Had a craving for fajitas so served the filling over Mexican inspired “cauli-rice” topped with homemade Guacamole!
For my fajita seasoning I used the amazingly tasty low sodium Epicure Fajita mix.
For the Mexican inspired cauliflower rice the tasty poco picante spice from Epicure with some fresh tomatoes from our garden!
You can make amazing homemade guacamole in a flash thanks to Epicure too - try their Guacamole seasoning with a little avacado, lime and we like it creamy so added some mayo/greek yogurt combo!
Popped all my ingredients into the Carb Manager to journal - not a bad balance and packed full of flavor and taste!
I will admit that as a child and even into adulthood 'Candy corn' was always been one of those Fall / Halloween candies that I thought was icky and would avoid at all costs ~ at least until a few years ago when I came across a recipe online for Homemade Butterfinger bars ~ and while iti s not hte 'cleanest' of treats it is a great way to make use of these often abandoned candies from the kids Halloween stash. Also my apologies but I do not remember the initial 'source' of this amazing little treat cause it was before my introduction to Pinterest when I would just 'write down' recipes!
Homemade Butterfinger Bars
Homemade Butterfinger Bars
What you Need
3 cups of candy corn ~ Celiac Disease association has a great list of GF candies here
1 cup of all natural peanut creamy peanut butter
10 ounces high quality melting chocolate ~ milk or dark you choose
What You Do
Using medium heat in a large pot on the stove or if you prefer a bowl in the microwave melt the candy corn stirring often until it is smooth and lump free.
Add in the peanut butter and stir until well combined.
Using either a parchment lined bar pan OR the handy dandy Epicure Petite Bar pan that is little sprayed with some coconut oil pour the melted candy corn / peanut butter mixture and spread until about 3/4 inch thick allow to cool in the fridge until solid enough to keep its form.
If using a bar pan cut the mixture into bite size bars about 1 inch x 2 inch while it is still soft enough to cut but firm enough to keep its shape once sepeated by the knife and than return the cut pieces to the fridge until HARD all the way through. If using the Epicure bar pan skip this step and just leave bars in the fridge until HARD and than pop out the bars onto parchment paper lined flat cutting board or bar pan.
When the bars are cooling melt the melting chocolate in a bowl over medium heat either on the stove or in the microwave stirring to keep it smooth.
Using a fork dip the 'bars' into the melted chocolate and return to the parchment paper and continue process until all bars are dipped in chocolate.
Return bars to the fridge to allow chocolate to 'set'.
Store in an airtight container until ready to serve or FREEZE and take out one bar at a time to have as a little treat!
For those who need to know the calorie and nutritional breakdown here it is when the recipe makes 24 bars ~ if you make your bars bigger or smaller it will affect the outcome. They are definitely a 'treat' when you take in the size of the serving and the caloric and carb intake in comparison but they are such a very TASTY treat!
Here is a cool little video about the Epicure Bar pan that shows why it is a staple in my kitchen ... it makes the perfect size servings for 'little hands' or those of us who are watching our caloric intake ... we use it for muffin bars, pancakes for on the go, crust-less quiches, pizza muffin bars, granola bars and so forth ~ IMO it is a must have in the kitchen!
Have an amazing day! Margaret Life Well, Laugh Often, Love Much! Totallyawake4-life
The older boys have finally started to notice 'Halloween' out in the community so we've been getting in the Halloween spirit the last few days with arts and games and well including having some fun with Halloween inspired FOOD!
Today's lunch was a huge hit ~ it got a resounding 10 thumbs up around the table with everyone having seconds and one little muncher had fourths!
Mummies to Munch
What You Need
Pizza Dough ... you can use Pillsbury if you're ok with the processed as that is where I got the initial idea from was using their dough or you can make your own homemade from scratch. This time I compromised between the two because I still have a few left in the cupboard from before I went 'grain free' so I used the Glutino Pizza Crust mix
Prepare your dough as per instructions and roll out thin and slice in strips
Get the children to help you 'wrap' their mummies with the dough strips
Some samples online show using black olives slipped in for the 'eyes' but we just put a dollop of ketchup on ours cause we do not eat black olives normally so did not have any on hand.
Place on a parchment paper or greased cookie sheet and bake in a 375F oven for 15-20 minutes until your mummies are golden brown and the wieners are sizzling.
