R is for RAINBOW

I am taking two weeks to do each letter of the alphabet with my preschooler and Kindergarten/Grade 1 child. The first letter that we have looked at is the letter R.

We started by doing a whole week on Robots which was a whole lot of fun! (check it out here)

I decided to also touch on the Grade 1 Alberta program of study objective of "Creating Colour" by continuing our lesson in R with Rainbows. 

The first day we watched some videos on Rainbows. The kids really enjoyed all the different "Sing a Rainbow" versions. We also watched some PBS videos on how rainbows are made. 

Next, I gave the kids some bingo daubers and let them have at it. My kids are extremely kinaesthetic learners so smashing the daubers on the paper to make the ink fly was the highlight of this project. While they didn't make a rainbow, they definitely enjoyed themselves seeing all the colours that they could choose from to make for a really open ended art project.

My oldest son just did a science project on polymers for his Grade 3 Celebration of Learning, and so the next project that we did with the younger boys used the same materials.

One polymer that my kids LOVE to play with are water beads. If you have not had your kids play with water beads before you need to stop reading this post right now and buy some off Amazon and then come right back!

Water beads are SO much fun! They are sold as a substitute for soil for plants and for decoration, but as a learning toy they are much more useful! First I had the boys try and separate the beads into all the different colours, which was a true test of fine motor skills. Next I had them use pipettes to fill the test tubes with water. It took about an hour for the beads to absorb all of the water, but when they did the kids dove right in! It is one activity that really fills that need for sensory play. The beads are slimy and bouncy so the kids kept squishing them and popping them, and then sorting them again and again and again. They spent at least a good two hours each day just playing with them. So the $1 investment for the beads it was well worth it!! 

The next polymer that we played with was "InstaSnow". This stuff is incredible! You just use a tablespoon and some water and it expands to a 4th of a cup or so. To make the rainbow I took a little bit of the snow, put 3 drops of each food colouring into separate cups (using 2 drops of red/ 1 yellow etc to make orange etc.) and then put them all into a shallow dish in the correct order. It was so pretty for about 10 mins, and then it was all mixed up. All was not lost though, as it showed the kids what happens when you mix all the colours together....grey!!!

We saved the best for last. As a kid I remember making rainbows with Fruit Loops and loving it! I happily bought the colourful cereal for my kids to do the same. Of course they were able to sneak a few into their mouths without me noticing (or they think that I didn't notice). I always like to have a box of Fruit Loops in my craft room as they are really fun to play with, completely non toxic (lol), and they smell good too! I absolutely loved the rainbows that the boys made - they went up on our display wall as soon as they were dry! 

Once we finished our project with the Fruit Loops our lesson on the letter R and rainbows was complete! However, the boys had a different idea. My middle child decided to use the Fruit Loops and make himself an R out of them and exclaimed "Look mom! A rainbow R!" He was so pleased with his creation.

My older son who was participating in the crafts was influenced by the rainbow theme going on as well. Later that day I found that he had organized all his Trash Pack by colour. It was neat to see them take the lessons one step further.

R is for Robot

As a part of getting my blog back to where I want it to be, I will be showcasing some of the homeschooling that we do every week. I will be linking to relevant blog posts and activity sites to help new homeschoolers get some ideas and inspire them for their own schooling at home.

Last week we learned all about the Letter R.

First we started out with a whole bunch of videos on YoTube with our favourite being the one by the StoryBots. These videos are so great and they have one for each letter of the alphabet. I will be getting the kids to watch more of them for sure!





We raided the tool box and made robots out of tin cans and screws. A glue gun is an absolute must for a project like this! The kids also looked through our letter bucket and found the letters that they needed to put the word Robot on the front of their creations. We touched on how recycling, and reusing also start with the letter R and how important they are for keeping our planet green!

Once they had made their creations they were inspired to play with their robot puzzle game that teaches numbers so we were able to sneak a little math into the project as well!

They continued their robot exploration by using this great magnetic robot kit and working collaboratively to build many different robots on the fridge. I loved watching how creative they were!

