Black Bean Avocado Brownies

Sounds weird... Yet they taste awesome!!


Seriously, don't knock it until you try it! They are fairly simple to make too! :) These brownies are also healthy, vegan, and gluten free! Yeah!! I was in the mood for something different and sweet yet healthy. I am sick of Easter candy already. lol. These brownies are PERFECT!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
Soy milk
1 can of black beans (15oz)
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons puréed pears
1 avocado (ripe)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (vegan)
1 teaspoon coconut oil

Yes, there are a lot of ingredients, but it is worth it! Trust me!! :)

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and grease an 8 x 8 pan. Set aside.

2. In a blender (or food processor), mix 2 tablespoons of flaxseed, 2 tablespoons of soy milk, and 2 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce. The batter will be thick.

3. Now add 1 can of drained black beans, 1 avocado, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of puréed pears, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and 1/3-1/2 cup soy milk (depending on how thick you want the batter). Blend until smooth.



4. Now, add 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Blend until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of soy milk if the batter is too thick.

5. Pour the batter into the 8 x 8 pan.

6. In a separate bowl, microwave 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon coconut oil. Only microwave them for 30 seconds at a time stirring after each interval.

7. Once the chocolate chips and coconut oil have melted, pour the mix into the 8 x 8 pan and swirl around with a spoon or knife.



8. Sprinkle some chocolate chips on top.

9. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or a little bit longer, vice versa.

Note: Then brownies will be a little gooey and moist. That is normal and ok!!

10. Enjoy!!! :) My son approves!!

Sweet Potato Tacos

Yes... This is as good as it sounds!! Scott is one amazing chef!!!



Here's what you need:

2 sweet potatoes (peeled and sliced)
1 can of black beans (15 oz.)
1 can of sweet corn
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
Cumin
Chili powder
Smoked paprika
Salt
Tortillas
1/2 of an onion (diced)
1 avocado (diced)
Shredded cheese

What to do:

1. First, wash the sweet potatoes, peel them, cut off the ends, and then chop them into small cubes.

2. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and preheat the oven to 415 F.

3. Mix the sweet potato cubes into a large bowl with vegetable oil, cumin, chili powder, and salt until they are coated. Put them onto the baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes (or longer if you want them crispy).



4. Cook 1 can of corn (drain first) and 1 can of black beans (don't drain) in a standard sized sauce pan with smoked paprika, chili powder, and salt. Heat it over low to medium heat while the potatoes are cooking.



5. Cut up a half of an onion and a full avocado and set aside.



6. Microwave your tortillas, and add some cheese to them.

7. Add the sweet potatoes, corn, beans, onions, and avocado to your tortillas.

8. Enjoy!! :) You will love them!!!

Put Me in the Zoo

Put Me in the Zoo is another one of our favorites!! We spent the week doing some fun things with the book!

Here's what we did:

1. I made Harry a special Put Me in the Zoo themed dinner. I sliced the bread in the shape of the character which resembles a tiger. I added cream cheese and Fruity Pebbles cereal for the spots, broccoli for the grass, cheese for the sun, a carrot for the nose, and a chocolate chip for the eye! It was such a fun dinner!! Harry really enjoyed it!! :)



2. Next, we painted with animals. We dipped the animal feet in paint, and we painted them on paper.



3. We drew pictures of zoo animals. I asked Harry to draw a bear, and this is what he did! Lol. Not bad!


4. Fruity Pebbles French Toast for breakfast! This was delicious! :) You can find my recipe in my blog too.


5. Harry decorated the animal with his different color spots. The goal was to put the color spots onto the white ones.

Note: I google searched and found the picture.




6. We colored a Put Me in the Zoo picture.

Note: I found it on Google.




7. We made a touch and feel spots collage using tissue paper, pom pom balls, cotton balls, and construction paper.



8. Lastly, while reading the story, I decorated Harry in spots! It was pretty funny!!

Living with toddlers

Have you ever wanted a moment or two alone as a parent?? It's hardly even possible!!! You can run, but you can't hide. They WILL find you!!! Ha!! I was taking a quick bathroom break today, and I had the door closed. My 30 seconds of peace was quickly shattered when Harry proudly stuck his hand through the door and started laughing. Busted!!! I, too, thought it was hilarious and snapped a quick picture! There is truly never a dull moment in parenting. ;)

Fruity Pebbles French Toast

Here's a fun breakfast for kids and adults! You can make Fruity Pebbles French toast. It's a lot less sugar than syrup too! Of course, Fruity Pebbles have sugar in them too, so I wouldn't recommend eating this all day long. Lol.

Here's what you need:
3-4 slices of multigrain or wheat bread
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup Fruity Pebbles cereal
1/2 teaspoon butter

What to do:

1. Whisk together the eggs and milk in a bowl.

2. Crush up some Fruity Pebbles with your hand, and stir them into the bowl.

3. Dunk the bread on each side into the bowl.

4. Turn a burner on medium heat, and add butter to grease the pan.

5. Cook each slice of bread until lightly brown.

6. Enjoy!! :)

Plastic Bag Plant

Planting with toddlers (and all ages) has never been easier!! Using a plastic bag, paper towel, and beans from the grocery store, you can make your own mini garden.

