Tag: advent calendar

Mummy and Me Magazine: Nov 2013

| November 2, 2013

Alternative Advent Calendar

Christmas is almost upon us and I’m already thinking of some wonderful ideas to fill my daughter’s homemade advent calendar. This year I’ll be making a personalised advent calendar with a little treat for each day. And there won’t be any chocolate in sight.

I’ve bought some small striped paper candy bags that will be numbered 1 to 24. These will be strung up on some red wool in the style of bunting and inside each bag will be a little surprise to count down the days to Christmas.

Some ideas to include in an alternative advent calendar are recycled mini cards (cut outs of old cards we have) with a special message inside tied to some string so they can be hung on the Christmas tree as decorations and printed colouring pictures (there are plenty for free on the internet that you can print out).

Other little treats could include a bouncy ball, crayons, a mini tub of PlayDoh, hairclips, a cookie cutter, marbles, a Christmas decoration for the tree and a selection of dried fruit (which is sweet but without the refined sugar).

healthy flapjacks

If you want to include some delicious natural, sweet and chewy treats in some of the days of the advent calendar my Healthy Flapjacks are simple to make. They can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days so you can add a piece each morning before your child opens their advent calendar.

Healthy Flapjacks

Makes 15

Ingredients

  • 1 large Apple
  • 60 ml 100% Orange Juice
  • 1 cup Whole Rolled Oats
  • 1/3 cup Raisins and finely chopped Dried Apricots
  • 3 teaspoons Sesame Seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180 C. Line a 22cm cake tin with baking paper.

2. Wash and core the apple. Cut into thin slices and place in a pan. Add the Orange Juice and bring to the boil.

3. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered and stirring occasionally until the apple is soft.

4. Puree the Apple and Orange juice with a hand-held mixer or in a food processor.

5. Stir in the Cinnamon, Oats, Sesame Seeds, Raisins and Dried Apricots into the Apple puree and mix well.

6. Tip the mixture into the tin and spread out evenly.

7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until firm and golden brown.

8. Let it cool before cutting into wedges.

Lydia Oliver, Nutritional Advisor

mummy and me magazineThis article was published in the November 2013 edition of Mummy and Me Magazine.

I offer one to one nutrition programmes for breastfeeding, post pregnancy weight loss, weaning advice, weight management and health. Contact me.

Healthy Flapjacks Recipe

| October 24, 2013

I promised in my Homemade Advent Calendar post last week that I’d share my recipe for Healthy Flapjacks. I’ll be popping some of these into Imogen’s Christmas advent calendar as a deliciously natural, sweet and chewy treat.

healthy flapjacks

These are easy to make and last for several days in the fridge if you can keep them for that long without little (or big) fingers getting hold of them…

Makes 15 Flapjacks

Ingredients

  • 1 Apple
  • 60 ml 100% Orange Juice
  • 1 cup Whole Rolled Oats
  • 1/3 cup Raisins and finely chopped Dried Apricots
  • 3 teaspoons Sesame Seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180 C. Line a 22cm cake tin with baking paper.

2. Wash and core the apple. Cut into thin slices and place in a pan. Add the Orange Juice and bring to the boil.

3. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered and stirring occasionally until the apple is soft.

4. Puree the Apple and Orange Juice with a hand-held mixer or in a food processor.

5. Stir the Cinnamon, Oats, Sesame Seeds, Raisins and Dried Apricots into the apple puree and mix well.

6. Tip the mixture into the tin and spread out evenly at approximately 1 cm thick.

7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until firm and golden brown.

8. Let it cool before cutting into wedges.

As an alternative to buying organic muesli bars I make flapjacks with organic ingredients and we take a couple out with us each day for after the playground. Some weeks I use pears rather than apples and substitute the orange juice for apple juice. Have fun creating your own version.

Enjoy healthy flapjacks as snacks, an after dinner treat or pop into your child’s lunch box.

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