We served with the Blood Soup below ... aka Roasted Red Pepper and Butternut Squash
Roasted Red Pepper and Butternut Squash
What You Need
2 cups of Roasted Red Peppers ~ approximately 3 red peppers.
5 roasted cloves of garlic
1 cup of leftover roasted butternut squash
1/2 cup of diced sweet onions
2 cups of stock ... vegetable or chicken your choice, homemade or store bought, we make our own.
Fresh Ground Pepper to taste typically about 1 tsp
Pinch of Crushed Red Chili ~ specially if serving to children I add more to my own to taste afterward.
What You Do
For the roasted red peppers. We cut our peppers into 4 large pieces and roast ours on the BBQ rubbed with some coconut oil and pepper sear them on both sides and than move them off the direct heat and let the roast in the BBQ until soft but you could also use 'store bought' roasted red peppers in a pinch just be warned that it will add sodium and sugar to your recipe count.
Roast your garlic when you are doing the peppers ~ we just put them in a oil sprayed tinfoil on the BBQ or you could use a garlic roaster.
In a large pot saute your onions in 1 tsp of coconut oil until caramelized
Put all the ingredients into your blender and hit the 'soup' button or puree button OR if you have a hand held immersion blender you could put them directly into your pot on the stove with the onions. Puree until smooth.
If using a blender ttransfer puree to a pot
Heat soup over medium heat until starts boiling and remove from heat.
Serve ~ I opted for a bit of shredded mozzarella on top of mine cause unlike the kids I was not having a 'mummy' to munch with mine so wanted some added protein.
Roasted Red Pepper & Butternut Squash Soup
And for those who like a 'break down' of what this means nutritionally this is without the 'cheese' topping ... I think it was a BANG ON cause it was nice and filling but low calories and packed high with vitamins! They say it is high in 'sugar' but there is no ADDED sugar that is because with the low calorie compared to the naturally occurring sugar in the squash and peppers!
Have an amazing day! Margaret Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much Totallyawake4-life
Only a few more sleeps until Halloween ~ my other half is getting stoked and the older kids in the daycare have started to show some interest in 'pumpkins and ghosts' so we've started to play some games in the program and I have added a few 'costumes' for them to explore with including the Witches hat.
Here are two of our favorites DIY Halloween games we love to play
Witches Ring Toss
What You Need
Witches hat ~ we got ours at the Dollar Store
Florist Wire
Washi Tape
What You Do
Make 'circles' with the florist wire and twist the ends together to close into your ring.
To protect little fingers wrap Washi Tape (or duct tape) around the twisted ends to keep them covered while playing.
We used my 'yoga' mat for the play surface ... children at one end of the mat and the hat at the other end and they 'tossed' the rings trying to get them onto the point of the hat.
So as my crew is all under 4 at the moment so they do not need to keep score in a game ~ the game is practicing taking turns and cheering others on!However with older children you could 'score' your ring toss like you would Horseshoes based on how close their ring gets to being 'on' the witches hat.
Pumpkin Toss
What You Need
Jack O Lantern or a Cauldron or other equally fun 'Halloween Themed' bucket
Styrofoam Pumpkins (good ole Dollar Store) you could also use 'orange socks' or soft balls or pom poms or something else to decorate as a pumpkin
What You Do
Again we used our trusty yoga mat as our game surface and we tossed the pumpkins into the bucket ~ my crew is all under 4 at the moment so they do not need to keep score in a game ~ the game is practicing taking turns and cheering others on!
Other Ideas for Party Fun with things around the house
Witches Limbo ~ use a broom to play Limbo game to some fun Halloween Music
Pin the Tail on the Cat ~ make a big black cat silhouette for the wall and some 'tails'... no black paper? No worries use a washable marker on a patio door to draw your cat! When you are done wash it off!
Have an amazing day! Margaret Life Well, Laugh Often, Love Much Totallyawake4-life
Great thing about October is all the pumpkin ... pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving, carving for Jack O Lanterns with the kids and the guts make a great sensory experience to play in ... but best part is don’t
throw away pumpkin seeds after making your jack-o-lanterns.
Simply roast
them in the oven with salt, extra virgin olive oil, and 1-2 drops of Cassia essential
oil for a delicious treat.
