It’s fun when my daughter, Lucie digs through her piles of books and finds a few we haven’t read before or in awhile. Here are two of her recent (re)discoveries.

Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug!

Recently she found Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug! by Ed Emberley. I adore Ed’s books. So fun, so smart, so colorful and oh so silly, too.

Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug! is about a big, mean and scary bug from outer space. His main mission is to scare, bite, growl, tickle, pinch, scratch, stomp and eat Itty Bitty Baby Bugs. However, the Itty Bitty Baby Bugs get the last laugh – it’s good to have big friends with big sneakers.

As I read this book to my daughter, I pretend to scare, bite and growl – but I really do tickle and pinch. We had a lot of fun with this one. For ages four to eight and their silly parents.  This has two rubber stamps of approval from the both of us!

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Many parents are troubled by the commercialization and secularization of Christmas. If you are looking for books that show the “reason for the season” check out these two offerings by Zonderkidz™, a division of Zondervan, a leader in Christian children’s communications.

The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth by Daley Mackall takes kids back to the origins of another Christmas tradition – the baking of Christmas cookies to share with friends, neighbors, and the less fortunate.

The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth shows kids that Christmas is about helping others and sharing the spirit of Christmas giving. The story is about a child named Jack, follows young Jack during a Christmas season during the Great Depression. Jack’s father has hopped a freight train West, hoping to find work, and wont’ be home for Christmas.

Jack is surprised to find his mom baking cookies to give away to needy people a church. Treats are a luxury his family has done without for  long time. While he helps his mother make cookies, she tells him the story of the Christmas cookie. He learns that the real gift of the Christmas cookie isn’t just sharing with a homeless man, but sharing the love of Jesus with him as well.

I liked this simple story because it explains to children the joy in giving during Christmas and how God gave us his only Son. It also shows that Christmas isn’t all about getting presents and stuffing your face, but helping others, too.

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To celebrate the release of Tinker Bell to DVD and Blu-Ray, Disney has come up with a few magical fairy recipes for you to enjoy with your children.

I’m very glad that Disney tried to make these recipes as healthy as possible by using more healthful and lower fat ingredients. Go Tink!

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Just a reminder that you have until midnight MT on October 30, 2008 to enter my Quaker Oatmeal Living Proof contest for one of two chances to win a one month supply of Quaker’s heart healthy breakfast products.

Quaker Oats has all kinds of yummy oatmeal recipes on their website. They even have a special section devoted to kid favorites like:

• Fossilized Egg Nest Chewies (great to make for a dinosaur themed party)
• Oatmeal Gingerbread Cookies (try these at Christmas)
• Santa’s Stockings (another Christmas holiday treat)

Here’s one I couldn’t resist – perfect for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

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Here in Colorado it always manages to snow on Halloween. If we’re lucky we don’t get freezing rain instead. But that doesn’t mean your children won’t enjoy some pumpkin popsicles treats from Pops!: Icy Treats for Everyone by Krystina Castell.

Heck, these would be especially nice for a party. Or if your child were getting their tonsils out around Halloween. If you don’t live in warm sunny Florida, Texas or California, put away a few cans of pumpkin puree and make these next summer. Continue Reading »

Many parents are looking for healthy snacks to serve at Halloween parties. One idea is jack-o-lantern sandwiches made on wholesome bread and using low fat ingredients. There are several variations you can try using deli meat slices, spreads, and various types of bread.

Deli style jack-o-lantern sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup mustard or ketchup (or a mixture of half and half of both)
• 32 slices whole wheat bread (try rye or pumpernickel, too)
• 16 slices American cheese (try 2% milk or a lower fat version)
• 16 slices turkey or ham slices (again look for low fat versions)
• 16 lettuce leaves

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise and mustard/ketchup.
2. Spread condiments over one side of each slice of bread.
3. Top half of the slices with meat, lettuce and cheese. (Cheese should be on top.)
4. Cover with remaining slice of bread.
5. Cut sandwiches with a 4-inch pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter.
6. Remove top bread slice. Cut out eyes, nose and mouth with a small triangle mini cookie cut or use the tip of the paring knife.
7. Replace so the orange of the cheese shows through the cut out portions. If you want to get fancy, tear a piece of lettuce to give your jack-o’-latern green eyes.

Tip: supposedly it’s easier to cut the bread if it is slightly toasted.

Variations:

• Try PB&J with strawberry jam showing out of the cut eye, ears and mouth. Tired of peanut butter? Try almond or cashew butter instead.
• Use pumpkin or orange bread with a cream cheese spread.
• For a easy to make, healthy spread try combining no or low fat cream cheese with some canned pumpkin puree. Use organic honey or agave syrup to sweeten. Or combine marmalade or strawberry jam with the cream cheese. Try to find organic jams as they usually don’t have added sugar or corn syrup.

When I saw the magnificent herb garden that my husband planted complete with parsley, basil, Texas tarragon (I kid you not – must be really big tarragon to get that name), cilantro, and sage, I knew I had to enter a post in Kalyn’s Kitchen Weekend Herb Blogging.

But what to make? Then I saw this recipe at the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle website that supplements Barbara Kingsolver’s fantastic book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, I knew I had the perfect entry for the next edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Srivalli from Cooking 4 All Seasons - Basil-Blackberry Crumble.

Basil in a dessert? Actually, it’s amazingly good in a sweet ‘n’ sour, slightly sophisticated sort of way. In fact, it reminds me a little bit of cold beet borsch. The vinegar (!) and basil may not be to your children’s taste, but have them give it a try anyway. If they don’t like it, don’t worry. Then there’s just more for you!

And not only did the basil come from our yard, so did the blackberries.

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