Amy Hudson

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

May 2, 2013 by Amy Hudson

How many baseball fans do we have out there? Kids in little league? T-ball? I’ve got a few fun ideas for you today inspired by one of our favorite game-day snacks: Beer Nuts!

…………………

I was so excited when Beer Nuts offered to send us some of their nuts to see what cute snacks we could come up with. I asked for their classic peanuts, and a bag of almonds because they are one of the more nutritious choices out there.

(Yay for yummy Beer Nuts!)

About Beer Nuts

Beer Nuts, by the way, are specialty nuts with a unique glaze on them that has a sweet and salty flavor. The original skin-on peanuts were an accidental hit when their creator, Edward G. Shirk, who owned a small confectionary store called the Caramel Crisp back in 1937, occasionally made them available for free as an incentive to purchase one of his other products. These tasty redskin nuts became so popular that Shirk decided to go from selling them over the counter by the scoop to package them up and making them available for widespread distribution. That distribution started in local taverns, and the glazed peanuts were named Beer Nuts, as they became known as the perfect accompaniment to a glass of beer. Nowadays they are a popular snack at baseball stadiums, circus, and other sporting events.

Now, let’s get on to what fun we had with these guys!

“Skin-on Peanut and Almond Butter”

I was excited to find out that research has shown substantial amount of extra health benefits in peanut skins! These benefits include things like antioxidants (equal amounts, if not more that fruits and vegetables), anti-inflamatory properties, anti-aging compounds, even lowering blood sugar levels. Read all about it in this article.

Most peanut butter is made with blanched, or skinless, peanuts. This article explains why. One of the reasons listed is “if not handled properly, the natural oil in the peanut skins could may become prematurely stale and cause off flavors when the peanut butter is being made”. Fair enough, but when we have a full pound of skin-on peanuts at our disposal, let’s go for a great-tasting peanut butter!

“Skin-on Peanut and Almond Butter”

2 cups Beer Nuts original peanuts

1 cup Beer Nuts brand Almonds

Combine ingredients in a Vitamix machine or food processor. Continue mixing until a smooth, warm peanut butter consistency is reached. Mmmm.

This peanut butter is perfect because the Beer Nuts have that special “slightly sweet. slightly salty” coating on them already, so no additional ingredients (including oils, sugars, etc.) are required to make a great-tasting, delicious snack.

The girls and I ate this all up in a couple days by dipping apple slices into it or spreading it onto celery sticks.

Baseball Mitt Snack

The next fun thing we did with our Beer Nuts is make a baseball mitt. To make it, simply spread your Beer Nuts brand peanuts onto a plate and arrange to look like a mitt as shown. Leave a small round circle in the center of the mitt. Next, spoon 5-6 tablespoons of yogurt into the round opening. Use a butter knife to smooth out the dome of yogurt you have created. (We used plain Greek yogurt. I’m telling you, it’s absolutely astounding what kids will eat if it’s presented in a creative way)! Complete your look by adding thinly sliced bits of strawberry to look like the red stitches on a baseball.

Add more fresh strawberries and yogurt and serve in individual cups for a little fruit/yogurt/nut parfait!

“Hitting a Home Run” Snack

A third fun idea we had was to make a baseball bat and ball. This size snack is a better serving size for just one. When your child mixes the yogurt, strawberries, and peanuts together, they get a little parfait perfect for them!

Simply arrange your Beer Nuts brand peanuts on your plate to look like a bat as shown. Follow the same directions as above for the baseball. You can finish the look with a couple yogurt motion lines on either side of the ball to look like you are seeing the impact of the bat and ball. We made those lines by scooping a tablespoon or so of yogurt into a plastic baggie, snipping off a corner of the bag, and piping it onto the plate where we wanted it.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out our other sports-themed snacks!

(Sharing HERE)

Did you enjoy today’s snack? Learn more about this blog here.

Weekly Kid’s Co-op

May 2, 2013 by Amy Hudson

It’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

As moms, we are constantly on the lookout for great teaching tools and resources to use with our children. I know I always benefit from seeing the creativity of others as they share lessons, activities, crafts, food, and more in their various blogs. Mommy bloggers have become popular for a good reason: information is power. Right, ladies?

The Weekly Kids Co-op is one of my very favorite such resources. I have been linking my snacks to this link party for months now, and I am excited to be able to co-host it here at Creative Kid Snacks.

