Snack Time: Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwich

Few things taste better in the morning than home made breakfast. My personal favorite is waffles with cream cheese and strawberries. With that, you get a little bit of crunch/crisp from the waffles, smooth creaminess from the cream cheese, and the delightful juiciness from the strawberries. I'll bet you can even taste it right now in your mind and are trying to figure out if you have the necessary ingredients to make it. Fortunately, There are a lot of variations to it to suit almost any taste.

Here is a Pinterest link to some variations. 

My personal favorite is either cream cheese with strawberries on an egg bagel, or strawberries and Nutella on whole wheat toast. I just can't get enough of them.

What are your favorite flavor combinations?

Snack Time: Ghosts on a Log / Ants on a Log

I don't know about you, but I grew up eating ghosts on a log. Truth be told, I still eat them as an adult. That is how much I love them.

Ghost/Ants on a log are super easy to make. You slice some apples as thick or thin as you want. Then you spread peanut butter on them, and top with marshmallows or raisins.  Simple as that! You could also do celery and cream cheese or peanut butter, use mixed nuts instead of raisins, use another dried fruit, etc.

Here are some Pinterest links for more great ideas:

Ghosts on a log

Ants on a log

Thanks!

Snack: Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

I found this great website recently called iMOM.com. And on it, I found a quick and easy, AND gluten free peanut butter cookies. I can't wait to try these! Here is what you need:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the ingredients. Set aside in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Then take a fork, dip it into sugar, and press onto each ball dough to get the classic "lines" or "criss crosses". Next, put the cookies in the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before eating.

For more ideas and recipes, check out these links:

Peanut Butter Energy Balls (LINK)
Green Smoothie (LINK)
Let's Make Pizza! (LINK)

Snack Time: Let's make pizza!

I don't know about you, but I always seem to have leftover pasta/pizza sauce after making pizza/spaghetti, and I don't know what to do with it. So it sits in my fridge, eventually gets moldy, and I throw it out. Very disappointing, and a waste of money. So I thought back to my childhood and decided to share this idea with you. Here is what you need:

Bread (just normal sandwich bread works well)
Pizza/pasta sauce
Shredded cheese (Mozzarella)
Pizza toppings (olives, pepperoni, etc)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

All you need to do is take a slice of bread, spoon a little sauce onto it, and then add you desired pizza toppings. Next, put it in your oven/toaster oven, and bake just until the cheese melts. At this point, you can leave it in longer for more golden/toasted cheese, or turn on the broiler, for just another 2-3 minutes, making sure to watch it closely.

This is a particularly great snack when you have multiple kids that are picky about what they want on their pizza.

Snack Time: Peanut Butter Energy Balls

[This post and recipe courtesy of Gimmesomeoven.com. For more information on this website and it's authors, please visit this link].

Here's an awesome recipe for peanut butter energy balls! Kids love it because of the peanut butter and cookie like taste. Parent's love it because of the nutritious elements. Sounds like a good combination to me!

Photo taken from gimmesomeoven.com

No-Bake Energy Bites

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Yield: About 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
• 2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips or cacao nibs (optional)
• 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. chia seeds (optional)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.

Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. (Mine were about 1" in diameter.) Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Makes about 20-25 balls.

Snack Time: Easy Home Made Ice Cream

[This idea and recipe is courtesy of "365 Games Toddlers Play: Creative Time To Imagine, Grow and Learn" by Sheila Ellison].

Ingredients and Materials
5 c. crushed ice
3 T. salt
1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Gallon-sized sealable plastic bag
1 Quart-sized sealable plastic bag
1 T sugar

Put the ice into the large plastic bag and sprinkle it with salt. Add the milk, sugar, and vanilla into the small plastic bag. Seal it well, removing as much air as possible. Place the small bag into the large ice-filled bag, making sure it is completely surrounded by ice. Seal the large bag and shake vigorously, or better yet, go outside with it and play "catch", but only throw it a few feet or the bags might get holes in them (You could of course do this in the house, but I would suggest only on hard floors in case it does break open). After about 5 minutes, take the small bag from the ice, open it, and then add any addition flavors (mint, chocolate chips, strawberries, etc.). Mix in the extra flavors and then get ready to eat!

Sheila Ellison suggests the following flavors and measurements:
Strawberry jam (1 Tbsp)
Chocolate Syrup (1 Tbsp)

I think that this would be a great activity on super hot days, or even cold days. Any day to eat ice cream is a good day to me. And if you have enough bags and other supplies, then each child/adult could make their desired flavor.