter !)

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The day came and the children were very proud to dub themselves mini Cat in the Hats as they entered the much anticipated concert.

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There were lots of owwww's ad ahhhh's as the munchkins saw the Cat in the Hat himself, we danced the Cat boogie, listened to the wonderful 'Green Eggs and Ham' being read and shared the Dr. Seuss love with all present.

At times things resembled a 3 year old mosh pit :P

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After the concert we continued to push our prams of little Seuss fans through the shopping centre, each one parading their hat off with pride, all the way to the playground for "intermission".

After a short play and a quick trip to the loo's we were on our way....Meet and Greet with Cat in the Hat!!!!

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Very special photo's were taken and some very tired children in need of a bite to eat before bed piled into cars for a McDonald's feast. Following a lot of Seuss talk, nibbling, munching, slurping and crunching the munchkins found some energy and couldn't resist a play in the McDonald's playground before departing.

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A fantastic day had by all, I don't know who was more need of a nap...the mummy's or their babies but needless to say we enjoyed ourselves to the max -

the smiles, laughs, giggles, dancing feet, bopping, jumping, some tears, cuddles, kisses and meals between friends was all worth it!!!

Homemade kitchen play food for fun!

A couple of weeks ago I sat at my laptop, tired eyes not yet fully functioning in the morning with coffee in hand while the munchkins were already greeting the day with energy and enthusiasm.

My early morning routine of flicking on face book while having a much needed coffee was very inspiring on this particular day... as I sifted through my news feed and peeped at my friends updated album's I saw an activity so simple, creative, delightful, fun, inviting, educational and a bonus of being on the very cheap side of play tools for children.
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It was then that I decided to go to the shops to pay that bill that I had been staring at for over a week, just for the fact that a visit to the art/craft shop nearby the post office would be very convenient :)

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My friend Vanessa had posted some photo's of her son (20 months) playing beautifully with some homemade play food
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what you need= wool, felt and some utensils that you will find in your kitchen!!!

So simple and full of good points: .

• interesting textures for little hands to feel and explore
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• a choice of colour's to aid in visual appeal and colour recognition
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• enables you to shape your own food using a creative and/or imaginative outlook
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• You can size your felt foods accordingly, to make the foods safe for the child's needs - making it age appropriate
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• an introduction to the cooking world and food prep in the kitchen
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• object recognition through different foods represented.

Vanessa, your a gem!!! as you can clearly see for the photo's above my kids had a fab. time with their new play foods, making dinner for the whole family and serving it up.
I'd like to take this opportunity to let you know just how creative my friend Vanessa actually is...and invite you to take part in her crafts and crafts from others, all lovingly made to go to an awesome cause.
Go check out the face book page she created a few weeks back here :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crafts-for-Funds-Pakistan-Flood-Relief-2010/154998587853414
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This initiative has been launched to raise funds for the victims of the recent floods in Pakistan. These floods hit close to home for Vanessa and her family as her in laws live in Pakistan, although thankfully not the affected area.
After Vanessa visiting Pakistan herself last year it's feels close to home and she can imagine how the scenario has affected many people.
The lack of attention that the media if giving the Pakistan floods simply made Vanessa feel that no one cares and/or knows about the devastation of these floods.
So Vanessa is doing all she can from her home in Australia to tell those she can and gather support for those who need it.
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It began with a few Pakistani handcrafted shawls and is growing thanks to friends who are donating crafts of their own to be sold for the cause. Further contributions are needed, as this is a cause that will be ongoing.
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The face book page above also shares photo's, links, video's, news articles and facts in relation to the Pakistan floods.
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Simply go have a peek for yourself and see the fabulous crafts that are on offer!
If you would rather make a donation directly to the cause then you can do so through Paiman Alumni Trust at this
site:
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http://www.paimantrust.org/DonateNow
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All money raised through this page with go to Paiman Alumni Trust to be used for flood relief.
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Or simply contact Vanessa through the Craft for Funds Pakistan flood relief face book page if you have any of your own crafts to donate for the cause :)

