Skinny Cake Batter Dip

Variations of this recipe have definitely made the Pinterest rounds! We really like it, and it is worth sharing, for sure!

I made cake batter dip for the first time quite awhile ago. My kids REALLY like Cool Whip and whipped cream, so I knew it would be a hit with them. Last time I made it, I made it with regular vanilla yogurt, and it was definitely not as impressive. This time, I made it with plain Greek yogurt, and it was awesome. The Greek yogurt gives it more of a cheesecake/cream cheese type flavor and texture. I definitely recommend sticking with the plain Greek yogurt. It is still plenty sweet!

For the 4th, I had planned on making it with red, white and blue funfetti mix, but I had a hard time finding it! I ended up finding it at Aldi at the last minute. I'm definitely going to try to remember that for the future! I know they always have red and green for Christmas too and probably other variations for other holidays too! Wouldn't they be fun for a Halloween or Valentine's Day cake batter dip for a school party???

Here is how I made it...

1 box funfetti cake mix
2 cups fat free, plain Greek yogurt
1 cup Cool Whip
Sprinkles, for garnish (optional)

Directions,

First, with a whisk, whip Cool Whip and Greek yogurt together until smooth. Then, gently stir in cake mix.

DONE!

I served mine with animal crackers, but it is awesome with grahams, Nilla wafers, a spoon...you get it!

Preschool Popsicles

Anyone who has read this blog for awhile knows that I despise sugary school snacks. (Oh, the dental bills!) I feel like my kids have sugar coming at them in all directions, so I try really hard to deviate from that. As I've gone about the last few years, I've tried to document what I send for my kids preschool snacks, birthday and otherwise, as an alternative to the store bought cupcakes piled high with frosting.

My middle daughter has a summer birthday. I conveniently scheduled her birthday snacks the day before our sweet baby Iris was due. I was pretty miserable, so I had to come up with something VERY easy...something that someone else could pick up at the store even. It ended up that I had a coupon for Outshine popsicles, and they were on sale at the beginning of May too. Now, I know these aren't sugar free, but they are such a great alternative to the usual birthday snacks! I also ended up being able to provide special snacks for easily under $5 for her class of 16.

We were hoping for a beautiful sunny day where the kids could celebrate Aurelia's birthday outside, which is where she loves to be the most! It didn't happen, but she let me know that the kids all still had a great time and enjoyed their treats!

Happy Early Birthday, Aurelia!

Valentine's Peanut Butter Blossoms

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I saw this on Pinterest awhile back, and I had to try it for my peanut butter lovin' middle daughter's Valentine's Day party tomorrow. I used Betty Crocker's PB cookie mix and subbed homemade cinnamon pumpkin applesauce for oil. I followed the directions on the mix for Peanut Butter Blossoms and swapped out a Dove heart for the usual Hershey's kiss. I'm very happy with how they turned out! So delicious, and no one would ever guess that they aren't from scratch. My daughter is going to have some very happy classmates!

See other recipes at www.beautyandbedlam.com.

When planning ahead kicks you in the rear....

You may remember that I mentioned we are going to Denver for my aunt's memorial service tomorrow. As a result, I spent our $50 on a few easy meals since I was really busy packing (and now unpacking and repacking,) preschool snacks (Newton Thins and apple juice) and road trip snacks. We were supposed to leave this morning, but we didn't feel the conditions were safe. Our road trip is now a flying trip, which renders most of our road trip snacks useless! Now I wish we had our grocery money and $60 in a full tank of gas in our car as travel money! For better or for worse, I think this is the first time planning ahead has really kicked me in the rear!

See ya'll next week!

Jack-O-Lantern Pudding Cups

Check out the Jack-O-Lantern pudding cups we made for my sweet kindergartner's class! I thought they turned out so cute!

Yesterday, while daddy was carving pumpkins, the girls and I drew Jack-O-Lantern faces on plastic cups. Today, daddy and I tinted instant vanilla pudding with orange food coloring and filled the cups up. We covered them with crushed Oreo (actually Who-Nu) cookies and then a few Halloween sprinkles.