If you are a blogger, link up your kid related posts to share with all of us eager beaver mommas. If you are a mom, take some time to look through all of the great ideas for teaching and playing with our kids. Pin what you love. Like I said before, information is power!

This party will take place every Thursday at Creative Kid Snacks. You will find it hosted on several other blogs, but the days the party goes live will vary from blog to blog.

Get ready for all the great ideas! Link, share, and enjoy!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

May 1, 2013 by Amy Hudson

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is one of the most fun children’s books to read aloud!

Written by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, and illustrated by Lois Ehlert, the story is told of alphabet letters who mischievously climb a coconut tree and tumble down. The rhythmic way it is written makes it fun to read with the kids, bouncing them on your knees all the while.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Lunch

We created this lunch using leftovers a combination of leftovers from this yummy meal made the night before and fresh ingredients. Spoon rice (or an alternative listed below) onto the bottom portion of your plate as a ground. Next, use fresh pineapple chunks to build a palm tree. Slice an avocado and place sections above for the palm branches. Slice a meatball in half and lay onto the plate to look like coconuts. (Note: I microwaved the portion of the leftovers I was going to use before assembling this lunch).

Finally, using string cheese, add the letters of the alphabet heading towards the “coconut tree”. You’re done!

Variations:

Ground: oatmeal, hummus, cheerios, black beans, (or any other beans), turkey, or basically anything brown or black!

Tree trunk: banana, mango, peaches

Palm leaves: sugar snap peas, kiwi, green grapes, green apple slices

Coconuts: cereal, crackers (like Ritz), red or dark grapes, even sliced baby carrot wheels or banana wheels

Letters: pipe yogurt onto plate to make letters, Alphabet cereal

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Learning Activities

1) Act out the story using alphabet cards (use store-bought or make your own on index cards).

2) Dance to the story, make up moves to go along with different phrases in the book.

3) Put in order the alphabet letters: spread alphabet cards all over the floor (like the pile of letters in the story), and have your child put them back in order by lining them up on the floor. (Make your own alphabet cards if you don’t have your own).

More Book-Inspired Snacks Ideas:

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle

Lousy Rotten Stinkin’ Grapes by Margie Palatini

Blackout by John Rocco

A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

(Sharing HERE)

Did you enjoy today’s snack? Learn more about this blog here.

Princess Food for a Princess Party

April 25, 2013 by Amy Hudson

What little girl doesn’t love princesses? There’s princess Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, and all of the other Disney princesses, along with the fun of dancing around the living room wearing your princess crown. My girls own several dress-up gowns inspired by the Disney princesses, and love wearing them around the house.

Today, we are sharing some princess birthday party food ideas for a facebook fan planning her daughter’s upcoming event.

Princess Party Food

Cheese Princess Crowns

Simply purchase a package of sliced cheddar cheese. Use a firm cheese, (so not packaged American cheese) so that you will be able to cut it into the shape of little crowns. I made 6 little crowns to show you, and for those I only needed 3 cheese slices. Lay 3 slices on top of each other, then slice in half. Next, on one stack of 3 halves, take your knife and slice little triangles out of the tops.

Carefully separate. Repeat with the other 3 halves, and continue until you have the desired amount.

Princess Castle Sandwiches

Serve these little sandwiches shaped like castles. Simply make a simple turkey sandwich, (or PB&J’s to make it easy for a birthday party), and slice little squares out of the top of the sandwich. Finish the look by adding some cheese on top to look like doors and windows. If you are serving a larger group, you can skip the flags all together, or use some toothpick flags for a cute presentation. These castle sandwiches are perfect little accompaniments to your tea.

Royal Jewels

A simple and easy idea (plus a good way to incorporate fresh fruit into your princess party), is to serve mixed fruit in a bowl and label it “Royal Jewels”. Super easy, right?

“Tea Time” Drinks

(click image for source)

Serve your drinks in a tea set and label it “Princess Tea Time”. The princess party guests will love sipping their drink from a special princess teacup. If you don’t feel like risking using the ceramic ones, go with the plastic kids set. They will love it, and the castle “tea sandwiches” will be perfect alongside!