We read some books on Robots; Robomop was their favourite. We of course practiced writing the letter R on many different worksheets and books. (this was not their favourite part of the unit...)

The kids happened to get a Cogsley for Christmas and he was really put into use for this unit. The kids have a lot of fun turning all of his gears and knobs. He does have 6 learning objectives, but my kids love the dancing mode the best. I was just happy that I had an extra robot themed item already in my schoolroom!!

To finish off our unit on Robots and the letter R we watched the movie Robots for our family movie night.

This was just a handful of all the different things that we could have done this week using this theme. I could have done it for another week!! (and watched Wall-E as well.)

Many of the ideas that I got this week came from my Pinterest board on the letter R make sure you check that out as it will get updated as I scan the web for more ideas with future letters!!

Next week we will be continuing our learning with R as we showcase some of our work with Rainbows which touches the learning objectives for the colours for grade 1.

Saying Goodbye to a Family Pet

As we all know life sometimes decides to kick you in the butt and throws things at you that you may not be expecting. This is exactly what has happened with our family. I wanted to share a little bit of our story and some resources in case you have to go through this as well.

Baby Leata

When I was 15 I found a little kitten across the street by my highschool. I was skipping science and she ran across the street into oncoming traffic…I lost my mind for a moment and ran out in front of a car to save her. She was mine at that moment. I yelled at the teens driving the car as I was convinced that they wanted to hit her, and decided to cut the rest of school that day and walk home.

My mom didn't want a cat, didn't want the responsibility. I promised that I would take care of her. I begged, I cried. I had an all out tantrum I am sure. My best friend was cat sitting for me as I did the responsible thing and called the SPCA to report her, to see if anyone was looking for her. I secretly hoped that she was just a stray, and it turned out she was.

Her Favourite Thing to Do

I brought her home one day and my family fell in love with her, and my mom decided to gift her to me for my 16th birthday. She made it clear that Leata was mine and mine alone, and I was in charge of all the duties that come with pet ownership. I would have promised anything that day and agreed.

She used to sleep in between my arms, curl up on my lap, give me kisses on my nose and ride on my shoulders like Luna from Sailor Moon. (which was my favourite show at the time). She would go on walks on a leash, she would try to steal my Doritos, and one time even came up and licked my chupa chup….she was mine all right. One day I thought that I had lost her as she swallowed a needle and thread that I had carelessly left out…I don't think I had ever been so scared.

Us in our younger years.

As the years past, she became more of a family pet, and when I moved to University she stayed with my parents. When I moved back, and then out with my boyfriend (who is now my husband), she came with. We decided to get another cat to keep her company, and then we started our family.

3 kids, and a dog later and Leata is an elderly cat who just likes to curl up on the couch and wait for us to go to her. A couple months ago she was diagnosed with renal failure. She started to pee on everything that we have in our basement. So much so that it will all have to be ripped up and reno'ed. She is now incontinent.

The vet has told us that it is time. We know in our hearts that it is time, so now we spend the rest of this month starting rituals to say goodbye. I just see the little kitten that ran to me so many years ago, and my heart aches.

To get my kids ready for this I have visited a couple pet-loss websites and read them a couple books. I really feel that you can never get enough information on how to deal with life's difficult situations. Not only does this help me, I hope that it will soften the blow for my 7 year old in particular.

Nothing can truly prepare you, but sometimes information can help. Here is what I found. I hope that they can help you as well.

1. Helping Children Cope
2. The Rainbow Bridge
3. When Children Grieve
4. Lifetimes: The Beautiful Way to Explain Death to Children 
5. The 6 Do's and Don'ts of Explaining Pet Loss to Children
6. Explaining Pet Loss to Children of Different ages. 
7. Sesame Street explaining the Death of Mr.Hooper. (circa 1970's)

If you know of any other resources please leave them in comments.

Such a pretty lady. She will be missed!