Or another option below is give them a boost of immunity and flavor with the On Guard oil blend!
Please note that not ALL essential oils are meant for 'ingesting' and that even those that are approved for ingestion you need to watch your DOSE to ensure that it is safe ... less is more with doTERRA a little goes a long way for both aroma and flavor!
This article below from Today's Parent has really gotten me thinking ~ it is something I have struggled with my entire career working with young children .... the fun of carrying on Halloween traditions in the program verses what is developmentally age appropriate for children specially as I have moved to embracing more of a 'child led' program because the reality is that Halloween rarely comes up in play or inquiry from the child it is typically the ADULT who initiates it. They have no concept of time to know October 31st is approaching, they have not true understanding of WHY we celebrate it and so forth and aside from being pleased about the idea of 'getting candy' they have no real interest in 'inquiry' about the WHY behind the customs.
So just WHO are we actively celebrating Halloween FOR in a childcare setting? Is it meeting the children's needs, my needs or my perceived needs of what is expected of me from clients, fellow providers or society in general? I know as a result of this struggle over the years I have cut back a LOT on planning the cute little Halloween crafts and so forth leading UP to Halloween with the kiddies but admit that I am just not sure I am ready to totally 'give up' the tradition of getting dressed up and doing some trick or treating on the last day of program before Halloween occurs ... getting dressed up is so much FUN even if they do not understand the why behind it or care to inquire about it past that day ... so for me when it comes to Halloween rather than being a month worth of exploration like it was in my 'childcare theme days' it is now just a DAY celebration and than we move on and let it go!
When it comes to the 'decorations' I know with operating a home childcare my spouse and I have had to come to terms with what can be placed out 'ahead of Halloween' for decorations out of respect for those parents like Lauren in the article below who feel that Halloween has gotten just too far out of control on the creepy gore factor. So I request that he please stick to a few pleasant pumpkins and black cats and maybe a ghost or two in the tree out front leading up to Halloween verses what he has to wait until the day of Halloween to put out so that my charges are not petrified walking up to the house leading up to Halloween.
On Halloween night though fair warning that we cater to the David's of the world. So if the weather is nice, the front yard transforms into a total Walking Dead meets Freddie Kruger set ... with the full out zombie graveyard with the fog and bones and fake blood ... with the trick or treating on the actual Halloween day I figure that is totally up to parental choice if they want to bring their child out to walk through the foggy front lawn of moaning and groaning graveyard creeps in order to knock on our door that has blood dripping zombie guts around it in order to ask for a trick or treat ... cause my spouse is totally like David and loves the 'fear factor' that Halloween promote. If you want the 'treat' bad enough you need to be willing to conquer your fears in order to get it and if not that's cool too just pass our house by for the one next door that has no decor to get passed.
Is Halloween’s blood and gore appropriate for kids?
"Two parents debate whether or not Halloween should be a celebration of blood, fear and death.
“Yes”David Eddie, dad of three
For years, our Halloween decorations
included a dummy with a pillowcase for a face wearing clothes stuffed
with rags, sitting on a chair on our front porch. But the neighbourhood
kids all got used to it, so one year my wife inserted herself into the
clothes, tucked rags at her ankles and cuffs, and sat stock-still in the
chair. When kids approached the door, the “dummy” came to life—and the
poor trick-or-treaters almost jumped out of their skins in fear.
Ours is not the most elaborate Halloween display in the
neighbourhood, but we do try to max out the creepy factor. We’ve had
live rats crawling around the porch, severed hands, witches hanging from
nooses and spooky sound effects. We’ve also supported our kids when
they decided to dress up as serial killers, axe murderers and, one time,
a doctor whose surgery had gone terribly wrong.
Bad parenting? Bad neighbouring? Bad karma? I can see how some might
say so. But here’s my feeling: In a couple of months, kids will be
celebrating a holiday that’s all about family, warmth and coziness,
presided over by an apple-cheeked figure who snacks on milk and cookies.
Halloween is the antidote to that. It’s about the other side, the dark
side, the side of life we as parents would like to pretend doesn’t
exist—but it does. It’s about going out into the night and confronting
your fears,
a little more each year. And what’s better than facing your fears and
finding out they’re not as scary as you imagined? It’s like going on a
roller coaster. First time: terrifying. Subsequent times: totally fun.
