Bunchland

What we’re reading today:

1. New play date trend: signing a waiver. Are people threatening legal action action play dates gone wrong? Can we add sub-clauses re: reasonable, expected childhood injuries like scraped knees from skateboarding?

2. You know how toddlers are so irresistibly cute and you can’t get mad at them but you have no trouble yelling at their older siblings if they’ve misbehaved? Yeah, science shows babies loose their cuteness at 4.5-years-old. If any genius 3-year-olds are reading this, live it up while you can! You can’t rely on your adorableness to get you out of trouble forever.

3. Parents are going to have to shell out a little more money on Easter eggs this year. Europe is low on eggs. Between Norway’s butter shortage and the current egg crisis, it’s like the world is trying to deny Europe rich desserts. Egg production has dropped about 10-15 percent since the EU’s new requirements for bigger, better cages for egg-laying hens. Eh, maybe this is the Western privilege coming out, but raising egg prices and making them slightly less easy to come by doesn’t seem like the worst idea…  Read more...

Spring produce is screaming for homemade tarts

Tarts are most versatile dish out there. They can be adapted into desserts, dinner, breakfast or lunch. We’ve rounded up five recipes that eliminate the delicate and time consuming affair of the cutting of butter into flour, waiting while the dough chills in the fridge, and gingerly pressing it into tart pans. Not kid-friendly. These ones let you cut to the chase — filling that shell. We reckon tarts can taste just as good when you buy frozen because after all, what really matters is the seasonal fillings. Spring food is happy food!

ASPARAGUS TART WITH CAULIFLOWER CRUST

Get even more veggies in by making a pastry crust out of cauliflower! No magic assembly required, just a food processor or a cheese grater and a hankering for some killer vitamins. This creative recipe comes from ABC’s and garden peas.  Read more...

Tear open the shutters, throw up the sash and make this month your FRIEND!

January: the month that induces cringing with its mere mention. Your kids hate snowsuits, winter driving sucks, and all you want to do is jump ship and go to Mexico. We can’t help you with that, but we can help you transform your home into a nest of awesome. How to make this cold, bleak, uneventful month not suck? Do some mood boosting, laughter inducing, feel-good stuff.

EGGS: PUTTING THE SUN IN SUNNY SIDE UP

Cod liver oil is the enduring arch nemesis of kids the world over. In the 20^th century, spoonfuls of this stuff drove children up stairs and down stairs, into closets and behind couches. It was used as a cure for ricketts, a bone disease. In the early 1900s, it was discovered that what made it so effective was its vitamin D content.  Read more...

Slipping around in the snow requires energy and that bowl of Fruity O’s might not cut it

We don’t need to convince you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially for kids. But in the winter, little bodies have different needs. A stick-to-your-ribs morning meal should ideally have some protein, iron, whole grains and of course, a proper dose of fun. These weekday winter breakfasts offer some great ways to pump your kids full of good stuff before they venture out with a smile.

COCOA HAZELNUT OATMEAL

Reminiscent of Nutella but more action packed. The oats in this tasty bowl from grandparents.com are full of iron, protein, and beta-gluten, a fibre that amps up the immune system. Hazelnuts are high in healthy fats and high on awesome taste. The best part? Your kids get to have chocolate for breakfast.  Read more...

Jodi Lariviere shares seasonal recipes that are as healthy as they are yummy

Did you all catch a break from breakfast-making duty this past weekend? Shouldn’t Mother’s Day happen all the time? Well it can certainly feel like it by teaching your kids to make one really great breakfast all on their own. It won’t take much before they want to make you a special breakfast every weekend! What’s so great about this recipe? No sharp knives needed, it has a funny name and it’s really tasty.

Kids will need supervision and a crash course on cooking safety, but older kids will be able to pull off this recipe pretty much on their own once they have been given some instruction. Remember how excited you were when they learned to tie their own shoes because you knew you wouldn’t always have to be the one doing it?? Prepare to feel that times 10 because this time you get something delicious out of the process!  Read more...

You’ve dyed, coloured and splattered dozens of eggs. Now what?

In celebration of both Earth Day AND Easter, we wanted to give you Bunchlanders a great idea for what to do with all those fabulously coloured Easter egg shells!

It is just crazy easy to make these shells into planters.  Of course, this will only work if you emptied the eggs out before dying them.  You’ve already got an empty eggshell with a hole in it, so from there you simply spoon potting soil into the eggshell.  Pop in some seeds, water – et voila!  Awesome planters.

Once the plants begin to outgrow the shells, simply crack the shells and plant them as is – plants love eggshell nutrients!  And we love eggshell crafts.  For reals.

Photo by Pie in the Sky via Flickr

Clare Crespo of Yummyfun Kooking shares this Easter craft

We here at Bunch HQ are giant Clare Crespo fans. Her recipes are awesome. So of course we were super-pleased that she shared a very spring-like and Easterly recipe from her book, The Secret Life of Food.

You’ll need:

• Vegetable oil
• 3 cups mini marshmallows
• 3 Tablespoons butter (plus 1 teaspoon for your hands)
• 4 cups chow mein noodles
• 12 yogurt-covered almonds or jelly beans

Steps:
1. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and coat well with vegetable oil.

2. In a saucepan, melt the marshmallows and butter together over medium-low heat. Stir until smooth.

3. Pour marshmallow mixture over noodles in a large mixing bowl, and stir until well coated.

4. Rub butter on your clean hands and form balls out of the noodle mixture. Place on sheet.  Read more...