Pumpkin Pie Spice

I use pumpkin pie spice regularly, and for things not pie related like homemade granola, and DIY play dough. It’s never sold in large quantities, so you almost always need to run to the store to get some, or look up online how to make some because you rarely have enough. Frequently when you look it up online it gives you quantities to make enough pumpkin spice to kill a reindeer. While this is great for people who use it on everything, not very many people need that much. I don’t really feel the need to hinder Santa’s delivery service, so I am giving you the quantities needed to make just 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. It’s a teeny bit more than 1 tablespoon, but this gets you all of the spices needed to make it delicious and perfect.

One Tablespoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice

  • 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Ginger
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Allspice
  • 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

Never fear, I will also give you the quantities to make 5 tablespoons in case you decide to uphold your grudge against Santa for not giving you the gift you wanted that one time.

Five Tablespoons of Pumpkin Spice

  • 3 Tablespoons Cinnamon
  • 2 Teaspoons Ginger
  • 2 Teaspoons Nutmeg
  • 1 Teaspoon Allspice
  • 1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

Happy Making!

Recipe by Picture

If your kids are anything like my kids they really, and I mean really, love baking. They particularly love it when I’m in the middle of a project and can’t help them. Much to each of our dismay.

My youngest’s all time favorite recipe is chocolate chip cookies. My oldest loves the breads, particularly zucchini or banana bread. My middle adores eating what the other two make. It works out well all around.

In an effort to encourage their self resilience and allow me to finish my projects without regular interruptions I created picture recipes that they could follow, based off actual recipes. I made the directions super simple, fidgeted with the ingredients so that there aren’t any wonky portions, and put almost everything in pictures. While this takes the finesse of baking out, it makes it easy enough that my 7 year old can create cookies or bread.

Granted, there are still some oopses and learning mistakes, but they don’t need my help nearly as much as if they were following a written recipe. One of the funniest oops so far was when they decided they weren’t patient enough to make all the cookies and turned a batch of dough for 60 cookies into 24 cookies. I realized then that the attention span for 60 cookies might have been a bit much. I kept the recipe size the same, but told them that it should fill up a cookie sheet 3 times. As you can see, putting that much dough into so little cookies wasn’t really a big deal.

To help them determine how big the cookie drop should be, and where they should place it, we have these very nifty cookie sheet baking mats by Miu. They come with circles places evenly around the mat so it’s easy to see where the cookie dough should go and, assuming the drop of dough isn’t too large, they shouldn’t run into each other.

To create the chocolate chip cookies recipe, I took the basic Nestle Tollhouse recipe, adjusted for high altitude, and cut the recipe to 1 cup of chocolate chips. As much as we love chocolate, we wanted to taste the cookie bits, too. I’ve created a download for the chocolate chip recipe, and will be adding the banana bread recipe shortly. Until then, enjoy the chocolate chip recipe! *remember, this is adjusted for high altitude*

Packing a Good Lunch

Now that school has been back in session for a weak, I am reminded of my least favorite part: packing a lunch the kiddos. Trying to guess which foods the kids will dislike the least in an attempt to pack them something healthy, delicious, and easy to eat – the ever elusive trifecta. Why they don’t like the same things at school that they do at home is beyond me. The other issue my kids like to create, is their distaste for sandwiches. Granted, I get sick of sandwiches, too, however, this year my middle kid has challenged herself to go the whole year without taking any for lunch. More power to you, kiddo!

Early in our school lunch making days I stopped packing my kids’ lunches for them. I was sick to death of throwing uneaten food into the compost because “insert eye-rolling reason here.” There was nothing more frustrating than having them try a food at a store and then having them snub it after you’d brought home the obligatory 50 pounds of it (thank you, Costco!). Plus the added stress of me making their lunch, on top of all the other things I needed to help them keep track of, was making me grumpy. So, I stopped. After giving them the option of making their own lunch, or getting the cheese and lunchmeat sandwich the school provides if a student forgets their lunch, they readily accepted the challenge.

Now my oldest is in 4th grade and is very adept at making lunch, but getting there took some teaching. We have a piece of paper on the fridge that has each food category needed for a healthy lunch. Each category has a list of examples that fall within that category. Having this piece of paper helps immensely in teaching them what foods fall in each category, creating an easy flow for them to make their own lunches, and helps cut down on the wasted foods. Plus it gets a little bit of word recognition in there, too. They are far more likely to actually eat the majority of the contents in their lunchboxes if they’re the ones to pack it. They’re not going to pack something they dislike, after all.

Knowing they’re following these general guidelines for a healthy lunch is a huge relief. It also provides longterm lessons about choosing healthy, well-rounded meals, and lets them be creative about what they can, and are willing, to eat. We let each kid pick their own items from each category, and voila, you’ve avoided having to make their lunch for them (albeit they still need a few gentle reminders about quantity, and staying focused), they’re learning valuable lessons, and the amount of wasted food is significantly decreased. A win-win-win all the way around.

Below I’ve included the list that my kids have used to pack their lunches, as well as some of their favorite combinations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their favorite combinations are as follows:

  • Apple slices, nut butter, tomatoes, and granola bar
  • Hard boiled eggs, cereal, bell peppers, peaches
  • Tuna, crackers, cherries, sugar snap peas
  • Yogurt, berries, zucchini, rice sprinkled with cinnamon
  • Quinoa, pears, carrots, pretzels
  • Grapes, cucumbers, hummus, naan

Most of these items are kept on the lower shelves of the fridge and pantry so that they are easily accessible. I have the kids make their lunches either after dinner, or while I’m cooking dinner. That way they can use up any leftovers, or, if we’re having noodles or rice, they can get a little scoop before any sauce is mixed with it. Worst case scenario they have to make lunch in the morning and we’ll eat breakfast in the car on the way to school. They also have a separate cupboard for all of their lunch containers, so that they can easily make their own lunch with minimal help from us.

As our kids have gotten older, like most kids, their food quantities range from “constantly grazing” to “picky minimalist”. The amount of food they pack in their lunches has always been up to them, with a firm minimum of 1 serving from each category. If they’re eating more, they can certainly have more from each category, with a few exceptions from the grains category. We’re not going to let them head to school with 1 blueberry and a double serving of pretzels. They have a fairly decent idea of how hungry they get at school and will pack accordingly, especially as they get older. Putting minimums helps the younger ones as they start recognizing portion sizes.

Whatever you can do to make it easier for them to pack a healthy lunch, and keep yourself a sane parent, do it! You’re providing the healthy choices, they’re choosing how much of each they’re going to eat, and there is less wasted food and frustration.