LilSugar

Delilicious: A Shortcut to Cookies and Time With Your Child

LilSugar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Life is busy, so make it sweet. Moms on tight schedules may not have time to bake cookies from scratch after a long day at the office or park, but their children can still benefit from kitchen time together and indulge in a treat. A few weeks ago, I bought a bag of Chocolate Chunk Better Bakes ($4) at Whole Foods. The container of organic pre-portioned cookie dough from Immaculate Baking Company shortened the timely task of batter-making. My daughter just popped a few circles onto a baking sheet, and I put it in a 325 degree oven for 14 minutes. Once the cookies cooled, she had fun making them into lil sandwiches by spreading ice cream or peanut butter between two and fusing them together. To fancy up the edges, she then rolled them in chocolate sprinkles or crushed peanuts. Since the dough bits are quarter-size, they make great mini desserts.

What Kind of Cake Mom Are You?

babysugar — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:00:44 -0700

Vanilla or chocolate? When it comes to wee one's birthday cakes, the possibilities are endless. Many mothers prefer to bake their own enlisting tiny, helping hands and spoon-licking tongues while other mommies prefer to pick up a bakery's special concoction that is sure to please the kids - big and small. When a tot requests an ice-cream dessert, mum may be pressed to call Ben and Jerry's or Baskin Robbins just for sake of ease. And then there's me - the mom that still adores good old sheet cake from the supermarket - confection sugar and all. When she leaves it in someone else's hands, mama just better pray they spell the name right!

What kind of cake mom are you?

Home Free Treats For Children With Allergies

LilSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 04:00:35 -0700

Mamas of tots with dairy, nut or egg allergies have a tough time of it when attending birthday parties or simply looking for a baked good to snack on during the day. Most allergy-free packaged goods are lacking flavor and substance and are better left untouched. Home Free Treats puts an end to that kind of thinking. Though the goodies are baked without peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, wheat or dairy in a kitchen with all new appliances and a separate delivery area (providing space for deliveries to be wiped down before entering the cooking area), they taste great! Their organic, whole-grain filled cookies and cakes don't even contain high fructose corn syrup, making them desirable to moms who are also looking out for the wee ones' general health too.

Delilicious: Passover-Friendly Choco-Toffee Matzoh

LilSugar — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:00:36 -0700

Though some parents do not require their kids to keep Passover's dietary laws, the holiday's central food item - matzoh - is something that can be enjoyed by any tot comfortable eating solid foods. As a replacement for bread, or chametz, matzoh is transformed into many forms throughout the holiday - from matzoh balls (dumplings in soup), and farfel (stuffing) to matzoh brei (omelette) and desserts. In an effort to transform a sheet of matzoh into a sweet Passover snack, a friend and her baker-in-training got to work on some choco-toffee matzoh that allowed him to use his preschool creativity when adding toppings to the scrumptious treat.
To see how to make this kid-friendly recipe, read more.

View 8 Photos ›

Adapted from Marcy Goldman's BetterBaking.com
Ingredients:
4 to 5 pieces of matzoh
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Toppings, as desired (we used marshmallows, sprinkles and dried apricots)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
Place the matzoh in one layer on the baking sheet
In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once the mixture reaches a boil, continue to cook for three minutes, still stirring, until thickened and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan.
Remove from heat and pour over the matzoh, spreading an even layer with a heat-proof spatula.
Put the pan in the oven, then immediately turn the heat down to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't burn.
After 15 minutes, the toffee should have bubbled up and turned a rich golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the chocolate over the pan.
Let sit for five minutes, then spread the now-melted chocolate evenly with a spatula.
Add your favorite toppings while the chocolate is still melted.
Let cool completely, then break into smaller pieces and store in an airtight container.

Mural Meal: Prehistoric Dino Dinner

babysugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:00:00 -0700

The only food I sometimes have trouble getting my daughter to eat is meat. But, she'll always go for chicken nuggets. Barring fast food from her diet, I discovered a seemingly good option in the frozen section aisle of my grocery store. The Yummy Dino Buddies are all white meat nuggets with Omega 3 value. Better yet, I knew I could create another masterpiece with the prehistoric figures.

To see what I used for this mural meal, read more.

Ingredients:

Four dinosaur nuggets
Black beans
Zucchini
Honey
Marshmallows
Optional: Whoppers and ketchup

Cooking the food:

Drain the can of black beans and rinse.
Slice zucchinis in long strips and cut in half. Saute with a pat of butter and garlic salt.
Bake dinosaur nuggets for 12 minutes at 425.

