August 2016

This is the fifth post in a series of posts on healthy lunch ideas.

Back to school is right around the corner, which means packing lunches again! Sometimes you need a little inspiration to get those healthy lunches going. So, we will be posting a few recipes or lunch ideas over the next little while. Hope they spark some lunch packing creativity!

From pepperscraps.com: Baked Macaroni and Cheese Bites

Ingredients

• 1 box of macaroni and cheese
• ½ cup cottage cheese (low fat)
• ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
• ¼ cup sharp cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup tomato chopped (optional)

Directions

1. preheat broiler and place rack on the top slot.
2. Cook macaroni noodles per directions on the package.
3. Add cottage cheese, yogurt and cheese packet to noodles and mix
4. Spoon 1 cup of noodles into muffin pan (suggestion not to use paper muffin sleeves)
5. Sprinkle cheese and tomatoes on top.
6. Place on top rack and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the top of each bite gets crispy.

And there you have it! A week of lunch inspiration!

Source: http://pepperscraps.com/healthy-baked-macaroni-cheese-bites/

The above photo is our newsletter for the month of September. Please refer to it for important information regarding upcoming events.

This is the fourth post in a series of posts on healthy lunch ideas.

Back to school is right around the corner, which means packing lunches again! Sometimes you need a little inspiration to get those healthy lunches going. So, we will be posting a few recipes or lunch ideas over the next little while. Hope they spark some lunch packing creativity!

From honeyandlime.co: Turkey, Pesto, and Avocado

Ingredients

• 4 slices of Oven Roasted Turkey Breast
• ½ avocado, sliced
• 10 leaves fresh spinach
• 2 burrito-sized flour tortillas
• homemade pesto mayonnaise spread (or store bought)
  • for homemade recipe go to link for source at bottom

Directions:

1. if you choose to make the pesto mayonnaise yourself, do that first.
2. Open up two tortillas onto a cutting board.
3. Spread a think layer of pesto may onto each covering the whole tortilla.
4. Layer spinach leaves, then turkey, then slices of avocado and roll up the tortilla.
5. Slice into pieces.

Source: http://www.honeyandlime.co/2015/08/changing-up-school-lunch-kids-love-these-healthy-turkey-pesto-and-avocado-rolls.html

This is the third post in a series of posts on healthy lunch ideas.

Back to school is right around the corner, which means packing lunches again! Sometimes you need a little inspiration to get those healthy lunches going. So, we will be posting a few recipes or lunch ideas over the next little while. Hope they spark some lunch packing creativity!

From blueberryandbasil.com: Tropical Fruit Spring Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 pack rice paper
• 1 large bunch mint leaves (finely chopped)
• 1 pomegranate (seeded)
• 3 kiwi, thinly sliced
• ½ mango sliced thinly
• 2 mandarins
• 1 handful of blackberry
• 1 handful of raspberry
• 1 handful of strawberry
• 1 handful of blueberry
• black sesame

Directions:

1. prep the fruits
2. add 3 cups of water to a large shallow pan and bring it to a boil. Remove pan from fire once boiling.
3. Take rice paper and submerge it in the hot water for approximately 10-15 seconds.
4. Once the paper is transparent and soft, transfer it to a clean, damp surface and gently smooth it out.
5. Add fruits, mint leaves, pomegranate, and sesame seeds.
6. Fold the bottoms, and gently roll until sealed.
7. Repeat the process for each spring roll.

Source: http://www.blueberryandbasil.com/tropical-fruit-spring-rolls/

This is the second post in a series of posts on healthy lunch ideas.

Back to school is right around the corner, which means packing lunches again! Sometimes you need a little inspiration to get those healthy lunches going. So, we will be posting a few recipes or lunch ideas over the next little while. Hope they spark some lunch packing creativity!

From kannammacooks.com: Broccoli Nuggets

This one is fun and healthy!

Ingredients

• 500 grams Broccoli
• 250 grams Cheddar cheese
• 1 Egg
• ½ teaspoon Pepper powder
• ½ teaspoon Garlic powder

Directions:

1. Roughly chop the broccoli into small pieces. Grind the broccoli in a food processor or a mixie until the texture is like rice.
2. Add in shredded cheddar cheese, one egg, pepper powder and garlic powder.
3. Mix all the ingredients well.
4. Line a baking sheet so patties don’t stick.
5. Make two-inch patties and place them on the baking sheet.
6. Bake in preheated 375 F oven for 45 minutes.