Halloween Treats to take to School

A lot of you may be thinking by now that I must have nothing better to do that spend time in my kitchen. I promise you that this is not the case, I have actually spent more time blogging about this week of food than I have making it!

I have been trying in this series of blog posts to show you that making themed food is so easy and a really great way to show the kids that the holidays can be a whole lot more fun than just going Trick-or-Treating and overdosing on high fructose corn syrup.

In this post I am going to show you some really simple ways to make Halloween "treats" for school and in tomorrows post I will be sharing some more lunch ideas - so make sure you come back!

Ghost Yogurt

Even I run out of ideas when it comes to Halloween and every day I thank goodness that there is such a thing as Pinterest. Before I was a pinner there was half the ideas out there and they were incredibly hard to find.

The yogurt ghost was something that my son actually thought of, he saw the grapes and threw them into his breakfast one morning (not even in October) and laughed and said how it looked like eyes.

So grab a whole bunch of yogurts, take the tops of or spoon them out on to the plates at preschool add a couple grapes and there you have it! Instant Halloween!

Pumpkin Tray


What is easier than throwing some carrots on a circular serving tray? Nothing, that's right!

This is the easiest themed food ever. Honestly. Look at it.

All I did was take some carrots throw them on a tray, and then take two ramekins and fill them with hummus and put them on top where the eyes would be. I added cherry tomatoes (a staple in a Halloween kitchen) and cut up a red bell pepper to look like a mouth. I have also seen people use olives or another type of dip instead of the peppers.

Whatever works for you!! I promise all the kids will eat it and it is healthy!! Win/Win!


Bat Hummus

Hummus is one of the best things that you can feed your kids.

Not only is it chock full of protein but it also has great fats in it, is low in sugar, and it tastes good too!

I use hummus in a variety of my Halloween meal planning as it is just so easy to add to dishes, sandwiches and the like.

This was one of those times that the kids were looking to get some quick protein and I was in the middle of making the Pumpkin Tray and so I grabbed a dollop of Hummus, added a couple of olive eyes, snap pea ears and rice crackers for bat wings. (it was a stretch I know) This year I went out and got some blue corn chips to make my hummus bat even more bat-like.

I hope that this post can help you to see that it really is that easy!

Please keep sharing your ideas with me on Twitter and Facebook. If you need any more Halloween inspiration please follow me on Pinterest as well.

Monster Burgers and Severed Heads

I hope that you enjoyed yesterday's post on Halloween breakfast ideas.

Today I wanted to share a couple of my go-to recipes. A couple of my girlfriends feel that my week of Halloween themed food is just too hard to fit in to their busy lives, and yes it does look pretty complicated, but I promise that it isn't.

Monster Burgers and Severed Heads take absolutely no time at all and minimal planning. It's the one meal that you can just whip up within seconds and I promise that the kids will get so excited for it.

Monster Burgers


I got the inspiration for Monster Burgers from a girlfriend of mine named Gemma. She was always making incredible looking lunch ideas for her girls and Halloween was no exception.

Monster Burgers are easy enough, just take a burger - it can be Vegan, Vegetarian or 100% Beef and it will all work the same.

Make the burger as you would usually and then take a piece of bacon or Tempeh and place it so that it sticks out of the "mouth". Add some olives for eyes, and cut out shapes from peppers to add horns, or wings or whatever that you feel like doing with toothpicks! Get creative!

I like to cut out the shapes and leave the olives and cheese out so that the kids can make their own Monster creation. It is so much fun and not just for Halloween!

Severed Heads

If you can turn on an oven you can make Severed Heads.

Do I even have to explain it?

Take a bag of Smiles by McCain and bake them according to package directions. I like to over-bake them a little as it adds a "burned" look to the face.

Place them on the plate and add ketchup on their "neck" and Voila! Severed Heads. ;)

The great thing about these is that you can do a whole bunch of them at a time and you can add them to just about any dish.

I use them more than a couple times during the week before Halloween and they are such a hit. Pair them with a Mummy Dog and some Goblin Mouths (apple slices and almond slivers) and you have a great lunch!