More Princess Party Ideas:

Princess Parties: Kara’s Party Ideas

Pinterest: Princess Parties Search

And now it’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

This party will take place every Thursday at Creative Kid Snacks. You will find it hosted on several other blogs, but the days the party goes live will vary from blog to blog.

Get ready for all the great ideas! Link, share, and enjoy!

Puppy Dog Wrap

April 21, 2013 by Amy Hudson

Today I’ll be showing you a simple puppy lunch, and then a variety of other great snacks to make using a high protein, high fiber tortilla wrap. I’ve recently discovered these babies and have really enjoyed using them with my girls to make creative lunches. I’ve also enjoyed knowing that the girls are getting significantly more protein and fiber from the wraps than they would from two slices of traditional bread.

Ingredients:

1 tortilla wrap (I use Ole brand multi-grain or whole wheat)

1-2 oz turkey breast

1-2 t miracle whip or mayo (here‘s a great healthier mayo recipe)

1/2 strawberry

1 blueberry

1 grape

string cheese

Make a puppy lunch:

Make a turkey wrap by spreading mayo onto tortilla and adding turkey on one half. Fold over to make a half circle shape. Slice two “ears” from each corner as shown.

Slice a blueberry in half and lay onto wrap to look like eyes.

Slice a grape in half and lay flat onto wrap for a nose.

Peel two thin strips of string cheese. Lay in a “w” shape beneath nose to look like a puppy’s face.

Add a strawberry tongue and you are all set! Simple and adorable.

Other fun lunches to make using wraps (once you’ve bought yourself a package and all):

Rocket ship

Choo-Choo train

Butterfly Quesadillas

(Sharing HERE)

Did you enjoy today’s snack? Learn more about this blog here.

Gone Fishin’

April 17, 2013 by Amy Hudson

Today’s lunch takes almost no time to prepare, and features foods that all kids love: peanut butter sandwich, string cheese, and goldfish.

As we all know, the aforementioned aren’t the most healthy foods in the world, but they are being served in moderation here, and I will share with you a couple secrets on how to make even a peanut butter sandwich more healthy.

Ingredients:

1 slice whole wheat bread

1-2 T homemade peanut butter (see below)

1 piece string cheese

1 grape

1 goldfish

1 pretzel stick

1 strawberry (or other small fruit for a hat)

Create your Gone Fishin’ Lunch:

Today’s lunch features a boat that is half of a peanut butter sandwich. Because I always like to strive to feed my kids the healthiest possible version of their food that I can, I’m going to show you something I just about when I purchased our awesome new toy – a Vitamix.

Make your own peanut butter:

You can make your own peanut butter if you have a Vitamix or a food processor. When you make it yourself as described below, you avoid all of the extra sugars and hydrogenated oils found in even the “healthiest” brand name peanut butters.

Vitamix Peanut Butter

Combine 1 jar of lightly roasted peanuts with several handfuls of almonds (raw, roasted, unseasoned) and set the Vitamix to high for a minute or two. I bought lightly roasted because they have great flavor for turning into peanut butter and they also have less additives than regular roasted peanuts. You can also add any other kind of nut you would like to this mix. Just choose nuts that are not highly processed so that you will avoid that extra salt, sugar, and other chemicals and keep that great nutritional value.

Once you are done, you will have warm, delicious peanut butter with fantastic flavor and so many less ingredients to serve to your kids.

Next, you will slice the string cheese in half width-wise. Place one half on top of the “boat” to be a fisherman. Peel thin strings from the other half and use them to place beneath the boat for waves. Use one thin string for the fishing line. Place two thin strips of cheese on either side of your fisherman’s body for arms.

Add a pretzel for a fishing rod.

Next, slice a red grape, blueberry, or other dark fruit into small strips. Arrange two of them to look like a hook at the bottom of the fishing line. Use two tiny bits of that same fruit for your fisherman’s eyes. (If you have a food marker, you may also use that to draw your man’s eyes and smile).

Place a goldfish near the hook, and you are done!

(Sharing HERE)

Did you enjoy today’s snack? Learn more about this blog here.

And now it’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

This party will take place every Thursday at Creative Kid Snacks. You will find it hosted on several other blogs, but the days the party goes live will vary from blog to blog.

Get ready for all the great ideas! Link, share, and enjoy!

Rocketship lunch

April 14, 2013 by Amy Hudson

3-2-1 Blastoff! What kid wouldn’t love a rocket ship going off into space for their lunch?