The face book page even made it to Vanessa's local
newspaper to share the love-
http://www.greaterdandenongweekly.com.au/news/local/news/general/group-has-flood-aid-all-stitched-up/1958595.aspx
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Before life as a Yummy Mummy Vanessa was a childcare worker hence her wonderful idea's for play spaces/ toys. This theme also flows into her crafts that are available from the face book page- soft sensory hand made baby rattles, kitted baby/infant toddler clothing, custom baby mobiles and I'm sure there is much more to come in the near future so it's worth the look!
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lastly please take a minute out of your day to thank God for the things that you have and think about those in Pakistan who are in dire need as you read this.
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thank you ox

too cute sock puppets

Sock Puppets - a fun, creative, imaginative activity that is cheap and affordable and very very much loved!

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Secretly I have a stash of Funky looking socks brought from a cheap store waiting for the perfect day....a day where noses are running, the weather is not so bright and the house is starting to go just that little bit insane....Volla..."come on kids lets make some silly sock puppets, who want's to help mummy" :P

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The munchkins had great delight when Mummy got out some of her special button containers, lots of "ohhh's" and "ahhh's" as they picked out the perfect eyes and nose for their puppets.

It was Declan's idea to use ribbon to make a mouth, so out came the ribbons and the selection was made.

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They were eager to play with their puppets and see the finished result of their faces, off the went to prepare for puppet play, getting excited each time mummy sowed on another button.

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Thalia decided she wanted a "happy" puppet and Declan thought hard before he let me know his puppet was "going to be be crazy".

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Mummy arranged the mouths accordingly to the puppets personalities and no sooner were they taken away to be the objects of play for the afternoon...reading books, sharing kisses and cuddles, picking up things in their mouths, talking in extra special voices with help from little imaginations, introducing themselves to special toys, having tours of the house and so on.

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The puppets now live with our other special toys and both my munchkins take much joy and pride in wearing their special friend on their arm for a play date! :)

Daddy wearing Thalia's happy puppet as Thalia shares her book

kisses x

posing with her puppet

Declan and his crazy friend! :P

Glorious Garden Goodness: Poppy's Corn

Corn Corn glorious Corn! but not just any corn...

it's Poppy's corn!! :D

Since moving house late last year onto a property that had an established orchard, fruit trees and lots more potential our family has embraced the way of growing our own food where possible.

There is nothing like going out into the garden and snapping of a snow pea, pulling out a carrot, twisting off an orange of the tree, picking some herbs, smelling the mango's

growing and all the things we now get to experience before we eat our own produce.

When my parent's moved onto the property earlier
this year they brought with them the wisdom and knowledge that comes along with 'a veggie patch'.- something that was lacking somewhat in our garden.

My mum grew up in the small country town of Stroud in NSW where her father (Pop) grew all manner of garden goodness...Pop has such a passion for garden life
and many look to him as master of the garden.

I may be a little bias but Pops produce was 'THE BEST' and simply could not be beaten, he shared the fruits of his garden with locals, family, friends and always gave to the local nursing home.

One of the things I always looked forward to when visiting Nan and Pop was to follow Pops footsteps around the garden as he tended,picked, groomed and showed me how it all works
.Nan simply was the icing on the cake as she magically turned Pops garden to a feast for your eyes and music to your mouth as the food headed towards the kitchen
Every meal was prepared with love from the seed, then harvesting, the food preparation and finally becoming a melody of tastes before you at the table.....taking every step on it's journey with the utmost care.

Without a doubt my favorite thing that Pop grew in his garden was 'Pops corn' - known my many ...I'm sure that if you asked anyone that had at least one cob of Pops corn "So what was it like?"...an instant warm smile would appear on their face, remembering that unique sweet juicy taste they will simply never forget.
Sadly Pop doesn't get out and about in the garden anymore as he is now a resident in a nursing home and Nan has moved house into a retirement village, but believe me the memory lives on.

I remember the last time I had Pops corn was on a visit to Newcastle in March of last year....Mum, Dad, Andy, Declan and I were seated at the table for dinner and mum in a soft voice announced that we were about to have the last of Pops corn, instantly I was excited, sad, happy, salivating and not wanting dinner time to end.