And really, who doesn't like Burgers and Fries?

As always make sure that you are sharing your creations with me on Facebook or Twitter or in comments!

I love seeing what you come up with!

Eye of Newt, Scrambled Brains and Boo-nanas.

And so begins the week that my children wait for all year long.

In our house I make Halloween themed food for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (even some snacks) for the week leading up to Halloween. I admit that it is a little crazy, and maybe even has a little bit of an overachieving mommy vibe. However, I started this tradition when my oldest son was 3 and so now he expects it. (and it's fun!!)

Finding dinner ideas is easy, thanks to Pinterest, but breakfast and lunch are just a bit harder. As you all know I like to make things that are really easy. (and fast!) I have scoured high and low to find just what I am looking for and now will share them with you!!

Here are three of my favourite recipes to keep the spooky starting out right.

Eye of Newt

The picture says it all doesn't it?

Hard boiled eggs are such an easy thing to grab and make spooky. This week I will be making some new breakfasts just using food colouring and a food writer pen. (I will share those on Facebook, and Twitter for those interested).

For this recipe I just took a hard boiled egg and removed the yolk. I then dyed it green and scraped it back into the cavity. I used a red pepper to make a made face and also to add some veggies for fibre. I finished it off with two snap peas and almond slivers. I also had a full bowl of snap peas for them to eat once they ate the plated version.

Scrambled Brains 

I make scrambled brains a couple times during the week as they are so easy and the protein is what my kids need to start the day off right. If you are vegetarian, you can use a Tofu Scramble instead of eggs, as both look the same when finished.

Basically, just take the eggs/scramble and plate them so that they look like a brain. I use a quarter cup measure and put 2 servings side by side. You can then take ketchup and pour it around the "brain". It's really all in how you decorate it! Get creative!!

Boo - nanas

I love these and they are so easy to do! You can make them for any type of class treat as they are as healthy as you can get, (and incredibly inexpensive).

Just take a banana cut it in half and add eyes. I use carob chips, but you can use what ever you want.

There is also a recipe where you dip these in yogurt, coconut butter or in white chocolate - any will do!

With all my meals I add props to make them just a bit spookier. Use skeletons, bats, spiders and other Halloween items to make the dish look that much more "Halloween". The dollar store has many different options to choose from!

If you have any pictures of these recipes please feel free to share them with me or link to them in comments. I love seeing all the Halloween festivities!!

Deep Fried Bats, Worms and Monster Toads

Did you all enjoy last weeks Halloween Food post?

I am finding it harder to make dinner foods since we have gone vegetarian, but lucky there is a lot of meat alternatives that can do the stand in.

Next week is the week that I make Halloween themed food for my family for breakfast lunch and dinner so make sure you are following me on Twitter to see it as soon as it is posted.

Today I have both a vegetarian option and a meat lovers option, best of both worlds so to speak.

Deep Fried Bat on Squiggly Worms and Monster Toads.

Remember how I said a couple weeks ago that Cookie Cutters are really helpful when cooking Halloween themed food. This is absolutely true when it comes to cooking vegetarian food for little ghouls and gals.

Yummy Alternative

We now eat primarily vegetarian with a little cheating here and there when we go out to eat. I know that other veggie families would like to join in with the themed fun - but have no place in their menu for a deadman meatloaf.

My kids were just as excited for this recipe and I am sure that yours will be as well.

What You Need: 

• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1each yellow, red, orange and green bell pepper. You can also use green, and yellow beans if your kids don't like peppers. 
• 1 block of Firm Tofu
• 1 package of linguine or shanghai or vermicelli noodles. 

Pretty straight forward.

1. Boil water for Noodles. 
2. Cut Tofu lengthways into half inch bricks. Press Halloween themed cookie cutter into tofu to make desired shape. Place tofu in hot pan with oil and cook until both sides are golden brown. Remove Tofu.  
3. Place noodles in boiling water.
4. Cut up the onion and sauté it in the pan with a little bit of oil. Add the garlic. Cut up the peppers in to thin long strips. Add them to the pan and Stir Fry. Add the sauce/seasoning of your choice. Remove from pan. 
5. Add noodles to pan and re-season if desired. (skip this step if you want them plain). 
6. Plate it up. Noodles on the bottom, beans or peppers on top, with the Halloween themed Tofu to finish it off. 