Awhile back I guest posted over at Build a Menu sharing this Rocket Ship Lunch. I made a new one that is even better! Today’s plate incorporates carrots, yellow pepper, fresh turkey breast, a high-protein wrap, and greek yogurt. I made this lunch for my girls several times and each time I did, they were so excited! I think it is one of their favorites!

Ingredients:

1 whole grain tortilla wrap (I use the Ole Xtreme wellness Multi-Grain. It has the highest protein and fiber bang for your buck)

2 baby carrots

3 thin slices yellow bell pepper

1 T yogurt (any kind – I used greek for the high protein content)

To make Rocket Lunch:

Assemble your turkey wrap by placing some mayo or miracle whip,turkey breast and any other desired elements into tortilla. Roll as you would a burrito. Slice off one end completely so you have a straight bottom edge for your rocket. For the top of the rocket, slice your wrap into a point shape. Take a small portion of the tortilla you cut off and slice two thin triangles to place on the sides of your main wrap as shown above.

Next, slice a baby carrot into wheels. Use two wheels for windows on the rocket. Slice another baby carrot in half lengthwise and cut about 1/3 off of the top of each half to create a straight edge. Place one half carrot in the center beneath the rocket, and slice your other remaining half in half again. Arrange carrots with two thin slices of yellow bell pepper as shown. Now you have your flames coming from the rocket!

Finally, it’s time to make your smoke trail and stars. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of yogurt into a plastic bag. Snip off a tiny corner of the bag, and use the bag to pipe little stars all around the rocket as well as little trails of smoke beneath the rocket.

*I’ve mentioned before that I can get away using any kind of yogurt when it becomes a design piped on a plate. Although my kids would never reach for a cup of unsweetened Greek yogurt from the fridge, they lick it all up when it’s served on a creative plate like this! *

If you enjoyed today’s snack about outer space, you might like our Solar System snack as well!

(Sharing HERE)

Did you enjoy today’s snack? Learn more about this blog here.

Oscar the Grouch

April 11, 2013 by Amy Hudson

We are all about teaching kids to LOVE eating healthy foods here at Creative Kid Snacks, and one way we do that is by presenting them in fun ways. I can’t tell you how many new foods my daughters have tried (and eaten all up), because it was included in one of their “creative lunches”. These are foods that they would never choose to eat on their own.

Oscar the Grouch is the perfect character to turn into a super healthy lunch for the kids. He’s green, brown, and white, and lots of nutrient packed foods can be used here to make him.

I’d like to show you the version we made the other day, and then offer other suggestions for you to try.

Create an Oscar the Grouch snack to serve the kids super healthy foods like peas, meat, olives, or broccoli, beans, or other greens you want them to eat! | CreativeKidSnacks.com

We used the following ingredients for the Oscar shown here:

peas – canned or frozen (thawed, heated)

cheese – any white cheese cut into circles for Oscar’s eyes

black olives – approximately 6 sliced

pulled pork – leftover from sandwiches served the night before

Arrange all ingredients on a small plate as shown to make Oscar’s face. Super simple!

Variations:

Perhaps you are looking for a way to serve some of the following foods to your kids. Try these in an Oscar!

Face:

Broccoli

String beans

Edamame

Softened avocado

Green grapes

Green apple slices

Eyebrows:

Rotisserie Chicken

Grilled Chicken breast sliced

Ground Beef

Pulled Beef

Ham

Mouth/Eyeballs:

Raisins

Blueberries

Eyes – Whites:

Hard boiled egg sliced

Cottage Cheese

Yogurt

Hopefully you can make your own super healthy Oscar soon! Next time I try this, I’m going to use this:

(Sharing HERE)

Did you enjoy today’s snack? Learn more about this blog here.

And now it’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

This party will take place every Thursday at Creative Kid Snacks. You will find it hosted on several other blogs, but the days the party goes live will vary from blog to blog.

Get ready for all the great ideas! Link, share, and enjoy!

Under the Sea

April 8, 2013 by Amy Hudson

“Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid is one of our all-time favorite movie songs. It just gets stuck in our head every time we listen to it!

We’ve been in a bit of a whirlwind in life lately, so Sunday night we decided to veg and have a family movie night. Our movie of choice was The Little Mermaid.

Today’s snack is inspired by Sebastain’s famous song “Under the Sea”.