Here's what you need:
2-4 black beans
Paper towels
Plastic Ziploc bag



What to do:

1. First, fold the paper towel in sixths, and place it in the bag.


2. Then using a medicine dropper and cup of water, have your child wet the paper towel in the bag.

Note: Monitor your child and make sure that they don't over water it.



3. Place the beans on the paper towel and seal up the bag. The bag now acts like a greenhouse for the beans.

Harry is poking at the beans after he put them in the bag. :)




4. Give the beans about 6-8 hours of sunlight per day. You can either place them by a window or outside.

Note: We put them outside today. :)



5. Be sure to check your bag every 1-2 days to see if it needs more water.

***Once your plant has outgrown the bag, you can plant it in a pit or outside.***

Birds' Nest Easter Cookies

... So when it comes to making cookies, I am not an artist, and I am not very good at making them. I do, however, have fun making holiday themed cookies! These cookies were a little different. They are birds' nest cookies.

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups flour
1 cup salted butter (2 sticks, softened)
1 cup of sugar (or applesauce)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract


Here is how you make them:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. (Note: It helps if the butter is already slightly soft.)

2. Next, slowly add the vanilla extract and flour until everything is blended together.

3. Once the mixture blended and a dough is formed, wrap it up in cling wrap, and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

4. Put a little flour on your counter or hard surface, and roll the dough out.

5. Then in three separate bowls, put yellow, pink, and purple sprinkles to coat the dough.


6. Dip balls of the dough in the sprinkles until a thin layer of sprinkles is around it.

7. Then, grease a cupcakes pan, and mold the balls of dough inside each hole.

8. Put shredded coconut, sprinkles, and a few jelly beans in the middle.


9. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and bake for about 22 minutes.

10. Let cool and enjoy!!! :)

Note: I know that mine look very goofy, but I tried!

Allergy Friendly Chocolate Easter Eggs

Well, I found that my son was allergic to peanuts when he was 10 months. Right now he has a moderate allergy, but it could get more severe over time. So of course, I am a nervous wreck when it comes to parties, food, etc.. Peanut ingredients are in sooooooo many things!!! We also need to stay away from anything that was made in a facility that processes peanuts too. It's very difficult. This eliminates A LOT of candy for him.

The peanut butter filled chocolate Easter eggs are my favorite candy. Unfortunately because my son has an allergy to peanuts, it is extremely difficult for us to have them. Instead, I decided to make sunflower butter filled chocolate eggs for us so Harry can be included too!! :) Sunflower butter is an excellent substitute for peanut butter. Sunflower butter chocolate eggs are quite delicious too. ;)

Here's what you need:
1 cup sunflower butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter



So how do you make these? It's simple, but it will take you about an hour.

Here is what you do:

1. First, combine all of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips and mix them in a blender or food processor.
Note: You may need to stir several times to prevent clumping.



2. Line two plates with wax paper.

3. Using a spoon, scoop small egg shaped fillings onto the wax paper.




4. Refrigerate them for 25 minutes.

5. In microwave safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips in 30 second intervals while stirring occasionally to prevent clumping.

6. Pull the fillings out of fridge. Then using a fork, dip them in the melted chocolate for their coating.



7. Then place the chocolates back in the fridge for another 25 minutes. This gives the chocolate time to harden around the filling.

8. Enjoy!!!! :)



Note: They are best kept in the fridge because sunflower butter tends to get gooey at room temperature.

Apples and more!

Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss is one of Harry's favorite books!! We read everyday! This week we did a few lessons and activities on the book and made it come alive. I think I enjoyed the activities just as much as he did. :)

Here's a look at everything we did this week:

1. We painted with apples. I cut an apples in half, put red, green, and yellow paint in a container, and we dip the apple halves in it to paint. We both enjoyed this activity. I painted too! ;)



2. I made Harry a very creative dinner to kick off the week too. Using bread, lettuce, cheese, yogurt, apples, carrots, radishes, and cabbage, I made an edible picture of Harry balancing 10 apples on his head! I love food art, so this was fun!!


3. Number matching!! Of course this required a lot of help from me, but Harry will be able to do this on own once he is a little older. This is a great way to learn how to count. While reading Ten Apples Up on Top, we matched the red number circles with the number of apples the characters had on their heads. Then we matched the red number circles to the corresponding green dot squares. We turned one of our favorite books into an excellent learning tool!




4. Harry has 10 apples up on top! Using a picture of Harry and his fingerprints, we made a picture of him balancing 10 apples on his head.


5. We made the book come alive! I laminated pictures of the characters and 10 apples to do this. Then on each page, we worked together, and matched the correct number of apples each character had on their heads. This required a lot of help from me, but Harry will be able to do it on his own when he is older. This was also a great way to practice counting!!

Visit my blog for how I made this activity!





6. Balancing apples!! I thought we would take turns balancing apples in our heads just like the characters. It turns out that it was quite difficult but very funny!! We each could only balance one apple on top of our heads!



7. Painting with applesauce. Harry is not a fan of applesauce, so I decided that he could paint with it instead. Success!!