Autumn is in the Air: Time to Turn on the Oven and Bake a Cake

Posted on September 19, 2011 by viviankirkfield

I love the fall…cool crisp mornings and warm sunny afternoons.

Here in Colorado, the aspen leaves will be turning to gold, while back in New England where my daughter and her family live; the maples will be wearing flaming headdresses of scarlet, crimson and purple.

Many parents will be helping their children plan their Halloween costumes and decorate the house with pumpkins and sheaves of autumn wheat and Indian corn. Years ago, our local library had an annual pumpkin-painting contest and all of my children looked forward to choosing the “perfect” pumpkin to decorate and enter…hoping to win the coveted first place prize ribbon.

As the weather cools down, many of us start getting out the muffin pans and cookie sheets in preparation for holiday baking. I encourage parents to include their children in meal preparation…and holiday baking is an especially fun time to have your kids in the kitchen. If you are looking for simple child-friendly recipes, you’ll find dozens of them in my book, Show Me How!

Here’s a wonderful recipe for Carrot Cake that doesn’t appear in the book. It’s special enough for festive occasions, but simple enough so that young children can help.

The best thing about this cake is that it is very nutritious (one pound of carrots in each cake) and easy on the digestive system. I recommend it for anyone who suffers from IBS or GERD problems.

CARROT CAKE

You will need: 1½ cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, 1½ tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 egg beaten, ½ cup canola oil, 1 tsp vanilla, zest of 1 orange, 1 pound baby carrots grated, ¾ cup pineapple chunks with juice (about ½ cup), 2 bowls, 1 Bundt pan lightly greased, blender or food processor.

Mix in large bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
Mix in another bowl: brown sugar, beaten egg, canola oil, vanilla, orange zest.
Use a blender or food processor to grate the carrots and add the pineapple chunks and juice and blend until fairly smooth.
Add the carrot/pineapple mixture to the brown sugar/egg mixture and stir well till blended.
Add this to the flour mixture and stir gently but thoroughly..
Pour/spoon into lightly greased Bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. After 30 minutes or so, turn upside down on a serving plate and allow the cake to continue cooling.
For storage, cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator up to one week.

For parents who are local to the Colorado Springs area

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE

STAYING HEALTHY

THIS SCHOOL YEAR!

SHOW-ME-HOW STORY-TIME PROGRAM

Saturday, September 24, 2011

12 to 12:45pm

Family Christian Store: 7165 N. Academy

719-598-1500 to RSVP

Or email vivian@positiveparentalparticipation.com

Bring your young children and listen to a story
Help your child make a simple craft project
Get a free flyer: Have a Healthier School Year

Vivian Kirkfield is a local author, former kindergarten and Head Start teacher and mom of three. Her parenting program and award-winning activity book for ages 2-7, Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking, has helped thousands of parents build self-esteem, develop pre-literacy skills and create a stronger parent-child connection.

Wrap It Up For Easy Summer Dining: Make-A-Meal Monday

Posted on May 17, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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Want a delicious lunch or dinner idea that’s easy to make and fun to eat?

Fill a whole wheat tortilla wrap!

Use shrimp, tuna or chicken salad and add lettuce, tomato, sprouts, mashed avocado to increase the nutritional benefits.

Do you have creative ideas for filling the tortilla wrap?

You can pair the wrap with corn on the cob or oven fries and your family will think that summer is already here.

Young children love to participate in the kitchen. Why not invite them to mix the salad ingredients and sprinkle on the sprouts? Talk about which foods grow and which foods come from animal sources. While you take care of the corn or oven fries, your children can be creating colorful placemats using construction paper and crayons.

Looking for more healthy child-friendly cooking activities to keep your little ones happy and busy this summer. Check out my book, now on sale for 50% off the cover price. Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking is an Indie Excellence Awards Finalist and provides hundreds of easy fun-filled educational craft and cooking activities for young children.

What are your plans for this summer? If you stop by tomorrow, I’ll have a craft idea that your children will love that is educational and fun to do.

Making Memories With Your Children: Summer Craft Activities

Posted on May 14, 2011 by viviankirkfield

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I was in Chicago last weekend for Mother’s Day with my son and daughter-in-law. I also had an opportunity to visit with my sister and her sons and their families.

One evening, we all got together at a fantastic BBQ, hosted by my nephew and his wife. We all had a great time…the food was not only delicious, but healthful as well…kudos to Dave and Rebecca!

After dinner, we sat down to look at the old photo albums my sister had brought. As we turned the pages and my son and his cousin (both in their 30’s) exclaimed over each picture, I realized how important the pictures were…they reminded these grown men of the children they had been and the activities they had been involved in when they were young.

Summer is just around the corner…I know many parents are wondering how they will fill the long hot days with their children.

Of course, there are various solutions to this problem:

Put them in some kind of day camp…might be costly.
Sit them in front of the TV…how many cartoons do you really want them to watch?
Send them to someone else’s house…don’t you want to be the one they get their values and information from?

What is my solution to the problem of young children home for the summer?

READING…CRAFTING…COOKING!

Young children are always eager to hear a good picture book story.

Young children love arts and crafts.

Young children enjoy helping in the kitchen.

If you buy a copy of my book that is FILLED with picture book suggestions and summaries, easy arts and crafts activities and simple healthful recipes, you will be prepared for the long hot summer days ahead.

For starters, here’s a great idea that comes from Show Me How! Build Your Child’s Self-Esteem Through Reading, Crafting and Cooking. It will help capture those memories for your child as you create a photo album together.

AN ALBUM OF ME

You will need: A small blank photo album, a selection of photos of your child at different stages of his or her life, self-stick labels and a fine point marker.

1. With your child, go through some of the pictures that you have of him from birth to the present…and let him choose several to include in his own album. Make copies if you want to keep the originals in the family album.

2. Help your child insert each photo and then write a description (with his input) on a label or small strip of paper and press or glue it on the bottom of each page.

3. Listen to your child while he turns the pages of his album and tells you the story of his life.

4. Important tip: keep a camera handy…you never know when a photo opportunity arises.

Activities like this help:

build your child’s self-esteem!
develop pre-reading skills!
create a life-long parent-child bond!
keep your child busy in a constructive positive fun-filled way that will be fun for you also!