Winter #LittleAdventures Challenge & Gluten Free Apple Ants on a Log Recipe

Friday, February 28, 2014

A bear themed day with a two-year-old!  Bear activities and a recipe for Apple Ants on a Log!
Beary Good Toddler Snacks: Barny Bears & Apple Ants on a Log


Disclaimer: The ants on a log is gluten and dairy free, suitable for vegans and vegetables. The Barny Bears are made with gluten containing ingredients.


A winter #littleadeventures challenge with a bear theme

Yield 1 serving

Apple Ants on a Log

This is going to be somewhat of an unusual post for me, but it's one that I hope you'll all enjoy! :) I took part in a Winter Little Adventures Challenge organized by BritMums. In fact, this post is an entry for BritMums' Winter Little Adventures Challenge sponsored by Barny, individually-wrapped bear-shaped sponge cakes with a hidden filling. Find out more about Barny!



Sponsored by Barny Bears

Since Callum and I both have been struggling with a cold the last few weeks, going out for a proper adventure was out of the question, so I thought it might be fun to come up with some bear-themed activities and snacks so we could have our own indoor adventure. At the bottom of this post, you can find the recipe for my Apple Ants on a Log--a perfect healthy, snack for any toddler!

Please ignore the horrid mess in the photos! Haha. I thought about cleaning up, but decided that anyone with a toddler would know what it's like. Our living room looks like this 12 hours of the day every day. It's only clean when Callum is in bed! Welcome to the mess and madness.

Callum matchin the orange bears #littleadventures
To get things started, I planned three hands-on activities: two matching games and a craft. First Callum had to match the orange baby bears with the orange momma bear. I cut out the bear on orange construction paper and glued the bottom half to create a pouch. When Callum picked up the orange bears, he was supposed to put them in the momma bear so they could all be together. After a few goes, he had more fun ripping the momma bear to shreds and jumping up and down on her, quite sadistically.

Callum destroying the orange momma bear #littleadventures
Next, we tucked the teddies into bed. I folded a piece of construction 3/4 of the way over and glued the sides. Then I badly drew some pillows and a quilt and cut out purple teddy bears. Callum and I talked about our bed time routine and I showed him how to kiss the teddies before tucking them into bed.

Callum tucking the purple teddies into bed #littleadventures
 He enjoyed them so much and thought they were adorable! After a few minutes of the purple teddies going to bed, he decided that the orange teddies were tired too. And since he had destroyed the orange momma bear, the orange teddies would need to share a bed with the purple teddies.

All the teddies in bed #littleadventures

So he crammed them all in. I asked him about the tattered orange momma bear and he picked up the torn bits of her and crammed her in as well. You can see from the photos, he was well pleased with himself!

Torn momma bear in bed, too #littleadventures

For our bit of craft fun, I made some all-natural microwave puff paint and we finger painted a momma bear and baby bear that I traced from cookie cutters. He was a bit unsure of the paint at first (it's quite grainy) but soon enough he loved it and had fun fingerpainting the bears.

Microwave puff paint #littleadventures

Callum fingerpainting with the microwave puff paint #littleadventures
Fingerpainting with edible puff paint #littleadventures

Clean up was a cinch because he just wiped his hands all over his clothes. Because the paint is made with flour, salt, water and food dye, no damage was done! When we were finished painting, I microwaved the paper for about 30 seconds until the paint dryed and puffed up.

Dried microwave puff paint #littleadventures

After all of our hard work matching and then painting, it was time for a snack! We had Apple Ants on a Log and of course a Barny Bear! He loves decapitating the bear and playing with it before devouring it. We encourage playing with food at snack and meal times because food has so many lovely textures and fragrances for him to explore. Plus, kids always lick their fingers so much of that food ends up in their mouths--right where we want it!

Apple Ants on a Log and Barny bear snack #littleadventures
Callum checking out the snack #littleadventures
As usual, Callum had a good session playing with the bear while picking at the apples and raisins. At one point he stuck Barny's torso into the pot of cashew butter and stared in amazement as the plate levitated! Eventually, long after I gave up sitting on the floor photographing him, he finished the bear and most of the raisins. He left most of the apple because I left the skin on. (He hates fruit skin!)

Levitating Barny bears #littleadventures
Play with your food! #littleadventures

Barny torn in half #littleadventures

We really enjoyed our indoor winter adventure! In addition to the matching games, craft and snack, we talked about bears and read some stories that included bears in them! We also sang and danced to "Teddy bear teddy bear turn around".

Snack time! #littleadventures

Callum loves the Barny bear sponge cakes! In our parcel we received these apple ones and a pack of strawberry ones. The strawberry bears were devoured quickly! We'll be picking  them up from our local supermarket whenever we do our weekly shop now! They were a big hit :)

Ingredients:

For the apple ants on a log
1 tbsp cashew butter
1 package raisins
1 Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apple
1 apple-flavored Barny Bear

**Notes**
  • You can use honey instead of a nut butter

Instructions:

Apple Ants on a Log
  1. Core and wedge an apple using an apple wedger.
  2. Cut a small portion out of the flesh of each wedge.
  3. Show your toddler how to smear cashew or other nut butter onto the wedge.
  4. Allow your toddler to place raisins on top of the cashew butter like ants on a log.
  5. Serve the Apple Ants on a Log with a Barny Bear sponge cake.
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33 comments:

  1. This is such a cute idea!! Love it will pass it on to my friends and sisters who's kids will love this! And your son is too adorable :)

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    1. Thank you Dria! :) I hope your friends and sisters love it, too!

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  2. Callum is so adorable!! And the treats look tasty!

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  3. What a great idea to create an indoor adventure with a healthy snack!

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  4. What a wonderful indoor adventure! Those Barny bear cakes look delicious. I think my kids would love them even though they are teenagers! :-)

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    1. They ARE really nice:) We're all fans of the strawberry ones & I'm sure your boys would love them!

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  5. How cute is he and I want to be sharing snacks with him, they look yummy!!!

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  6. oh my goodness...first off...what a handsome, beautiful son you have!! What a great, fun way to spend the day indoors and with such great snacks too! We've had one of the most miserable winters that I can remember here in the states...if I had little ones, what a great afternoon activity this would be.

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    1. Thank you, Renee! :) Yes, our winter has been miserable, too, but without ANY snow. There's just been lots of rain and flooding here :( I think the whole northern hemisphere is ready for spring and summer!

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  7. I love the apple instead of celery idea.

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    1. Thanks, Meg! :) I'm not sure I'd get my kid to eat celery; even if I slathered it in chocolate!

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  8. What a fun idea for the kids. They love all those ingredients for the after snack! Great job.

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  9. Stumbled....and your son is adorable!

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  10. Absolutely Love this Post! Too cute!!! Great job!!

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  11. How fun, I will have to see if I can find those Barny Bears! My Little one would love those!

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    1. Yes! In addition to strawberry & apple, they have chocolate & milk, too!

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  12. I love everything about this post! I have to try this with my little man! How fun!

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    1. Yes, give it a go! :) I want to do it with other themes, too!

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  13. Can't beat a foodie adventure, love it. Bec (munchies and munchkins)

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  14. Awww she looks like she's had so much fun!
    ~Cathy~
    ourminifamily.com

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  15. What a fun post. It's clear the kids will LOVE this activity. Thanks for sharing Anyonita!

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  16. This is a fantastic ideas! Love of fun!

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  17. What a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen!

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  18. What a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen!

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  19. Awwww... your little one is so cute and look at him having so much fun! :D
    -Abeer @ www.cakewhiz.com

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  20. Beautiful boy and a great idea about the bears going to bed. Congratulations on winning!

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