Making dino crayons!

A fun and simple DIY which makes a great present for someone small and cool :)

I used lots of broken crayons, cut them into pieces and into molds. 

1) make sure your silicone molds are heatproof.

(My Hello Kitty one, wasn't and melted! :() 

2) place in molds, on tray, middle of the oven. Maybe less heat that I was told. 160 degrees celsius ought to do it. It takes 5-10 minutes. Pay close attention and do be careful: melted crayons are like plastic and will burn badly if you are not careful enough!

3) let set in the molds on your counter..

 

Aaand DRAW :)) 

fun and cute :)

Note: Just to make it clear, this did not go completely as I anticipated. That bring said, it didnt turn out a disaster either!

I will do this again :) 

With love xxx

Roxy Marj bear blanket pancakes!

So obsessed with her work! 

You can find her etsy store, here:

www.etsy.com/shop/romawinkel

And her instagram here 

@roxymarj

And here is my pancake recipe!

1 cup plain spelt flour

1 cup milk

2 eggs

30-40 g melted unsalted butter

1 tsp bakingpowder

1 tsp vanilla extract if you want :)

Mix flour and bakingpowder well in a bowl while melting the butter somewhere else. (Micro, stovetop, bowl of water...)

Add the milk, stirr, add the butter, stirr and eggs, stirr then add some vanilla or salt. I usually go for 1 tsp vanilla extract.

Then into the fridge for 30 min. 

(Not crucial, but i find it makes the pancakes better)

Note: (You can use some raw honey to sweeten if you want. Id say 1 tbs ought to cut it.)

 

Then fry them in a pan on medium heat on a skillet with a supertiny bit of butter/ depending on your skillet!

 (but if you do food artsy stuff, use low heat!)

Then eat and enjoy :)

And, if I dont see you before: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May 2014 bring you all kinds of wonders and fun <3

With love, Karianne

Norwegian gingerbread recipe A christmas blogg :)

19 hours ago, 4:03 pm

Hi how are you? I am ashamed that I haven't blogged in forever but life is so busy at the moment!!

I wanted to share this amazing recipe!

Its from http://trinesmatblogg.no/2011/12/02/verdens-beste-pepperkaker-ingefaerkaker/

And it is simply the best ginger bread cookies I have ever tasted! And I have tasted MANY MANY different ginger bread recipes!

Trine has an illustrated step by step so if your norwegian, you can go there and say hi from me :)

250 gram sugar

2 dl light syrup (i used agave and coconut but golden or maple is fine)

1 tbs cinnamon

½ tbs ground ginger

¼ tbs cloves

250 gram unsalted butter

1 tbs bicarb

2 egg

650-800 gram plain flour

Put sugar and syrup in a small pot and bring to boil.

Then add the spices.

Enjoy the smell!

Add the bicarb and whisk quickly.

It will now fluff up and get very light in the colour.

Put the 250g of butter in a big bowl, and put the sugar/syrup mixture on top and stir till the butter is melted. This takes a while, lots of stirring!

Mix the two eggs together. Then add the eggs to the syrup mixture.

Now add the flour, little by little, and knead the dough 

-then into the fridge over night.

Bake in the middle of your oven, no fan on, at around 200-225 degrees Celsius for about 7-10 min. Depending i your oven. Pay close attention.

Decorate with icing sugar mixed with eggwhites! I used two egg whites and mixed inn icing sugar till it was very heavy to move the fork around anymore. And m&m's of course :) 

Do not cover the cookies! You want the icing mixture to set :)

Enjoy!

My son said they are "Litchus"

That is delicious in 3 year old language <3

We wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year!

Xoxoxo from us

Quick fix!

A parfait is super simple and just create a tiny bitnof a buzz compared to just serving some yoghurt or cereal. 

I use natural fruit loops or organic natural peach numbers from little bellies OR even, like in this case coco pops (first time we ever got a bag and it has only been given as a treat! We will probably stick to the natral organic stiff to be honest... But we tried!) 

1st layer: cereal

2nd layer: banana

3rd layer: yoghurt

4 layer: cereal

:5 layer: yoghurt and decorations.

:))) 

Enjoy xoxoxo

I would stay and chat some but i am soooo incredibly tired that i will close my eyes for a few min!!!

Cubebot!

Easy breezy breakkie!

Put peanutbutter on a sandwich

Cut into a square

Put into freezer for a few min for the PB to get a bit harder

Draw with a toothpick and serve!

