February 22, 2015

Two Ingredient Fruit Roll-Ups


This girl loves her sugar.  (I have no idea where she gets it.)
I am always looking for ways I can give her some sweetness without the intense sugar high.  So when I came across a two ingredient fruit roll-up recipe on my aunt's feed I had to try it - immediately.  Seriously, I grabbed Ella and we got right down to making some fruit roll-ups.  


All you need are two ingredients.  

Fruit & Honey (or some other sweetener)

We used strawberries and blueberries with a tablespoon of agave nectar sweetener.  Tossed it in the blender till it was a nice puree and then poured it out on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  FYI - the parchment paper is kind of necessary.  Set the oven for 225 degrees and bake for 3 hours.  
Yes, 3 HOURS.

One nap and one outfit change later we were enjoying our fruit roll-ups. 


Leaving it on the parchment paper, cut them into strips and roll them up to enjoy now or later.

We chose now.

(Ella has started a new fashion statement - underwear as outerwear.  Yes, she does wear this out of the house.)


The official review:  great flavor but we need to master the texture.  I've heard these referred to as fruit leathers and it makes sense.  These were a tad tough nothing too bad.  Next time I will pour the mixture a little thicker and more even.  Or if I can't get the mixture to pour thicker, I will bake it a little less.  I'm not sure this will be a common go-to snack for us.  They were yummy and a fun change but I have no issue getting Ella to eat fresh fruit so I probably won't go through the effort (although small) to make these very often.

Bottom line:  Fun, tasty and super easy but not a new obsession.  
We will definitely make them again though.  

February 5, 2015

Valentine's Day Card Making With Kids




We've been working on our valentines over here.  Our first photo shoot didn't go too well and entailed a lot of tears and tantrums and a few overzealous moments of love which then resulted in more tears.  Fortunately the second attempt was a little better.




While the kiddos may not have appreciated the photo taking, Ella did love the card decorating.  
She took it VERY seriously.


Or at least it seemed like she was until I saw her notes......


Is it just me or do these look...well...like...boobies?

I apologize in advance to whoever receives these.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!