Placing the goodies on the plate:

First lay out the beans on the plate.
Next, create some sort of vegetation with the zucchini; a tree, bushes or what have you.
Place the dinosaurs a top the beans.
Use the honey to make a sun in the corner. Kids love dipping nuggets in honey. If you prefer, substitute ketchup.
For the treat, use marshmallows to make clouds in the sky.

I have a few candied eggs left over from Easter so I placed on the plate as an added bonus. It gave me the opportunity to teach her a lesson about dinosaur eggs over dinner.

View 8 Photos ›

Kelly Ripa Talks Motherhood and "Me" Time

LilSugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:00:50 -0700

Kelly Ripa's a lil bombshell. The funny lady juggles hosting a TV show, her family of five, and still finds time for charity events, commercials, and magazine covers. This month, her piercing blue eyes grace the cover of First. In the accompanying interview the woman who seems to have it all talked about motherhood and needing "me" time.

On the importance of spending time alone: "I try to run everyday in the park. It's crucial to know who you are and how you feel. I find that I'm a better wife and mom if I take a half hour for myself every day. It can feel selfish, but it makes a big difference. If you don't do it, you'll feel overwhelmed and resentful. You want people to feel they can count on you. I feel they can when I take care of myself."

To see what Kelly said about her upbringing, read more.

On her traditional family life: "Marriage and having kids really agrees with us. Mark helps with homework, while I'll do a baking project for school. We look at each other and think, if our friends could see us
now, they wouldn't believe what we've become! We really enjoy what our life has developed into. I try to do it all, and I don't do any of it particularly well. But at least I try. Sometimes the cookies get burnt, but what are you going to do?"

Remembering her well-rounded upbringing: "My mother was way ahead of herself in terms of creative expression. Mom thought it was important for us to have music and dance lessons. There were times when I told her that I wasn't going to have time to do all my homework, and she would say, 'Well, I think it's more important that you're well-rounded.' She definitely struck the right balance."

Taking a night out for herself: "During the summer, we do a once-a-month girls' night out. We'll meet for coffee or go to the beach together with the kids. Our husbands are always like, 'Why can't we join you?' I'm like, 'Um, it's called girls' night out. Why don't you have your own night out?' "

Delilicious: Animal Cookies

LilSugar — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:35:42 -0800

Whether your kid is a pint-sized PETA member or a child carnivore, there's no denying these sweet, animal treats. And the only thing better than those cute, red boxes the commercial animal cookies come in is making a batch yourself! So grab an aproned lil buddy and a couple of cookie cutters and get baking!

Cream 1 lb. of butter with 3 and 3/4 cups of sugar. Add five eggs, two tbsp. of vanilla and ten tbsp. of milk. Next, add two tsp. of baking soda to eight and a half cups of flour. Then add the flour to the mixture - a bit at a time - and blend well. Roll on floured board and cut into animal shapes with cutters. Bake at 350°F for ten minutes. Makes about 200 cookies depending on the size of your cutters.

Delilicious: Flat Earth Veggie Crisps

babysugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:00:00 -0700

A sucker for chips, it is no surprise to me that my lil one will bend over backwards to get her teeny fingers on a crisp treat. I often use a bag o' goodies to bribe my wee one into eating her dinner. Grabbing lunch the other day, I spotted a new package among the typical Cheetos, Lays, and Doritos. In a bright and wholesome looking wrap, I discovered Flat Earth baked veggie crisps. Curious to see if they taste as good as they sounded, I bought the bag and gave them a munch.

To see how I liked the crisps, read more.

As advertised, the veggie chips were "impossibly good" and taste just as delicious, if not better, than their grease soaked potato counterparts. For each snack sack, you get over half a serving of real vegetables. Unlike many snacks available to kids these days, Flat Earth Crisps have no artificial flavors or preservatives. So the next time I tempt my tot with a "chip," I won't feel so guilty knowing she is fulfilling part of her daily vegetable quota.

Delilicious: Playful Chef

LilSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 05:00:39 -0700

Inviting kids to help in the kitchen is one thing, but giving them an apron of their own is another.

There's no better way for a child to feel the culinary excitement pulse through their veins than with one of these adorable aprons from Playful Chef ($40).

To learn about the kit, read more.

The kit grants lil cooks independence with their own tool belt apron, 10 kid-sized cooking tools, five illustrated recipes, color coded measuring spoons that match the cards and a backpack to store all the supplies.

The vinyl carry-all makes transporting the goodies over to grandma's for a baking lesson easy on a tot.