Enjoy!

Monster Toads (Chicken).

This is one for the meat eaters out there. So easy. Make some peas or potatoes for a side and you have a full meal. Make up silly names for them though. Mashed Boo-tatoes or salamander eyes, the possibilities are endless.

My friend who blogs at Merry with Children shared this great roasted chicken recipe that is perfect for this Halloween themed delight.

What You Need

• A roasted chicken. 
• A red pepper.
• Some olives (pimento or stuffed are fine)
• Tooth Picks.

So easy that I don't even have to explain it. Just look at the picture. :)

Don't they look cool?

It's only 13 days until Halloween!! Are you all getting excited?! The week of Halloween (October 25 - October 31st) I will be posting every second day with cool meals to Spook your kids! Get ready for it!!!

As always follow my Pinboard to see all my inspiration!

Switch Witch and Buy Backs

I was planning on writing this post next week, but I am going to Blissdom Canada so next weeks posts might be a little more about that and a little less about Halloween. Don't worry though, you can still see what I am doing over at Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

It's no secret that my son and I are allergic to dairy. I first became sensitive to milk as a teen and it has escalated from there. My son, on the other hand, showed symptoms of dairy allergy the very first time it was introduced it to him. I then had him checked out by our Naturopath and had the allergy testing formally done.

Being allergic to dairy really sucks. It is in everything. However, as an adult I can suck it up…my son, not so much. He gets really distraught that every "cool" thing has dairy in it. All types of chips (other than natural), all chocolate (unless it is from a health food store), and cookies, cupcakes, crackers and pretty much anything processed. This leads to a really healthy lifestyle, but he pines for the same things that his friends have. Goldfish and Dunkaroos - why cant you have a dairy-free option?!

The Whole Stash

Halloween is especially problematic. I would wager that 80% of the candy given out is chocolate, so to over come this we go twice the distance that we regularly would because when you sort it all out you are left with less than half the stuff they collected…and then when you take out the gross things (like black liquorice and no - name gummy candies) and the Jawbreakers (that they can't have yet), we are left with a 1/6th of the stash.

Non-Milk

Milk Products

Now, obviously my kids are disappointed by this and so we came up with a couple ways so to soften the blow. After we go through all the candy we put half of the castoffs on the front porch for the Switch Witch to come and collect it and leave a toy for them instead. This is such a win-win for us as the kids are happy to give away the candy and I am happy that there are no tears!

Switch Witch to the Rescue!

Here is a great video by Mama Natural about the Switch Witch.




Another thing that we do is go to our local Candy Buy Back. There are many different incarnations of the Buy Back and not all operate the same way. For the most part they are organized by dentists who all have a party the day after Halloween and pay the kids a dollar a pound for their unwanted Halloween candy. (my particular dentist also donates a pound of apples to our local food bank for every pound of candy that collected.)

Isn't he Cute?!

This is great for us because the chocolate bars are going to get thrown out anyway - so does it really matter if it is my dentist's trash bin or mine?

I know a lot of moms like the idea of the Buy Back just not the trash part, and I agree somewhat, but not for the waste of candy, more for the adding to the landfill. My particular dentist made a great YouTube video that shows exactly why they throw out the candy and how they are hoping to convert it into fuel in the upcoming years. That way more families will get on board.

Are you a fan of the Switch Witch or the Buy Back? Or are you completely against them? Share your comments below.

Frankenmallows, Witches Hats and Monster Brownies

How is it already the second week of October?

We all know that half the fun about Halloween is the sweets, and what is more sweet than cakes and cookies? (other than candy of course!)

