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6 Healthier Halloween Sweet Treats for Green Kids

October 29, 2024 0

My family loves Halloween, it is our favorite holiday! You get to dress up like anything you want, decorate your home with pumpkins and ghosts, spend time sipping hot apple cider with family and friends, and then, there are the goodies! Oh my! What’s not to love?

Well, I am not a fan of treats packed full of artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or high fructose corn syrup or the tons of non-recyclable candy wrappers! Instead, I like to choose goodies that are good for my family and the environment!

Read on to learn my favorite 6 healthier sweet treats for Halloween and give a couple a try this year!

1. YumEarth 
If you are looking for yummy, natural, and organic sweet treats that your whole family will love, look no further than YumEarth. All of their Halloween goodies are incredible! These yummies contain NO artificial colors, flavors, or high fructose corn syrup. These are a staple at our house during Halloween. We are huge fans of the pomegranate pucker lollipops! And all of YumEarth’s goodies are gluten-free and vegan too! Perfection!

+ Yummy Earth

2.  Bitsy’s Brainfood
If your child loves cookies (who doesn’t?), put these treats on your grocery shopping list! With yummy flavors. They are baked with veggies! We love them! 

+ Bitsy’s Brainfood

 

3. Unreal Candy 
I have to admit Eben loves a sweet treat – and while we like his sweet spot to be satisfied with whole fruits – he enjoys a candy treat here and there. Unreal Candy fits that bill! We were talking about making our Unreal Candy caramel apples last night. Made with NO artificial colors or flavors, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and NO GMO’s! We keep these on hand for the trick or treaters, as ice cream toppings, and even used them (but up) on our caramel apples this year! They are available at your local retailer and taste better than their toxic-chemical counterpart.

+ Unreal Candy

4. Plum Organics
You may know Plum Organics for their certified organic foods for babies and toddlers, but now the company is offering goodies geared especially for the older kiddos! The new certified organic goodies include applesauce mashups! Yummy for Halloween and every day!

+ Plum Organics

5. CLIF Kid
Every year a Halloween favorite at our home is CLIF Kid’s Full Moon Brownie organic Zbar! These are perfect for everyone in your family! Not only are the Zbar’s certified organic, but they are also the yummiest chocolate brownie bar sprinkled with white chocolate chips! Packed full of 12 vitamins and minerals, 8 grams of whole grains  – these are the perfect treat for that added boost of energy before your children head out to trick or treat! We pack these for our hiking and paddleboarding adventures.

+ CLIF Kid Zbar

6. Homemade Organic Treats
One of my favorite Halloween treats is those that you make with your children! This October, Eben and I have made organic vegan pumpkin carob cookies, vegan peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, and vegan peanut butter cups! I like to make our own treats because I can ensure that we are only using the freshest, organic, vegan ingredients and it’s a great excuse to spend a day with my favorite person!

How about you – what healthier Halloween sweet treats do you choose for your littles?

How to Make Organic Instant Oatmeal for Cool Fall Mornings

September 30, 2024 0
I love oatmeal on cool, crisp fall mornings! Am I the only one? You can make your own organic instant oatmeal packed with flavor in a few simple steps taking your regular oatmeal from ho-hum to yum-yum. Read on to learn how you can make organic instant oatmeal and wake up to a better tomorrow.
 
Step 1: Bake It!
Preheat the oven to 350°, spread 4 cups of organic old-fashioned rolled oats on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
 
Step 2: Pulse It!
Pulse in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
 
Step 3: Mix It!
Mix in a cup of your favorite oatmeal add-ins such as; almonds, walnuts, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, brown sugar, and coconut.
 
Step 4: Store It!
Store in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks.
 
Step 5: Boil It!
Stir boiling water into a cup of your organic instant oatmeal until you reach your desired consistency.
 
Step 6: Enjoy It!
Oatmeal is my favorite on a cool, crisp fall morning – top with honey too!