Source: http://www.kannammacooks.com/broccoli-nuggets/

Healthy Lunch Ideas: Recipe #1

This is the first post in a series of posts on healthy lunch ideas.

Back to school is right around the corner, which means packing lunches again! Sometimes you need a little inspiration to get those healthy lunches going. So, we will be posting a few recipes or lunch ideas over the next little while. Hope they spark some lunch packing creativity!

From thecomfortofcooking.com: Zuchhini pizza bites

Ingredients:

• 2 large zucchini, cut into ¼ inch thick rounds
• non-stick cooking spray
• kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
• ¼ cup marinar sauc
• ½ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
• ¼ cup mini pepperoni pieces (optional)
• Italian seasoning

Directions

1. Spray both sides of zucchini rounds lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Sprint with salt and pepper and broil or grill for approximately 2 minutes on each side.
2. Place zucchini rounds on large lined baking sheet.
3. Put a small amount of sauce, cheese, and if you want, pepperoni pieces on each.
4. Broil for approximately 1-3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
5. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Source: http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2013/09/zucchini-pizza-bites.html

This is a cool phonics activity from weareteachers.com. We liked it so much we used it ourselves in pre-kindergarten and summer camps!

The above photo on the bottom is from our own take on the activity.

Materials

• Glue stick
• Construction paper
• Broom handle
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Permanent marker

Instructions

1. Cut a slit lengthwise along the entire length of the pool noodle (this is to make it easier to manipulate the pool noodles on your broom stick, or whatever kind of stick you use)
2. Next, cut the pool noodle into one inch pieces.
3. Write 3 different vowels on each of pool noodle segments.
4. Repeat the process with a different colour pool noodle for consonants.
5. Wrap a piece of construction paper around something like a broom stick. Glue into a tube and then twist it off.
6. Slide the pool noodle letters onto the construction paper tube.
7. Have children slide letters on and off the tube and twist the pool noodles to make words!

The colour difference is great because it allows children to see the difference between consonants and vowels and being able to physically manipulate the materials helps interest them in the activity!

Source: http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2016/07/13/here’s-a-really-simple-way-to-teach-phonics-using-pool-noodles

This is a great way to create dot art posted by theimaginationtree.com

Materials

• Cherries
• Paint
• Paper

Instructions

1. It’s pretty simple! Get some unripe cherries (or you can use celery, broccoli, bell peppers, make it into an artistic experiment with different tools if you would like!) and put them out with different colours of liquid paint.
2. Make sure you have a cherry for each colour of paint.
3. Then go ahead and create your art.
4. You can use this activity to practice patterning or go ahead and make whatever your children choose.
5. The extra control necessary for the stem of the cherry is great for fine motor skills.

Source: http://theimaginationtree.com/2016/06/printing-cherries-process-art.html

This week our featured book is “The Dot” by Peter H. Reynolds. The Dot is a fun story about encouraging creativity and believing in yourself. With vibrant yet simple illustrations it is a great read aloud book for a young audience.

If you enjoyed this book check out more from the author including “Ish” and “Someday”.

For a video reading of this book visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS5YU66s5tc

We love this list of things to do for the whole family in the lower mainland from familyfuncanada.com. Here are some of the great ideas, check out the source (at bottom) for more!

1. Picking berries on farms around metro Vancouver (see link at bottom for list of farms and their hours)
2. Explore Capilano Suspension Bridge
3. Check out your local water or spray park
4. Ride the Burnaby Central Railway trains at Confederation Park
5. Take a Paddleboat River Tour on the Fraser River
6. Discover the Greenheart TreeWalk at UBC Botanical Garden
7. Bike the seawall
8. Have a picnic at these cool spots: http://www.familyfuncanada.com/vancouver/top-5-picnic-spots-vancouver/
9. Check out the annual Celebration of Lights fireworks show
10. Visit Playland
11. Visit Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge for free
12. Check out an outdoor movie at Stanley Park
13. AND MORE!

For more family activities inspirations visit (source): http://www.familyfuncanada.com/vancouver/100-family-fun-things-to-do-in-vancouver-this-summer/