Monday, November 26, 2012

Octopus Hotdogs

So we survived another birthday party this past weekend. My 2nd son, Ellis, turned 2 on Sunday. He knew he wanted a Nemo birthday party, so we made it happen for him. Complete with a paleo lunch that was right up his alley...Octopus Hotdogs!

It was really a fun twist ... and my kids favorite lunch, actually. We served all these kids these fun little sea creatures and the adults had their choice of Italian Sausage. On the side we had onions and peppers saute'd in a tomato sauce, which is also one of Ellis' favorites. (Which is weird when a kid asks for onions and peppers constantly...but its his fav! A good one to have since its a staple over here). As you may have figured, an octopus hotdog is very simple to make...but none the less, the recipe is below.

Octopus Hotdogs


1-6 (preferably (preferrably no added nitrates)
2 raisins per hotdog

Instructions: Cook the hotdog however you please. I like them boiled, but I know some like to microwave due to the quickness factor. Begin to slice hot dog length-wise, but leave the last 2 inches in tact. Cut this same way until the hotdog has 8 legs. Spread onto a plate. Add 2 raisin eyes by either making them stick on their own, or add tooth picks (but please remember to remove before eating. That wouldn't be tasty). Enjoy!
These would be great for any kind of under sea themed party for kids. Loved the idea and I hope you do too!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving



The kids got a kick out of snack time today. We had a Thanksgiving Treat at snack time. Like any other awesome idea, I probably borrowed it from something I saw somewhere on the web and changed it a bit to fit what we have in the house. So I had apples and raisins in the pantry...so I decided to tap into my creative side.

A Raisin and Apple Turkey. Awesomely easy Paleo Thanksgiving Treat.


A Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving to you all!!!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Go Ahead...Play with your food


So I am pretty much a clean freak. I think something happened when I was pregnant with my first son that made me that way... I sure wasn't like that growing up. I think I always try to think of all the clean-up I'll have to do after the fact, and try to prevent the mess from happening in the first place. Well having 2 kids, boys at that, has surely taught me there is no way to prevent a mess.

I have learned a very valuable lesson having messy boys around. If you can't prevent it...just have fun with it! That is something I have to remind myself daily, because my boys really do have much more fun when they don't have so many rules all the time. The dinner table is usually the place we try to teach manners, and how to eat in a polite way. Don't get me wrong, we sure do that on most occasions. But once in awhile we shake it up. Jacob was going through another "no, I don't like that," stage. Every parent has their ways of handling their child and their eating habits. What works for Jacob...playing with his food.

Jacob - eating cucumber "sandwich" on top of a spinach "blanket"

One night I told him to pretend with his food. I called his spinach a blanket and he thought it was the most clever thing ever. He carefully wrapped his shredded chicken on top of the blanket and put another piece of spinach over it. He started talking to his food like they were characters in a long-drawn out story. At the end...he ate. That's all I wanted. Just eat, kid. Although it took an extra half hour for him to finish...he ate everything on his plate.

He loves stacking cucumber circles into "sandwiches", rolling up things in his spinach "blankets," and un-rolling his meat roll ups to bite different shapes in the middle. Some times its gross when he puts things on the table and mixes things together that I don't even want to try. But it is getting him to eat healthy, paleo dinners that make him feel good. Actually, I should go and clean up what is left from our lunch creations before it dries onto the table.