How to Make Organic Dried Apple Slices this Fall

September 11, 2024 0

Many of you may have a family apple-picking adventure on your fall calendar. We plan to visit our favorite apple orchard The Historic Orchard at Altapass this weekend. We have so much fun hiking through the orchard, picking apples, and eating them as we go!

If you find that you have more apples then you know what to do with after your orchard trip, you can make simple, dried apple slices. These treats are perfect for the school lunchbox. Read on to learn how to make these simple treats in a couple of short steps.

What you will need:

– organic apples
– cinnamon

Directions:

Dehydrating: Line your food-dehydrator shelf with parchment paper. Cut your apples into super-thin slices and arrange the slices on the shelves of your food-dehydrator. Sprinkle with cinnamon and either dehydrate at 135° until crisp.

Baking: Line a baking sheet with a reusable mat or parchment paper. Cut your apples into super-thin slices and arrange the slices on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake in the oven at 225° for about 1.5 hours.

Do you make apple slices during the autumn season?

7 Vegan Easter Basket Goodies for Eco-Friendly Kids

April 6, 2023 4

If you are looking for simple, sweet, and vegan treats to put in the Easter basket this year, this post is for you! Here are eight of my favorites that will make your Easter basket sweeter than usual. Wouldn’t these all be perfect for this year?

How to Bake Organic Rainbow Cookies with Your Kids for St. Patrick’s Day

March 1, 2023 1

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, and it’s time to channel the luck of the Irish! St. Patrick’s Day is a fun holiday to celebrate with kids, given the fantastical and whimsical notions that go hand in hand with the occasion: rainbows, four-leaf clovers, mischievous leprechauns, and of course, the prospect of finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

One of my favorite ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day is by making a healthy meal that’s filled with greens the color of shamrocks. Then we top off the feast with a sweet treat: organic rainbow cookies! Learn how to make these sweet little treasures in and of themselves!

Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 cups organic flour
  • 3/4 cup organic butter
  • 3 ounces organic cream cheese
  • 1 cup organic sugar
  • 1 organic egg
  • 1 tsp organic vanilla
  • 1 tsp organic baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • natural vegetable food colorants

Step 2: Beat It

Beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium speed, until well combined and fluffy. Then, add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Step 3: Mix It

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and mix together with a spoon.

Step 4: Make the Dough

Add the dry mixture to the creamy mixture and mix until a dough ball forms. Then, divide your dough ball into 4 smaller dough balls. Add the natural colorants to each ball drop by drop until you reach the desired color mixture. I was going for yellow, red, blue, and green – however, my blue turned into more of a turquoise – which is okay.

Step 5: Chill Out

Wrap the dough balls in a moist towel and refrigerate for at least 2 hours – or overnight if you prefer.

Step 6: Roll it

Remove tablespoon-sized pieces from each dough ball and roll them out into a long log, then place the different colored logs together in a rainbow shape – cutting off any excess.

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Step 7: Bake it

Heat your oven to 350° and bake the rainbow cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12 minutes or until lightly brown on the edges.

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Step 8: Cool and Enjoy

Let the cookies cool for a few minutes and then enjoy them with your kids! I served my rainbow cookies on the rim of a mug full of milk or cocoa!

Organic Rainbow Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 3/4 cups organic flour
  • 3/4 cup organic butter
  • 3 ounces organic cream cheese
  • 1 cup organic sugar
  • 1 organic egg
  • 1 tsp organic vanilla
  • 1 tsp organic baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • natural vegetable food colorants

Beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium speed, until well combined and fluffy. Then, add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and mix together with a spoon. Add the dry mixture to the creamy mixture and mix until a dough ball forms. Then, divide your dough ball into 4 smaller dough balls. Add the natural colorants to each ball drop by drop until you reach the desired color mixture. Wrap the dough balls in a moist towel and refrigerate for at least 2 hours – or overnight if you prefer. Remove tablespoon-sized pieces from each dough ball and roll them out into a long log, then place the different colored logs together in a rainbow shape – cutting off any excess. Heat your oven to 350° and bake the rainbow cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12 minutes or until lightly brown on the edges. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes and then enjoy.

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