Every Halloween I volunteer to bring a treat to my kids' Halloween parties in their classes. Yes, I know I am the same mom who absolutely hates the cupcake in class, but Halloween is one of those days where there is going to be treats - no doubt about that - and by volunteering it makes sure that my kids can eat at least one cool thing…if not two or three..or four.

My favourite go to snack for these events are completely dairy free and can be made gluten free as well (with a little but more ingenuity).

So without further delay feast your eyes on these yummy treats, guaranteed to be fast and incredibly easy to make that even your kids can make them!

Frankenmallows, Witches Hats, and Monster Brownies! 

Franken Army

I love Frankenmallows. (Inspiration) These are my go to treat for Halloween. If I could give them out at the door for trick or treaters I would. These are absolutely the easiest treat to make, but they are a little time consuming since you will probably be making over 20 if you are sending them to a party.





What you need: 

• 1 Bag of Large Marshmallows. Make sure that you get ones that are not all stuck together. Also, if you are Vegan you can buy some from a health food store that are not made with gelatin. 
• 1 tube of Gel Food colouring (Green). You can get this at Michaels. 
• 1 tube of Cookie Decorating Icing. (red)
• 1 bag of Pretzel Sticks. If you are gluten free, there are options at the health food store. 
• 1 bag of chocolate chips. We use carob chips as we are allergic to dairy. 
• Coconut oil (any cooking oil or butter will do).
• Popsicle sticks and a little paint brush. 
• Flat styrofoam block. 

1. Take your marshmallows and stick them on the popsicle sticks just far enough that the wood peeks out a tiny bit on the top of the mallow.

2. Take your tube of green gel and a paint brush and paint the whole surface of the mellow. This is time consuming… place them into the styrofoam block with about a half-inch space between them.

3. Take a cup or so of the chocolate chips and melt them with a spoonful of coconut oil or butter… you can do this in the microwave, or a double boiler on the stove.

4. Take your marshmallows on the sticks and dip them in just far enough so that it looks like Frankensteins hair.

5. Use the cookie icing and pipe little dots to glue on two chocolate chips for eyes. Also make the mouth at this time.

6. Take a pretzel stick and break off a quarter inch piece and stick it into his head, repeat for the other side.

7. Eat them!!!

Witches Hats

So Yummy!

These are even easier than the Frankenmallows.

1. Find a chocolate covered cookie. (or make one if you have allergies - Girl Guide Mint ones are Dairy Free FYI)

2. Use the same cookie icing as the frankenmallows and squirt a circle in the centre of the cookie.

3. Plop a Hershey's Kiss on top. (they do come dairy free if you get the dark chocolate ones).

4. Yummo!


Monster Brownies

Just a sampling.

These are the easiest of all three. Seriously! These are such a great hit for parties or for a Halloween themed craft!

1. Bake some brownies. (I use a box but a great recipe from Dinner With Julie is also here.)

2. Cut them into different shapes.

3. Give the kids some candy eyes, pretzel sticks, icing, gummies, etc and ask them to make monsters.






Now, how fun is all of that!! I would love to see your pictures of these! Make sure you tweet them to me here.

Boo - Baskets, Boo - Boxes and Skeletons Oh My!!

Completed Boo-Basket

Last week I talked about decorating my house on a boo-get. Get it? Boo-get?? I kill myself.

Anyway, I promised you that I would show you a couple crafts to put up on your walls so that it looks festive but doesn't break the bank. Doesn't hurt that it is fun for the kids too!

But first, I want to talk Boo-Baskets. A Boo-Basket is a way to get your friends or neighbours into the Halloween spirit. It's very easy to make.

Boo - Baskets

Eye Balls and Witch Hats

First you need to get something to put the goodies in. I like to get small disposible cake pans from the dollar store and then use a hot glue gun to attach spooky garlands around the top. I then cut a peice of halloween paper and put it on the bottom of the basket (you can also glue this down).

From this point you can put whatever you want in the basket. We made eye-ball cookies and put in little erases, pencils, spider rings, ghost puppets, halloween themed stickers, and a colouring sheet. We finished it off by printing out the door hanger from Skip To My Lou.

