Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. Here are more Valentines Crafts for You!

Valentine's Day is so much fun for kids and adults alike. Look at these simple, yet fun crafts I created on CTV Morning Live.  Have a great idea of your own?  Please share in comments below.  

 If you do not have time to get flowers, Tissue Paper Flowers is a great craft for the kids. Click on the photo for an easy how to.

                                                                                  

Celery Stamped flowers  Dip in paint and makes for a great picture or a single stamp for a card. Best part, healthy snack afterwards. Be sure to cut off the end ;)

 

 Butterfly Candy Bags

All you need: clothespins,pipe cleaners, scissors, googly eyes, glue gun, paint, paintbrush, candy bags and candy!

One step easier: leave out the googly eyes and just use a marker to draw eyes and dots overtop painted clothspin. A Valentine treat sure to pleae.

Have a perfectly L♥VE’ly day!

 Here are all of my L♥vely Ideas for this Valentine’s Day.  You can group all of them together and have a Valentine’s party or pick and choose a few.  Either way, have a perfectly L♥VE’ly day!

Cards and Invites

Get out your creative craft box out (have a look at my craft box page for ideas), and let the kids creativity flow. Here are a few ideas I liked over on the Kaboose site. 

Magnetic Valentine – Glue a favourite photo to a piece of magnetic paper (found at the photo store or the dollar store).  Trace a heart shape around the two layers – photo and magnetic paper. Cut the shape out and voila.  You have a beautiful Valentine. 

Delicious Delectables

Take one or more of these ideas and make your loved ones breakfast, lunch or supper l♥ve’ly!

Crustless Quiche - Made in a heart shape pan.  This is my recipe

Get out your cookie cutters and create heart shaped fruit and sandwiches. 

Build your fruit tray in the shape of a heart with a heart shaped bowl and your favourite dip.

Make pink lemonade.

Heart ice cubes are so cute.

Chocolate fondue is always a hit. Here is a great recipe. 

Decorate your Home.

Make a garland out of hearts or Xs and Os.

Cut out big hearts with little notes on them such as “Be Mine” or “You’re sweet”. Post them up for now, but plan to use them later for a game of Musical Hearts.

Make heart hands using acrylic paint. Paint the side of your pinky finger down to the end of your hand. Do the same to the other hand. Make a shape of a heart with your hands and press down on paper.  This makes a beautiful keepsake. 

Set a L♥vely Table. 

Colour your own flowers

All you need:

1. White flowers, like white carnations or Queen Anne's Lace
2. Food coloring
3. Water
4. A plastic container

Add the dye and watch your flower drink up the beautiful colours. This a great experiment for all ages. 

Fill champagne glasses with valentine candies.  |Scatter valentine confetti around them for a nice centerpiece

Salt Candles (below)

Set out an individual bowl of candy at each placesetting.

Don’t Forget the Party Favours.

Individual box of chocolates.

Heart shaped activity book with pencils.

Heart crayons.  This is such a fun craft. Take all of your old crayons and bake them in a heart shaped silicone tray.

Valentine Games with Heart

Pass the heart (like hot potato)

Conversation Heart Bingo.  Printable cards and instructions here.  

Musical Hearts.  Just like musical chairs, but with love.  cut out big hearts on the floor and place them in a circle on the floor.  Play some fun music like Disney’s kiss the girl or Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours.  Have fun!

Have a dance party- get your play list together.

L♥ve the Outdoors

Play capture the heart - (like capture the flag).

Use red food dye with water in a spray bottle to decorate the snow outside with hearts.

 When it’s over.

Wind down with a group craft like painting a keepsake box for your Valentine cards. You could also watch heart themed movie like.  Lady and the Tramp. See my facebook page for a great list of books and movies. 

 Wishing you and yours a LOVELY Valentine's Day.

Super Bowl Party Snack Ideas

MINI PIZZA POCKETS

These mini pizza pockets are much better than the frozen kind! Just use your favorite pizza toppings to create a cheesy snack your guests will go crazy for.