Tada! 

More on cubebot at www.freeandwildchild.com

Baby donut!

This is a very baby friendly donut that will create heaps of mess so make sure you put on a frock or strip your baby to the nappies/diaper so the clothes wont get terrible stains...

1) The donut itself is a pancake that i made round and with a hole in it. 

It is dairy, gluten and sugar free! And makes the baby super happy!

Pancakes:
30g rolled oats

1/2 banana
1 egg
3 eggwhites
Vanilla bean or vanilla essence

Into the blender.
Mix.
Into squeeze bottle and draw then fry in coconut oil and enjoy! 

TIP: Maybe give the oats a wizz all on their own 

so they become nice and fine oat flour 

before adding the rest of the ingredients... =)

2) The topping is a **puree**.

You can make your own puree or use a ready made one. I use both. 

Just squeeze it out in a spiral on top of your cooled down donut shaped pancake.

3) For sprinkles you can use anything!

I used all natural fruit loops and all natural numbers. [the natural fruit loops contain gluten!] but you can use dried fruits and berries, shredded coconut, dried apricots, that you jus finely chop and sprinkle on top. 

Enjoy the beautiful mess!

My little girl went straight in the tub and the shirt went straight in the bin!

(No, it was not a fav shirt! It was too small and already had some terrible stains on it)

Have a happy day xx Karianne

Notes:

**Purees are generally just whichever fruit and berries [or veg!] youd like, steamed [or just blended if their "soft" fruits like Kiwi and orange and soft peaches, mango... Harder fruits like apple and pear is great to steam first so they get a little soft, and then blend them together to a puree!

For the best puree recipes, check out; wholesomebabyfood

If your in Norway, I know Ella's fruit purees from Spain are organic[økologiske] .

If your in Australia you have heaps of organic options and if your in the states I know you have pretty much the same amount of choices as us here... **

That sneaky bolognese

If you ask most moms with toddlers, there is one thing that really boggles their mind:

How do I get my kid to like vegetables?!

Well, I have no clue, BUT I do have some super simple tricks up my sleeve and some recipes that allows for you to hide veggies pretty simply.
[as a note to my norwegian readers: in [ ] after the english name, will be the norwegian name]

Ill start you off with my bolognese: a recipe I have worked with a lot; from being easy and classic to being propped full of veg that even my son cant detect!

Sneaky Bolognese!

-500g mince

[kjøttdeig]

(I use a mix of beef and pork, 

but you can use which ever mince you like: 

beef, pork, kangaroo, veal...)

-3 finely chopped garlic cloves

[fin hakkede hvitløks fedd]

-1 finely grated big zucchini

[fin revet squasj]

-1-2 finely grated carrots

[fin revet gulrot]

-1 small or 1/2 big red onion

[halv stor rødløk eller 1 liten]

-2 tins organic diced tomatoes

[2 bokser økologiske knuste tomater]

-2-3 tbs organic tomato oaste

[2-3 ss økologisk tomat puré]

Herbs [urter]

Of spices I use an italian herb mix and himalayan rock salt, 

but obviously you know best what herbs you like.

If you want an approximate herb use

Id say a pinch of basil, [en klype basilikum] 

a pinch of oregano [en klype oregano], 

a pinch of flat leafed parsley [en klype italiensk persille] 

a tiny pinch if thyme [en liten klype timian] 

and a tsp or two of sweet paprica [en tsk eller to søt paprika].

Note: I skip pepper for the kids as it can really hurt in their mouth 

especially while teething, but I add it later for my husband and I.

[personlig hopper jeg over pepper til senere, 

mye fordi det kan gjøre vondt i gommene på en liten en som får tenner])

Note: I dont use any oil or butter to fry with as I have a pretty good pan, 

but if I was using my old pan, Id be using organic cold pressed coconut oil. 

Steps:

Fry garlic, red onion and mince together while finely "chopping" 

your mince with your spatula.

Add the finely grated carrots and zucchini and blend well into your mince.

Fry till the mince is no longer pink anywhere. 

Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato paste.

Now add the herbs and salt to taste.

Leave to simmer for about 10 min .

If the sauce is too thick, add a little bit of water. 

Is it too runny; Add a little more tomato paste. 

Serve with the pasta of your choice.

(We use wholemeal pasta these days as an added source of fiber :)

Bon Appetite! 

