With St Patrick’s Day coming up, The Cackleberries Team put on their thinking caps and started brainstorming food ideas that would make March 17th green, festive, and fun for the whole family!  Here’s what we came up with…..

Appetizer Ideas…

• Asparagus
• Green beans
• Pea soup
• lettuce wraps (with beef or chicken)
• Green apples
• Celery Sticks
• Guacamole
• Avocado Sushi rolls

Salad ingredients…..

Try making an all green salad – this shouldn’t be too hard but try the following:

• Lettuce
• Cucumber
• Green Peppers
• Green Onions
• Snap Peas
• Kiwis
• Mint

Side Dishes….

• Steamed Broccoli
• Basil, Green Tomatoes and Bocconcini Cheese
• Grilled Asparagus
• Peas

Main Course Ideas….

• Green Curry
• Cream of Broccoli Soup
• Banana Leaf Rice
• Spinach Lasagne

Dessert

• Green Jello Cubes
• Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• Green fruit Medley (Kiwis, Green Grapes, and Green Apples)
• Green Tea

That’s our list!  Have any more ideas?  We’d love to here them at info@cackleberries.com. 

With the Olympics looming, things in Vancouver are reaching a fever pitch so The Cackleberries Team figured it was high time we got on the bandwagon and offered up some Olympic 2010 recipe ideas for you and your kids.  Be sure to stay tuned for the weeks ahead as we offer more fun ideas to get you in the sporting spirit!

Today’s Olympic theme feature is……

Olympic Ring Cookies

The concept here is pretty simple.  just follow the steps below to achieve a gold medal of approval from your family!

1 – Select your favourite shortbread cookie recipe and bake as many cookies as as you want

2 – When ready, use a cookie cutter to cut out circles and a smaller cutter to cut out the centres

3 – bake the cookies as directed in your recipe

4 – Allow the cookies to cool

5 – Prepare or purchase frosting for the five colors required to make the Olympic rings

6 – Serve and Enjoy!

Valentine Heart Necklace Cookies

With Valentines Day not far away, we went searching for some fun themed valentine treats that you can make at home with your kids.  From our search, we located not only a great recipe to make but also a fun valentines craft to do with your children!

Today’s valentines Treat is…..

heart necklace Valentine cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 3 drops red food coloring
• 2 1/4 ounces colored candy sprinkles
• 60 long red vine licorice

Directions

1. Cream 1 cup butter or margarine and 3/4 cup white sugar together. Blend in egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and grated lemon peel. Sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture and blend well. Cover and refrigerate dough for approximately 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use a floured heart shaped 1 to 2 inch cookie cutter and cut dough into heart shapes. Place the cut-out hearts on greased cookie sheets.
4. Using the drinking straw, make a hole at the top center of each heart before baking. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until very lightly browned. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
5. To Make Butter Frosting: Mix 3 cups confectioners’ sugar and 1/3 cup butter together. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons milk. Beat until smooth making sure frosting is of spreading consistency. Stir in food coloring to create a pink or red colored frosting, if desired.
6. After cookies have cooled, frost and decorate them with nonpareils, sprinkles, dragees, or colored sugar. Use a toothpick to dislodge the hole, if necessary. Let the frosting dry.
7. To make a necklace, tie the ends off of two pieces of red colored licorice with a knot. Thread it through the hole at the top center of the cookie. Tie the other ends off with another knot to create a "chain." Makes approximately 30 heart necklaces.

*Recipe Courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Toddler Finger Food Recipes by Cackleberries.com

Continuing with our healthy Snack Recipes for Kids Series, today we focus on a variety of simple, healthy, and time-saving snacks that are choices to feed to your kids – whether at home or on the go!

Toddler Finger Food Snack Ideas

Cheese Sticks/Cubes – Either prepared yourself or bought readymade, Cheese cubes are a great source of energy and will keep your child from going hungry, especially when you’re out of the house.

Cereal – Simply take some cereal you have around home and pour some into a bowl or Ziploc bag.  Served dry, cereal is as easy a snack as it gets.

Fresh Fruit – if you have a couple minutes, cutting up some fresh fruit is always a great way to make sure your child eats a healthy snack.

Bread – What toddler doesn’t like a simple piece of bread as a quick and easy snack?

Crackers – Another simple but effective children’s snack are crackers.  Ritz, Stone-wheat thins, triscuit or premium plus are all good options

Mini-Sandwiches – these can be as simple as crackers and cheese or more complex including other healthy ingredients like cucumber and avocado – the sky is the limit.

Dried Fruit – not only is dried fruit good for your child but it is also great to have around the house since it’s not messy and lasts a long time

Sliced Vegetables – similar to fresh fruit, if you have a couple minutes, sliced vegetables are a great way to ensure your child is getting their fill of those important vitamins.  If your child is fussy, you can always try serving them with a dip.

Mini-Muffins – whether store bought or homemade, your children will love them!  Not only can you pack them full of bran or oats to ensure they’re healthy but your children will love eating mini-muffins because they make them feel like a grownup eating a child size version of something!

So there are some ideas of Toddler Finger Food Recipes that are easy to prepare, healthy to eat, and something that your child will enjoy!

Healthy Kids Snack Recipe # 2 – Cornbread

Continuing with our new years health kick, we have another healthy snack recipe for you and your kids!  if you missed last weeks snack recipe, you can find it here – Healthy Snack # 1

This week, we’ve got another tasty recipe for you and your family to try.  This week, we show you how to make…..

Cackleberries Cornbread – Kids Healthy Snack Recipes Series

Here’s what you’ll need…

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of Cornmeal
• 1 cup of Milk
• 1 cup of Flour
• 1/4 cup of Canola Oil
• 1 Tablespoon of Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 cup of thawed, canned, or fresh Corn

And here’s how to make this snack…

Directions

1. Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl
2. Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Grease a bread pan with shortening or butter
4. Mix together the contents of the bowl thoroughly until smooth and consistent
5. Add the corn and mix together
6. Pour the contents of the bowl into the greased baking pan
7. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the top of the bread has turned a golden brown
8. Allow to cool slightly then Serve and Enjoy

And with that, you have another great and healthy snack recipe for kids!  See you next week for another tasty snack idea.