Create these fun little sea creatures using the following ingredients:

1/2 cup cooked oatmeal

1/4 avocado, sliced

1 strawberry

1/2 slick string cheese

3 grapes

goldfish crackers

1 teaspoon yogurt

Assemble:

Spoon your oatmeal onto the bottom of the plate for the ocean floor.

Next, arrange your avocado slices to look like a beautiful ocean plant.

Slice your strawberry in half so it lies flat on the plate and slice again into 6-8 thin strips to use as the crab’s arms and legs.

Slice 1/2 of your string cheese from the bottom into several small sections. I think this little guy looks like one of Nemo’s little classmates. (Now we are cross-referencing Disney movies!).

Slice grapes in half to lay flat onto the plate, and create little tails by slicing remaining portion of grape in half.

Add goldfish crackers.

**Optional: add little eyes to some of the creatures using a food marker

You are now ready to draw your waves at the top of the plate to complete the “Under the Sea” look. I love to use the following technique:

If you enjoyed today’s snack, you’d also probably like our other Disney inspired snacks as well as our Nature themed plates!

(Sharing HERE)

Did you enjoy today’s snack? Learn more about this blog here.

5 loaves and 2 fish

March 28, 2013 by Amy Hudson

Today’s lunch is going to be used to teach a bible story. John 6 tells the story of Jesus teaching a large crowd, 5,000 people. It became late in the day, and the disciples told Jesus to send the crowds home because they would need something to eat. Jesus said, “Let us feed them”. A boy was carrying 5 small barley loaves and 2 fish and offered them to Jesus. Jesus prayed and thanked God for the food, then started to break it up into pieces to put into baskets for the disciples to pass out to the people.

After everyone, all 5,000+ people had eaten their fill, there were 12 baskets left over! This is one of Jesus’ awesome miracles and today’s lunch celebrates that.

Teach the 5 loaves and 2 fishes story

1. Read the story aloud to the kids.

2. Talk about how the disciples must have felt, what the miracle showed them about Jesus, and some of the things they think the crowds of people might have said as they watched this happen and ate the food.

3. Pray and thank God for showing us his supernatural power through miracles like this one.

4. Act out the story together.

5. Make this lunch. Create the fish by combining 1/2 of a can of tuna with several tablespoons of mayonnaise or miracle whip. Here is a great recipe for homemade mayo made with much less fat and far better ingredients than store-bought. Shape two little fish using your fingers. Add a little raisin eye to each.

Serve with 5 “loaves” of bread. Shown are garlic chips, but you can serve any kind of bread that will be easy to eat with the tuna. I wanted something onto which the kids could spoon their tuna and eat. Also perfect on the side are celery sticks. The kids can spread tuna on the celery sticks to eat as well.

One can of tuna was plenty to make two plates like this, one for each of my girls.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed this meal. They have not eaten much tuna, as it’s not something I regularly buy. However, tuna is perfect for making a fish, thus the “5 loaves and 2 fishes” lunch.

And now it’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

This party will take place every Thursday at Creative Kid Snacks. You will find it hosted on several other blogs, but the days the party goes live will vary from blog to blog.

Get ready for all the great ideas! Link, share, and enjoy!

« Previous Page

About Beer Nuts

“Skin-on Peanut and Almond Butter”

“Skin-on Peanut and Almond Butter”

Baseball Mitt Snack

“Hitting a Home Run” Snack

It’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Lunch

Variations:

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Learning Activities

More Book-Inspired Snacks Ideas:

Princess Party Food

Cheese Princess Crowns

Princess Castle Sandwiches

Royal Jewels

“Tea Time” Drinks

More Princess Party Ideas:

And now it’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

Ingredients:

Make a puppy lunch:

Other fun lunches to make using wraps (once you’ve bought yourself a package and all):

Ingredients:

Create your Gone Fishin’ Lunch:

Make your own peanut butter:

And now it’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

Ingredients:

To make Rocket Lunch:

We used the following ingredients for the Oscar shown here:

Variations:

Face:

Eyebrows:

Mouth/Eyeballs:

Eyes – Whites:

And now it’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

Create these fun little sea creatures using the following ingredients:

Assemble:

Teach the 5 loaves and 2 fishes story

And now it’s time for the Weekly Kids Co-op!

Best of

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