A picture of my best pal in the kitchen:

If you try my recipes, PLEASE let me know how it went! I am so curious to know so please comment below with how you liked it and if it worked for you!! I will only post recipes that has been tried and tested here and that works in this house (and my son is a good veg-detecter) but he loves garlic and spices and herbs. If your child doesn't like the taste of herbs and spices, you might have to limit yourself a little; But I find that my son gets so happy about it being spaghetti time, that he forgets about scouting for the hidden vegetables.... 

Hang tight though; there will be sweet muffins and other sweet and savory recipes coming your way... All with hidden goodness inside.

To find the hidden veg-recipes easily; press the "thesneakymom" label to the right ----->

=) 

Note: you can add tiny dices of capsicum/red bell pepper, frozen chopped spinach, cannelini beans, red kidney beans, green beans, grated sweet potato, grated beetroot, grated pumpkin... The variations are endless!
And remember to make a big batch, so the kids lunch the next day is good to go ;))

Thank you for popping by
Have a fab day xxxx

Birthday bash with kiwi pops and melon fruit cake!

My little sweetheart turns 1 tomorrow and we celebrated with a few good friends over the weekend.
I didn't make too much,but decided that I didn't want to go all unhealthy just because it was a birthday so I made my melon kake and kiwi pops!

Melon cake:

The melon cake is simple:

Just "peel" a watermelon, a rock melon and a honey dew melon. 

Then cut as evenly as possible, slices 

(3 watermelon circles and 2 rock-honey dew circles) 

and layer starting and ending with watermelon. 

Decorate with pineapple (skipped this year!) strawberries, 

watermelon number and writing and blueberries.

Serve with home made vanilla custard.

(Or not. Really up to you)

My sons birthday cake last year:

Vanilla custard:

Ingredients

1 L Full Cream Milk

6 Egg Yolks

1/3 Cup Plain Flour

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Directions

Add the litre of milk in a big pot.

Heat up till its warm. (Not boiling)

Add 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 split vanilla bean to the milk

in a mixing bowl, mix egg yolks and sugar with a wire wisk till its well mixed.

Use a sift and add the flour slowly to the eggs and sugar while stirring.

Use a cup and mix in a little bit of warmed up milk at a time, to the eggs.

When its lump free, add the mixture to the rest of the milk and heat up to a boil while stirring the entire time.

(be attentive here as this part goes super quick:

Depending on what you are using your custard for,

make sure it doesn't get too thick!

It will get thicker as it gets cooler as well. I like to use it as thin as thickened cream 

(as a sauce) on my fruit salads, 

but you can make this thick enough for tarts and cake 

filling if you want. It is incredible!!)

Place the left overs in the fridge; 

the next day we have a lovely thick custard that is perfect for a dessert or treat on its own.

If you use less sugar, its a good treat for the kiddies!

Kiwi pops:

Cut slices of a peeled Kiwi.

Insert popsicle sticks

Put into freezer for an hour.

Melt chocolate using 1 cup chocolate melts and 1/2 (or less) cold pressed coconut oil.

(For adults you can easily use your melted raw chocolate 

but I do not recommend raw chocolate for kids!)

Dip the frozen kiwis

And use cranberries as noses, white chocolate or greek yoghurt 

as eyes whiskers mouth etc and cut sultanas/raisins as ears. 

Use your melted chocolate as glue. 

Leave upright for a little bit then into freezer till its time to serve. :)

-and thats the healthy yummy birthday bash :)

Note: i haven't tried this and dont know how well it will work (but my guess is fine) but see no problem with using melted cacao butter instead of coconut oil for the chocolate if you dont like the coconut taste. I will try to make these with cacao butter eventually and let you know.

We also made Martha Stewarts carrot cup cakes with cream cheese frosting and they were absolutely magnificent.
Recipe here: Amazing moist tasty Carrot Cupcakes

What do you make for yours or your kids birthday? Any traditions?

xx

6K and snickers party!

Hi everyone! Its a pleasure to meet you!
I have had a pretty long break but I seem to be getting a little time again. Hopefully we'll be back to normal really soon :)

So into chocolate these days! (not pregnant. Maybe its just left over cravings from my pregnancy with little miss W? either way... )

So: chocolate sandwich puppydog with banana cloud and strawberry hearts for my son for breakfast

And then homemade raw-ish snickers for me!

Here goes:

Use the smallest cupcake papers you find. (Patty cups or whatever its called)

Layer 1: peanut butter!