Boo Basket from a Friend

Take your Boo-Baskets and place them on your friends, family or even a neighbours door. We hid behind trees and cars to watch the kids shout with glee and look around to see who had left the basket of treats.

If you are lucky - someone may just return the favour!


Paper Plate Skeletons

Serious Work!

This is one of those crafts that are so easy and look awesome when finished. I found this great tutorial on how to make paper plate skeletons on Nap Time Crafters, we actually had everything that we needed in the house to make them that day!

I put them up outside on Halloween night to add to the spooky effect outside. It was so great how they just blew in the wind.

Coming Together!

Right now I have them hanging right inside my front door. It instantly transforms my foyer into a Halloween themed delight!









Boo - Box

Last but not least, I almost forgot to share one of my favourite things that I do each holiday (it's not just for Halloween!)

Diaper Box and Construction Paper

I have another type of Boo-Basket, but this time it is a Boo-Box.
My kids are voracious readers, or lookers, if we are talking the little guys. I think this is because my husband and I like books so much that we tend to collect them. We actually have a dedicated room in our house that we turned into a library (instead of an office). We admit that we are a little book obsessed. So why would this end during the holidays?

Every October the kids come home with Scholastic order forms that have Halloween Packs (and Easter, and Christmas), for a ridiculously cheap price. I buy a couple of the packs and save them to put into our Boo-Box for the next year.

Every night the kids get to choose a book from the box that they like to read - it's a nice way to keep them interested in reading and to keep the Halloween spirit every single day!


Please feel free to share any links that you may have for other fun Halloween crafts for kids in comments!

Sandwitch Ghosts, Vampire Bites and Pumpkin Seeds

Puking Pumpkin (Guacamole)

It's no secret that my favourite part about Halloween is the themed food.

Every year I scour magazines and websites and now Pinterest for some new ideas on how to make the best edibles for this awesome season.

There is just something about it that makes me smile. Maybe it's because my kids actually eat everything I make them in the month of October and maybe it's also because I get to get creative in the kitchen (I don't like to cook otherwise).

For the last 7 years this Halloween themed food has been only shared with my friends on Facebook, but a friend of mine over at This Bird's Day, encouraged me to blog about what I love and so - every Thursday for the month of October I will feature some yummy Halloween themed food.

Like I said, I am not a cook by any means. These are really easy and your kids will absolutely love them! Enjoy!!

Here is a really easy easy one.

First go out and buy some quality Halloween themed cookie cutters. These are invaluable. You can get some at Williams and Sonoma, Pier One, Michaels, and I recently found these itty bitty ones at Home Outfitters. I use cookie cutters a lot. So easy to instantly make a Halloween meal.

Sandwitch Ghosts, Vampire Bites and Pumpkin Seeds 

Ghosts, Bites and Seeds. (Bat just for decoration).

I make these a lot during the month of October as I get really busy and sometimes forget to plan something for lunches. All you do is make a sandwitch - anything inside really - and then use the cookie cutter of your choice. 

Variation. Witch Hat, seeds, and pumpkin soup.

You can jazz these up by using peppercorns in the eyes, or ketchup for blood, etc. If you are worried about food waste use the cookie cutter first and save the crusts for a Deadman Meatloaf. 

I like to pair these sanwitches with Vampire Bites, which are also incredibly easy to make. Just take a ripe cherry tomato (you can also use cut-up tomatoes) and use almond slivers for vampire teeth. If your child is allergic to nuts, you could also use chow mein noodles. 

Don't these look amazing!!

By adding the Pumpkin Seeds, you add more protein to the meal and who doesn't like this seasonal snack? I got a great recipe from This Bird's Day that is really great. 

I found that washing the pumpkin seeds and then allowing them to fully dry before cooking them, and adding your spices was the best way to go. I love how crunchy and tasty they are! 

There are hundreds of variations to these three things and so if you are crazy like me and send themed lunches to "school" as well there are a lot of different things you can do with a little imagination and a cookie cutter!