Ingredients:

Pre-made pizza dough- store bought or your favorite crust recipe

1/2 Cup pizza sauce (plus extra for serving)

1/2 Cup ricotta cheese

1/2 Cup mozzarella cheese

1/4 Cup pepperoni, chopped

**Any of your favorite pizza toppings

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Separate dough into 8 tennis ball sized mounds (making more or less depending on how much pizza dough you have). Roll each mound out flat until it’s about ¼ of an inch thick. Top one side of the dough with 1 tbsp pizza sauce, 1 tbsp ricotta, 1 tbsp mozzarella, and a sprinkle of pepperoni. Fold the dough over and crease to seal it, cut a slit into the top of the dough to allow air to escape. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes- or until the tops are a golden brown. Serve with extra pizza sauce or marinara for dipping.

BAKED COCKTAIL MEATBALLS

The secret is in the spices! These baked appetizer meatballs are packed with flavor. They are so juicy and good, you won’t miss the deep frying – and there’s also no need to simmer them in sauce. I usually serve these tasty little snacks with a small bowl. 

Ingredients:

Olive oil cooking spray

1 Pound lean ground bison or extra lean ground beef

1 Teaspoon salt

1 Teaspoon smoked paprika

1 Teaspoon ground cumin

1 Teaspoon dried oregano

1 Teaspoon garlic powder

1 Teaspoon onion powder

1 Teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 Teaspoon black pepper

1 large egg

1/4 Cup almond flour (or whole wheat flour)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. Using your hands, mix the beef with the spices. Add the egg and the flour and mix until incorporated. With wet hands, form into 24 small balls, around 1oz each. Place meatballs on prepared baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, until browned.

TERIYAKI TURKEY SLIDERS

These fun-size burgers are perfect for party guests. They’re tasty and wholesome but leave room for cake. The tamari and ginger give them a nice extra kick that’s appealing to kids and adults alike.

Ingredients:

1 Pound 93 percent lean ground turkey

1/4 Cup panko, fine dry bread crumbs, or gluten-free bread crumbs

2 Tablespoon finely chopped scallions, white and green parts

1 Tablespoon wheat-free tamari

1 Clove garlic, minced

1 Teaspoon minced fresh ginger, or 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1 Teaspoon canola oil or sesame oil

8 whole-grain slider-size buns or gluten-free slider-size buns

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, scallions, tamari, garlic, and ginger. Mix well. Shape into 8 small patties. Heat the canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the patties (in 2 batches, if necessary) and cook, turning once, for about 15 minutes total, until no longer pink. An instant read thermometer should register 165°F when inserted into the patties. These also can be grilled. If grilling, brush the patties with sesame oil before placing on the grill. Place on cocktail buns and serve with condiments of your choice.

BUFFALO CHICKEN CUPS

Spicy, tangy, cheesy -- these buffalo chicken cups will be a hit at your gathering. They're bite sized and the perfect savory treat for gameday.

Ingredients:

12 Oz of cooked chicken, diced

3 Oz of blue cheese, crumbled

1/4 Cup wing sauce (mild or hot, according to taste)

1/2 Cup cream cheese, softened

24 wonton wrappers (found in the refrigerated section of your store)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken and blue cheese in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl mix together the softened cream cheese and hot wing sauce. Pour the chicken and blue cheese into this bowl and mix well. Place one wonton wrapper in each cupcake opening. Press down. Fill each wrapper ¾ of the way with the chicken mixture, top with more crumbled blue cheese if you wish. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the wrappers are golden brown. Cook’s Note: This can also be made with phyllo dough cut into squares or tortillas if you can’t find wonton wrappers

TOFU MANGO BLACK BEAN DIP

A healthy and protein packed dip that's perfect for the big game.

Ingredients:

1 (10 oz.) package house tofu super firm grilled, drained and diced

1 large mango, diced

1/3 cup red onion, diced

1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine mango, red onion, black beans, cilantro and jalapeno in a medium bowl. Add Tofu, and squeeze lime juice over the mixture. Mix well, add salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

SPICY SNACK MIX

This tasty treat can be consumed for days after. Just make sure to store it in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

3/4 Stick of butter, melted

1 Ounce packet of taco seasoning mix

3/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 Teaspoon cayenne

2 Cup pecan halves

2 Cup roasted cashews, unsalted

2 Cup walnut halves

2 Cup whole almonds, unblanched

3 Cup Goldfish, or bite-sized cheese crackers

2 Cup pretzel nuggets or sticks

Directions:

Mix butter and seasonings in slow cooker. Add all remaining ingredients and toss together gently. Cook uncovered on low 3-4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes until nuts are toasted. Turn off heat. Serve from slow cooker with large spoon, or pour into big serving bowl.