Press it down with a teaspoon. 

Freezes superbly!

Layer 2: caramel.

(Recipe)

-1/2 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped up

-1/2 cup milk (water if you want to keep it vegan!)

-1 pinch of salt.

Blend in blender. Pop into saucepan. 

Heat and Stir till it thickens.

Layer 3: raw chocolate

(Recipe here)

(this is not my favorite chocolate recipe, but it is my fav for the snickers as it works well. IF you dont like the coconut oil taste, stay tuned and Ill upload another awesome chocolate recipe soon!) 

Into the freezer for about an hour or so and viola! Enjoy!

Tip: the caramel layer wont freeze well so make sure its just kept as a secret in the middle covered with chocolate, so your snickers dont fall apart.

Tip 2: If you want, you can add bits and pieces of nuts or use chunky peanut butter for the crunchy snickers effect.

Whats your favourite chocolate?
Whats your typical craving in the evening?
Mine is icecream. Magnum classic or ego, to be honest.
Or, Ben and Jerrys triple caramel chunk!
My gooooodness..... ;)

Oh My Breakfast!

Good morning to you. 

I have come across a really good foodblog and I cannot wait to recommend it: 

BEST food BLOG EVER! TWC! Top With Cinnamon. Yeah baby! 

If you need inspiration for anything (in particular cooking); just go there! she is pretty fab! 

(She also has an instagram for those of you who are truly IGddicted like myself!) 

@topwithcinnamon 

Anyways; Y'all have my amazing granola recipe. Yes? 

(if "no!" Click "Yes" ;) 

And that is a great way to start with this breakfast, inspired and a little stolen from TWC!

Layer 1: Granola. Check.

Layer 2: Vanillabeanyoghurt. Check. 

(Greek style full fat yoghurt mixed w vanilla bean paste. Just to clear that up. So its not vanilla yoghurt!) 

Layer 3: Banana. Check!

Layer 4: OMG caramel! Check! Check! Check!!

Caramel is easy breezy! 

1/2 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped up 

1/2 cup milk (water if you want to keep it vegan!)

1 pinch of salt. 

Blend in blender. Pop into saucepan. Heat and Stir till it thickens. 

OMG! omg omg omg and yum! 

And follow the layering steps one more time. 

Serve. 

OH MY BREAKFAST! 

The pirate breakfast...

That I stole from Samantha Lee!
My son is obsessed with pirates lately and I have been quite clueless with how to make a fun pirate breakfast but Sam surely knows how, so i nicked her pirate!

Two sandwich pieces!
1 apple,
half a banana,
kiwi,
tiny bit nutella and
3-4 sultanas,
almond and pranut butter.

1 round for face and one half circle for the island.

The face is peanut and almond butter mixed, with an apple as hat and apple piece for one eye. Details are w nutalla that I just put i to a piping bag and cut a super little hole in.

The island is made with peanut butter and some nutella.
The palm-tree is half a banana cut in half, then cut into little triangles. Kiwi as palm leaves and sultana coconuts :)
Then an apple sun and an apple treasure chest and we're good to go :)

This was a hit for sure!
Yay :)) thanks Sam :))

Enjoy your breakkie
Arrr! Aaaarrrr!!

The kids book project

Having kids, you read lots of books!

And I thought since
Ida Skivenes (@idafrosk) has her art project and the novel project and
Samantha Lee (@leesamantha) has her world in food project (amongst several others:)
that I wanted to have a project too.
I have the aussie natives project and the kids book project.
If you want to see what gets done, they will be under the label "kidsbooks" to the right.

My first book cover was Oliver Jeffers Lost and Found

And my second was also an Oliver Jeffers classic

How to catch a star.

What is your kids favorite books?

And what would you like to see made into foods?

Its a gloomy day in Sydney today, but thats fine: we had a magnificent week of full sun and up to 25 degrees c in the middle of winter, so Im not complaining now :))

I also wanted to post the pancake recipe I used for the "how to catch a star" cover. I got it from Doris (@dorisdk) and was very impressed!

Place
1/2 banana
1 egg
3 eggwhites
30g rolled oats
Vanilla bean or vanilla essence

Into the blender.
Mix.
Into squeeze bottle and draw then fry in coconut oil and enjoy!
I made a car for the boy this morning, since that was what he wanted..

What foodart would make your kid happy?
Do you ever make fun food for yourself or the kids?