Sarah Van Sciver, Author at Allergy Free Menu Planners

Crayon Hearts

I have seen this fun craft in a couple of places and wanted to try it out with Elijah. It can be for Valentine’s Day or any day you feel like making something new out of broken and used up crayons. The best tutorial I have read can be found at the Pink and Green Mama Blog.

If you check out her blog, you will be sure to find other wonderful and fun craft ideas for Valentine’s Day or any day of the year. She also has art lessons that she sells that look great! By the way, I am not an affiliate of her’s and am not making any money by promoting her site. I just really love her blog and wanted to give her credit for this fun craft. I won’t go over the ins and outs of it – just visit her tutorial.

I might add though that if you don’t make the hearts very thick, they are fragile so they will break if handled too roughly. As you can see, one of our’s already broke because my son was sure they were strong enough to walk on. Well, I guess with all hearts, they will break if they are walked on.

My son is supposed to be off honey, fruit and egg whites right now so baking is quite a challenge. But I was thinking about making an egg-free pizza crust tonight in the shape of a heart. I also may make this wonderful raw chocolate pudding since it is free of honey.

I have been completely unsuccessful in limiting fruit in his diet but I have at least been able to switch him from honey to liquid stevia drops, which are awesome! We are now able to drink raw milk (whoo hoo!) so he’s been drinking chocolate milk made with the liquid stevia drops. Yummo!

So, on this Valentine’s Day, I will leave you with the song lyrics to one of my favorite songs right now – “Everybody” by Ingrid Michaelson. If you haven’t heard this song, you can listen to it on Youtube. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson:

We have fallen down again tonight
In this world it’s hard to get it right
Try to make your heart feel like a glove
What it needs is love, love, love

Everybody, everybody wants to love
Everybody, everybody wants to be loved
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Happy is the heart that still feels pain
Darkness drains and light will come again
Swing open up your chest and let it in
Just let the love, love, love begin

Everybody, everybody wants to love
Everybody, everybody wants to be loved
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

oh everybody knows the love
Everybody holds the love
Everybody falls for love

Everybody feels the love
Everybody steals the love,
everybody heals with love
Oh, oh, oh, oh, just let the love, love, love begin

Everybody, everybody wants to love
Everybody, everybody wants to be loved
Oh, oh, oh, Just let the love, love, love begin

Everybody, everybody wants to love
Everybody, everybody wants to be loved
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Everybody feels to love
Everybody steals to be loved
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Everybody, everybody wants to love (oh everybody)
Everybody, everybody wants to be loved (oh everybody)
Oh, oh, oh, (oh everybody) oh, oh, oh (oh everybody) oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh.
Everybody, everybody wants to love (oh everybody)
Everybody, everybody wants to be loved (oh everybody)
Oh, oh, oh, (oh everybody) oh, oh, oh (oh everybody) oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh.

Tahini Bees

Happy New Year everyone!

I wanted to share a simple and kid-friendly snack that I made with my mom when I was a kid. It is one of my fondest memories from childhood; one of those images that just stick out to me when I think about being a kid. But we used peanut butter instead of tahini and dried milk powder instead of coconut. So I’ve made a couple changes but the essence of the recipe is the same: Bees you can eat. What more can a kid ask for as a snack?

You can use any kind of nut butter that works for you. They could be Sunbutter Bees, Peanut Butter Bees, Almond Butter Bees, Cashew Butter Bees. The list is endless. And why not add cocoa powder or cinnamon?!

And how about having your kids help out with making these? They are really fun to make and easy for most kids 2 and above to participate in.

I have to say that I prefer almond, cashew or sunflower butter over the tahini (and my son wasn’t crazy about the tahini taste). But the picture above is of bees made with tahini. And if you’re looking for nut-free recipes, tahini and sunbutter work really well. I haven’t tried coconut butter, however I do think it would work. You may just have to play with the temperature and the amount of honey so that the coconut butter can be made into balls.

Here’s the recipe:

Tahini (or Sunbutter) Bees Recipe:

1/2 cup sunbutter, tahini, or other nut butter of your choice (sunflower butter or nut butter best for kids)
3-4 tablespoons honey
2/3-1 cups unsweetened shredded coconut meat *(see note below)
pumpkin seeds or almonds, soaked and dehydrated

Steps:

1. Combine the tahini (or other nut butter), honey, shredded coconut together in a mixing bowl. Stir until well combined.

2. Add more coconut if mixture is too wet. Form mixture into small ovals. Place on a plate. If you are using almonds, cut them in half lengthwise. To make wings for the bees, push pumpkin seeds or halved almonds into either side of the bee. I used 2 pumpkin seeds for each side but only 1 almond half for each side of the bees.

3. Place in the fridge to harden before enjoying.

Tip:

*If you do not like grated coconut, you could try using a small amount of coconut flour to thicken the mixture.

*Update: I have recently been mixing sunbutter with honey to make it sweeter for my son, and after it is mixed, and sits in the fridge, it is hard enough to roll with your fingers so your really don’t need the coconut or flour. Enjoy!

Crayon Hearts

Tahini Bees

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