I'm really happy with the way they turned out, and I love that it isn't total sugar overload like a cupcake with a mountain of frosting. I think my big girl will be really proud of our handmade art too!

Preschool Snacks - A fun birthday idea!

As you have read, I've been struggling with the "snacks" that come in to my children's preschool. So unhealthy! I really don't have a problem with a sweet treat on birthdays. It's just that it's ALWAYS someone's birthday and then when someone is always making an exception to bring cookies/candy/etc on top of the birthdays, the sweet treats are never ending! I really wanted to do something different this year, and I discovered it was REALLY easy. My big girl LOVES whipped cream (who doesn't?!?!) and strawberries are definitely another favorite! When I suggested the combination for her birthday treat she was THRILLED! I started praying for a sale on strawberries when I needed it (LOL!) and we made a plan!

Incidentally, I was able to get strawberries for $2/lb this week. I used 5 boxes to prepare enough strawberries for 15 strawberry cups. The whipped cream cost just under $2, and I used leftover birthday party supplies to dress things up a little bit! My total cost was about $12. I realize that this is about 5x the cost of a cake mix and frosting, but it is so much healthier! I think of it as an opportunity to bless my big girl and her friends with something special and out of the ordinary, and I challenge you to think out of the box for your kids birthday's at school! I think it's cool to send an exciting
favorite whether it is a traditional birthday sweet or not!

Halloween Muffins

Welcome to the second edition of my preschool snacks series. (See my no-brainer first edition idea here.) I am writing this as I grow increasingly frustrated with the complete junk that moms send for snacks to my girl's school. Last week, someone sent Gummy Lifesavers! Are you kidding me?!?!?! My kid has NEVER had those in her whole life, and it really bothers me that someone else thinks they can feed those to her. I have a hard enough time getting my 36 lb almost 5 year old to eat, but when she does eat I really encourage her to eat something healthy. She is well aware of the difference between healthy and not healthy, and I love that. She likes her sweets as much as any kid, but she also loves beans, whole grains, veggies, ALMONDS, and tons of fruits. She knows that "real" food comes from the ground, and that anything else is more or less "special." (Score 1 for mommy!)

So yes, I'm writing a preschool snacks series. I don't think I'm an award winning mom, but I DO think I have some good, easy ideas. I'm always trying to think of creative and fun snacks that they kids will like and actually eat. For my oldest's October snack day, I decided to send an adapted version of my mom's pumpkin muffins.I will admit sending snacks for 4 and 5 year old does post a particular problem! It takes a little bit of backbone ("No, you can't take Gummy Lifesavers,") and a little bit of consideration for your kid! If it were MY way, I'd send broccoli and green beans, but no one wants to be that kid that brought something weird for snack, right? The pumpkin muffins are a snack Evangeline can be proud of because they're delicious, and she helped make them. We also dressed them up a little with some sprinkles. (In spite of my better judgement!)

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Mix together -
2.5 cups sugar
5 eggs
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup canola oil
1 small can (2 cups) pumpkin

Add -
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
3 tsps baking soda
1 1/4 tsps salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup of raisins (I omitted due to 4 year old's request.)
1 cup of walnuts (I omitted due to 4 yer old's request.)

Beat well.

Makes 36 muffins. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

***

Easy enough, right?!?! I promise your kids and their classmates will enjoy!

Preschool Snacks

As I said last weekend, I'm starting a preschool snacks series. Our school has gone from having crackers and juice every day to having a student provide a snack on a rotation basis. I like the idea of this, but in practice, I cringe when my little girls tell me what others bring to eat. There are so many wonderful, easy and healthy foods, but it seems like people just lack a little thought and creativity when their planning their child's snack day. I also think that people might get a little afraid of the expense if they consider healthier options. People just can't get past the myth that healthier food is more expensive.

I scoped out the sale ad yesterday, and I just didn't come up with much. However, I figured you can't get much cheaper (even at full price) and easier than bananas! My total for snacks for 12 kids and two teachers before tax for both the juice and bananas was $4.20. Best of all, my girl is proud to take a "helfy" snack, and she's pretty sure the kids will be excited to peel and eat their bananas! My case in point, this is AS easy as a box of fruit snacks or cookies, and quite possibly cheaper!