Excited: that after quite a few years living in Brisbane without such a treat :O
Sad: that Pop could no longer get his hands dirty in the garden :(
Happy: to share the experience that is 'Pops corn' with my hubby and toddler :)
Salivating: at remembering that very distinctive taste

These memories will always stay with me and the experiences very dear to my heat.
I hope to create similar experiences of garden life in my own children, planting, watching the garden grow, the excitement of harvest time and having fun in the kitchen with our own food.
The garden is such a great place to get dirty, explore, create, design, teach nutrition and learn about the world around us.
So far this year my children have really grown to share the passion of the garden and love going around observing and actively helping in the garden.

Since Dad, their own Poppy has moved and created the veggie garden- they have dubbed him Teacher of the garden.
Poppy's garden (the veggie patch) grows all manner of yummy: zucinni, carrots, lettuce, beetroot, beans, capsicum, snow pea's, tomatoes, broccoli, shallots and many more to come.
The munchkin's always ask when dinner is served if it's Poppy's broccoli or Poppy's zucinni and so on...I must say that their is a little disappointment when the answer is no.

Mum seems to have taken on Pops passion and way of garden life...everything has to be done the way Pop did it back in Stroud, the seed packets have to be placed on the wooden stick standing at the end of the row of seeds, the wind must be verbally abused at when it blows of the blossoms of a fruit tree while the shaking of fist is practiced and so on
It's beautiful to see Pops passion living on through my own parents and passing on these experiences to my own children.

This morning Mum called on the intercom letting me know that a very excited 'Pop' would be coming up to our house soon to collect the munchkins for a good corn picking....knowing that Declan just looooves his corn on the cob Pop felt it very important that Declan be present when the picking was done.
When Pop arrived at the back door and told the muchkins what was going on I don't know who was more excited, the kids or him...lol

Off they went with Mummy in tow with camera...they picked the corn along with some other goodies munching a few snow pea's as they went.
On Nana's request Poppy then showed Declan how to strip the corn of it's husk to prepare for steaming, Declan was filled with excitement and happiness that I'm sure the next block in the neighbourhood would have heard :P

Tonight I added 'the corn' to our dinner and the kids just loved it, Declan finished his off and just kept rotating it hoping to see another kernel magically appear. On seeing that Daddy had left a few kernel on his, Declan gave Daddy a big smile and slyly asked with him puppy dog eyes if he may have it...Daddy handed it over and Declan made sure it was all gone.
At the end of dinner a gorgeous phone call was made to Poppy himself Thanking him for the yummy corn!!!

It seems my own children will have a very similar love of corn as Mummy does, but with their own special Poppy!! :D

The Dino-mite party!

I loooooove planning party's for my munchkins, creating a theme based on a obsession or subject of interest to my children...okay okay I confess I'm a children's party addict! lol

This post is a quick look into Declan's 3rd Birthday party last month....after much commiserating with Mr 3 and leafing several times through the much loved cake books he picked his theme...

It should be no surprise that our Dino loving Declan decided on a roaring dinosaur party.

So the planning commenced, invites made, loot bags put together, sparkly play dough made for the dino's to stomp through, the munchkins loved creating dino art and crafts for party decorations, mummy found some dino print outs for colouring, dino footprints cut out for following, balloon's blown up, party treats baked.....and lastly the Mr Stegosaurus cake was completed!! phew

all in time for our friends to come on over for a roaring good time in dino land :)

Here are some pic's of the day

If you look through the screen door you will see a very excited little man waiting for his friends to arrive

footprints left by the dinosaurs for little feet to follow :)

the lovely wall art that my munchkins and I had great delight in creating

the play dough that sparkled! can't really see the sparkles in the photo but the green play dough was riddled in green sparkles and the blue play dough in blue sparkles...the children thought it was a bit special :P

our little man and his good friend Mr Brachiosaurus

Thalia queen of the food table

play dough fun

a thorn between 2 roses opening the present of the day in Declan's eyes.....his special T-Rex dinosaur...very much loved!

Great grandma helping at the drawing table

opening his puff the magic dragon book and CD

cake time!!!

Mr stegosaurus cake before he got butchered