Kids Halloween Trick or Treating

Tips for staying safe for kids at risk (allergies)

Halloween is fast approaching. As the kids get ready to have some fun, remember some key rules to keep them safe.
For parents and kids at-risk:
Be organized
Always have children accompanied by an adult when out
Remember to always carry an epinephrine auto-injector (EpiPen or Twinject)
Wear MedicAlert identification
Dont go out hungry
Ensure the kids have a hearty dinner before venturing out so they will be less tempted to snack enroute
Emphasize the 'no eating' rule when kids are out
Check all treats
Ask the kids to wash their hands as soon as they come home
Have the kids sort through the candy with an adult at the end of the evening
Read the label carefully on each treat - no label, no candy
Consider donating the extra treats to your local food bank
For the community:
Don't be shy - ask when kids come to the door: "Does anyone have a food allergy?"
Be prepared - have food packages and their labels nearby, so you can check ingredients if asked
Think outside the candy box - if in doubt, have non-candy treats available too such as stickers or trading cards
We wish you all a happy and safe Halloween!
Anaphylaxis Canada

Yours in good health,

Lori

Beauty is only skin deep!

Good evening,

This post is a little off the usual path about Little Chefs or cooking with my kids. I am so excited about something that happened to me today.
I must first confess I am a bit of a computer junkie / addict. I am been known to surf around the web for long amounts of time in the evening. ( Just ask my husband who finds me in front of it and say's " Are you still on the computer?" )
I have a number of newsletters that are in my inbox on a daily or weekly basis . I love information . Information about health, cooking , kids, parenting, crafts. These are my favorites!

Today Erica Ehm called me personally! She is the founder of the Yummy Mummy Club! Which I have been a member for some time now. http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/ Check it out , they have amazing articles, blogs, and contests! I have followed her career since the 80's with Much Music and all.
It was so nice of her to call me personally after I had e-mailed her a question about beauty products that she had reccommended.
We chatted for a while and she seems like a great person! I hope to get a chance to meet her soon.

Yours in good health,

Lori

My Little Chef Angelina!!!

Here is the Yummy recipe for the Pumpkin Cookies I spoke about last week.

Chewy Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients
· 1 cup (250 mL) butter
· 1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
· 1/2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar
· 1 egg
· 1 cup (250 mL) pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
· 1 cup (250 mL) all purpose flour
· 1 cup (250 ml) whole wheat flour
· 2 tbsp ground flax meal
· 1 tsp. (5 mL) cinnamon
· 1/2 tsp. (2 mL) ground ginger
· 1/2 tsp. (2 mL) baking powder
· 1/4 tsp. (1 mL) baking soda
Cooking Instructions
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy, scraping down the sides once or twice. Add the egg and beat until well mixed, then add the pumpkin puree and continue beating for about a minute.
2. In another bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, ground flax, baking powder and baking soda. Add this mixture to the butter mixture in two or three portions, beating well after each addition. Refrigerate dough for about 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet or two with parchment paper.
4. By hand, roll the dough into 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls. Place on the cookie sheet about 1-inch apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until bottom is lightly browned and cookie is springy but firm. Remove from cookie sheets and let cool completely.
Servings: Makes 3-1/2 dozen.

Enjoy!!!

Yours in good health,

Lori

Kids going out for Halloween in snow!

Good morning,

"Welcome to my new blog "Little Chefs Cooking Up Some Fun!" I am starting to blog about my adventures of owning my own New small business. My other Full Time job is Mom to two beautiful girls!
I guess I am what is called a Mompreneur!

I hope to get a website going but I will use my blogging to post information as well as local events.
I am up for the challenge as I think Little Chefs needs web presence. I would like to let people know about the parties, lessons and upcoming events. I am planning a Holiday Gingerbread House making class for kids for December! More details on locations and dates to follow.

Yesterday was an odd day as it was cold and ended up snowing on and off throughout the day. My girls went to school with Fall jackets + hats + gloves but could have had their winter coats!
Can anyone remember having snow or extreme cold weather for trick or treating?
Sent me a comment on this.

Yours in good health,
Lori

Little Chefs
519-940-1131

Kingsize!!!

I never thought a kingsize bed would not be big enough. Well I discovered the hard way that it is not big enough for even 1 adult and 2 small girls. Last night I invited my girls into mommy and daddy's bed for a little sleep together since we were not sleeping up at the cabin. I have slept with my girls before seperately since birth, when they wanted to be on my chest as well as all the night time breastfeedings. It was the only way I could function especially when the second child came along. That is when we decided that a bigger bed was needed. King is the biggest so off we went to find the King mattress for our platform bed that we already had.

Last night was one of worst sleeps in a very long time! Both girls are movers..not just turning back and forth but full out gymnastics using all parts of the mattress! Refereeing was also needed throughout the night as the gymnastics sometimes involved colliding!

I love my daughters to the end of the earth but they are sleeping in their own beds tonight!
Off to get another coffee.....

Yours in good health,
Lori

Healthy Food and Kids!

The main reason other than having my own business for Little Chefs is helping educate children on eating healthier. If I can help educate them that eating and cooking healthy can be fun and easy then I will be quite pleased.
" Healthier Kids One Bite At A Time " One of my tag lines............. Anyhow I do not consider myself a sneaky chef with food for my two girls but as they get older they have become more picky with eating. So the other day I was trying out a new recipe with pumpkin in it. Pumpkin, real pumpkin like from the Jack-O-Lanterns that you may have craved up ( or a can from the store ) It can not be pumpkin pie filling but only pumpkin puree.

My Little Chefs ( Alyssa & Angelina ) have joyfully agreed to help make this cookie recipe to see if we can then decorate them with icing /sprinkles after. As we progress along with adding all the wet ingredients together and then on to the dry ingredients one of my girls noticed the pumpkin colour and says " Did you put pumpkin in the cookies Mommy?" I think for a second or two and answer " Yes, pumpkin is actually good for you!" Not what I should have said because most children do not want to eat things that look odd, smell odd, or have not had before! So I then hear " Yuk , I am not going to eat these cookies Mommy" I chose to ignore that comment because I have become quite good at ignoring my kids at times. Something you need to do at times when you are with your children 24/7 ! ( except for when they are at school )

Well the cookies did not try out as we planned. They were to flatten out during cooking so once cooled they could be decorated. So I heard a few boo hoos about not being able to decorate these cookies but once offered one to eat they did take one.
Surprise they loved them! No icing, no chocolate, no sprinkles just this soft, chewy, moist and yummy cookie. They even wanted more!!
So do not fool you kids when it comes to food. Be honest, make it fun and most of all try to make it healthy!
They might even surprise you!! I will add the recipe later and may include some pictures too!

Yours in good health,
Lori

To Blog or not to Blog?

Well what is the answer?? Everyone now a days has a blog. Right? If you just want a place to write, drive traffic to your website, get things off your chest and have people read them! Well I did it , I created my very first blog! I hope you can get something out of it and enjoy my posts.

I recently started my very own business and am very excited, scared, terrified ,excited, oh I said that already..anyhow I want to use this as a source of information about my "Little Chefs" business and how it grows from its infancy.

Please excuse any grammer or spelling errors but I will try to keep it short and sweet! No pun intended as I will sometimes include some great new recipes that I have developed or tryed and it could be a sweet one!

Thanks in advance for taking time to read about the happenings of Little Chefs cooking up some fun!

Yours in good health,
Lori