Apple “Cupcakes”
September 21st, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Peter’s school throws a birthday party for each child on the class day nearest to his or her birthday. So, today is Peter’s first school birthday party! And that requires me to provide the snack for the day.
I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but the days of bringing birthday cupcakes to school are over. It says so right in the school’s handbook. You see, those cupcakes may contain peanuts, eggs, dairy, wheat, gluten, chocolate, and for all we know, mad cow disease. Cupcakes and birthday cakes are forbidden at many schools now since they may contain potential allergens.
I take allergies very seriously. My niece has a peanut allergy and because of that I held off giving nuts to Peter until just a few months ago. Thankfully he is not allergic, which makes snack time so much easier now that I can give him the nut-filled Lara bars that I am addicted to often eat. Being a student of nutrition, I am confounded by the number and types of allergies kids have these days. I just don’t get it. Searching the web brings up an array of theories, none of which provide a definitive explanation. But, that topic can be a post (or book) on its own.
I wanted to bring a snack a little more festive than a box of Goldfish crackers, so today’s post is about the wacky, but hopefully allergen-free, ”cupcakes” I made for Peter’s class this morning. I got the idea from Angela at Oh She Glows . (Thanks, Angela!)
I made a “frosting” by combining sunflower seed butter and brown rice syrup fluff:
Frosting ingredients
Cored and halved organic apples:
Apples
Plopped the “frosting” on the apple halves and jazzed them up by topping them with carob chips:
Apple "cupcakes"
(I apologize for the horrendous pictures. I was running very late this morning.)
OK, so this version tastes…fine. However, when I make them for us at home, I’ll definitely use the peanut butter and fluff “frosting” with real dark chocolate chips version. Peter liked both versions, actually. Regardless of the version, I think it is a cute idea and it will be fun to experiment with different types of “frosting.”
I’m off to pick up Peter from school. We’ll see how well these “cupcakes” went over with the rest of the class!
Hey! Where have you been?
August 16th, 2010 § 5 Comments
I know, I know, I’m the one who’s been missing for a while. I’ve been here, there, and everywhere during the past month or so and I didn’t manage to fit blogging into my life. (In how many languages can you say “slacker”?)
However, I can guarantee that there will be posts next week, as I will be on SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT! Yes, I have an ASSIGNMENT and I’m very excited about it, so there. You’ll just have to wait and see what it’s all about.
In the meantime, here are some highlights of the last month in the life of purewellnessamy –which many people annoyingly transcribe as Pure Wellness Amy… it’s purewellnessamy - all run together without caps – capice? 
And to make up for all of my posts that don’t contain pictures…
Fourth of July weekend found us on the Cape whooping it up at the wedding of our wonderful friends:
The happy couple taking a long walk off a short pier...just kidding! They are very, very happy!
Me and my hubs
The week of July 17 was spent with all of my family on vacation in Vermont:
Our friend's home on Lake Champlain. Love, love, love it there.
Cloudy sunset
My boys heading up Mt. Mansfield in the gondola
Peter picking and eating wild blackberries
Backyard of our cabin - Papa, Madi, Sofie petting our neighbor
Pond + mountains + sky = happiness
On the hike down Mt. Mansfield
I celebrated a milestone birthday at the beginning of August (hint: Earth Day was ”born” in the same year. ) How about a contest? The first person who responds with the correct year will win, um,… a LARA BAR! Yes, I will send a Lara bar (maybe two) to the first person who responds with the correct year! Ready, set , Google (unless, of course, you’re a smarty pants who knows the answer off the top of your head!)
Death by Chocolate Birthday Cake
Birthstone necklace from my sister; shell necklace made by my 3 year old niece, Sofie. Best gift ever...
Birthday flowers
More birthday flowers!
Last week, Peter and I took advantage of a Free Friday Fun day at Sturbridge Village:
Flags
Peter playing wheel game with his new "shriends"
Working on his newest quilt design
Tea is served...
And this past weekend we took in the sights, smells and rides at the Bolton Fair with my Dad, my sister and Sofie:
There were owls!
Owl
They honestly thought they were driving this ride. Very serious business.
Playing games
...and winning butt-ugly made in China prizes! Whoo hoo!
So there you have it. The last month of my life in pictures!
I’ll leave you with a mini recipe. I think I’ve mentioned my troubled relationship with bananas? (Why, oh, why can’t they be grown locally, or at least in the contiguous United States?) Anyway, I happened to have some bananas in the house, so I decided to make this “banana soft serve” creation that took the healthy people section of the internet by storm this summer. Unfortunately, I don’t know who created it, but I’ve seen it posted on many, many blogs.
BANANA SOFT SERVE “ICE CREAM”
Ingredients
Serves 1
1. 1 or 2 frozen bananas (tip: break the banana into 3 or 4 pieces before freezing)
2. optional mix ins: cacao nibs, chocolate chips, coconut, almond/peanut butter…
Directions
1. Place frozen banana pieces in food processor.
2. Blend for at least 5 minutes, scraping down the sides once or twice during blending.
3. Scrape into bowl and add mix-ins!
All I have to say is that it’s pretty amazing. If you let the frozen bananas whirl for at least 5 minutes in the food processor, they really become the consistency of soft serve ice cream. Add chocolate chips, almond butter, coconut, whatever, and enjoy!