BAKED CHEESY JALAPENO POPPERS

Ingredients:

Baked Jalepeno Poppers

Top of Form

12 fresh jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise, stems, seeds and membranes removed

1 8-ounce bar reduced fat cream cheese

1 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, slightly crushed

1 teaspoon mild ground chili

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 egg

2 egg whites

1/2 cup wheat flour 

1 cup seasoned dry breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon salt

Bottom of Form

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mash together the cream cheese, mozzarella, cumin seeds, mild chili powder and black pepper. In a shallow dish, whisk egg with egg whites. Spread the flour out on a sheet of wax paper. Spread the breadcrumbs out on another sheet of wax paper. Fill the hollow of each half pepper with a heaping tablespoon of the cream-cheese mixture. One at a time, dredge in the flour, dip into the egg whites, then press into the crumbs to coat. Repeat with remaining peppers. Place the coated peppers, cut side up, on baking sheets and bake until the peppers are tender and the crust is golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Do you have any Superbowl snack recpies? Share them in the comments below! 

Walk for Memories and Facts About Alzheimer's Disease

On January 26th , the Walk for Memories will be taking place province-wide. To find out where your local walk is taking place go to: http://walkformemories.ca/findawalk/

This province-wide event is to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and education. Held annually in more than 65 communities across Ontario, this inspiring event calls on participants of all ages and abilities to help support people living with dementia.

Here are some facts and statistics about Alzheimer’s disease:

• Alzheimer's disease has a major impact on the health of Canadians. About 500,000 Canadians suffer from some type of dementia, and 60% of these have Alzheimer's disease. About 60% of people in long-term care facilities have Alzheimer's disease.

• 1 in 11 Canadians over the age of 65 has Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia.

• Women make up almost three-quarters of Canadians with Alzheimer's disease.

• In just 5 years, as much as 50% more Canadians and their families could be facing Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia.

• Within a generation, the number of Canadians with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia will more than double, ranging between 1 and 1.3 million people.

• There will be over 1 million Canadians living with dementia by the year 2038, largely because the "baby boom" generation (people born between 1946 and 1960) will have reached old age.

• The impact of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias engulfs whole families, and affects far more than the half a million people living with the disease.

• Many people have someone in their live effected by Alzheimer's disease.

• 17% of Canadians have someone with Alzheimer's disease in their immediate family.

• Alzheimer's disease is the second most feared disease for Canadians as they age.

• We still don't understand exactly how Alzheimer's disease damages the brain. Somehow, cells are damaged and eventually die in different areas of the brain. The damaged areas of the brain contain abnormalities called senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The death of brain cells leads to dementia, characterized by memory loss, impaired judgment, and behavioral changes.

• Each case of Alzheimer's usually affects at least two lives: the person with the condition, and the patient's spouse or child who gradually becomes a full-time caregiver as the disease progresses. Caring for an individual with Alzheimer's can be demanding and emotionally draining. Many caregivers must eventually face the difficult decision of placing their loved one in institutional care. 

When you participate in the Walk, your fundraising dollars fuel your local mission-related initiatives of care, support and research. In addition, your actions, both through fundraising and participating in the event, help to change the level of Alzheimer’s awareness in your local community. So many families in our community is impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and the success of the Walk for Memories this Sunday will make such a difference in terms of support for those living with dementia. Only 35% of our local Alzheimer Society’s funding is from government sources so we must rely on the generous people in our community for the remainder.

 

How Does Winter Wear On You?

How does winter wear on you? 

We all know how harsh winter can be, especially on your wardrobe, car, and around the home. Here are a few quick  fixes that help you survive the long winter.