I also like the honesty of Halloween. Christmas teaches kids they’ll
be given stuff they want as long as they’re “nice.” Halloween teaches
them to go toward the things they fear and demand what they want. Of
course there might be danger or obstacles in the path—and someone they
had dismissed as a dummy might suddenly jump out of a chair to terrorize
them.
But I ask you: Which is the better metaphor for life?
“No” Lauren Ferranti-Ballem, mom of two
I hate Halloween. Always have.
I was the kid who nervously hung back while my friends made their
fifth tear through the neighbourhood haunted house. Who preferred to
observe from my well-lit foyer instead of running the streets with kids
drunk on sugar and the power that darkness and a later curfew gave them.
I’ve grown into the parent who hustles her kids across the street and
away from the moaning, strobe-lit, fog-shrouded spectacle, partly
because it still freaks me out. To me, Halloween feels chaotic and out
of control. Why would anyone seek that out? Why would we put children
through it?
My kids, ages three and six, like knocking on doors for candy, so we
do a polite tour of the side streets. I want them to feel safe in our
neighbourhood, but I don’t see that in the way they tentatively creep up
porch steps and shrink away from over-the-top displays.
I appreciate the creativity Halloween inspires—kids love to dress up, and they have hilarious ideas.
I enjoy crunching through the leaves and sharing cups of mulled wine
with other parents, and I feel nostalgic for the sound of jingling
change in the UNICEF boxes we wore around our necks. Can’t we bring
those back? Swap them for the rattling chains, rotting corpses and
wailing soundtracks?
It’s not my imagination: It’s gotten worse. Halloween has mutated
from the innocent white-sheet ghosts of my childhood to something gorier
and more graphic. We’ve lost loved ones recently, so I’ve talked to my
kids about death. But it doesn’t in any way resemble the cobwebbed
tombstones and bloodied stumps that clutter front yards on our walk to
school. I resent those stumps and the chumps who dig careful graves for
them. I’m the one who has to wake up to my kids’ nightmares and offer weary reassurance that no, neither their dad nor I will suffer the same fate.
Life is scary enough. We don’t need a parade of pale and bloated severed limbs to remind us.
A version of this article appeared in our October 2015 issue with
the headline “Is Halloween’s blood and gore appropriate for kids?” p. 112. "
So what's your thoughts? Are you with David and my spouse that Halloween has valuable lessons about conquering your fears in order to get what you want or are you with Lauren and feel that Halloween has gotten to be a little too much and we need to push society to 'scale it back' to being more developmentally appropriate for younger children? Or are you like some of the commenters on the original article and do you feel we should just rethink celebrating it at all?
For me I have always had a love hate relationship with being 'scared' but Halloween has always been a holiday with fun memories in the long run .... my spouse loves to watch scary movies that make me scream and cuddle closer at night. So no brainier that Halloween is totally his favorite holiday we have more Halloween home decor than we have Christmas if that is any indication to how much he loves this season! Have an amazing day! Margaret Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much Totallyawake4-life.com
I LOVE October it has to top the list of my favorite months of the year. The colours in nature this time of year are truly breath taking; the lack of humidity means I can spend more time outside breathing easy; the cooler nights means better sleep for me and the HOLIDAYS this month are just so much fun and cannot wait to enjoy the FOOD! Fall is the perfect time for clean eating - so many amazing foods to harvest! But for the purpose of this post we are going to focus on having fun with Fall Decor!
Stampin' Up Holiday Home Decor
I love everything that Fall brings. Paper crafting is SO much fun this time of year. Making home decor for Halloween and Thanksgiving with amazing kits from Stampin' Up!!
Scrapbooking pages to commemorate amazing time with family and friends such as pages like these ...
and of course decorating the house for all the Trick or Treaters!
While inside decorating is my forte - the outside of the house belongs to my other half! He just LOVES getting his spook on for the neighborhood ... dry ice fog, gravestones, zombies, ghosts and black cats that prowl are just a few of his front yard offerings.
Moving Black Halloween Cat
Groaning Zombies
Moving Zombies
Spooky Ghosts
Have an amazing day! Margaret Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much! Totallyawake4-life
