Pumpkin Sauce and Pork-chop Lion

Today's fun food was made to look like a lion.  It was also grain-free and dairy-free.

To make the lion's mane I used Ancient Harvest Quinoa veggie curls.  Follow the instructions on the back of the box precisely, I boiled mine for a couple minutes longer than suggested and they came out a little softer than I would have preferred.

The pumpkin sauce contained:

Pumpkin puree - 1 (15 oz.) can

Chicken stock - 2/3 c.

Coconut milk - 1/2 c.

White onion - 1/2 medium onion, chopped

Kale - hand full, finely chopped

Salt - 1 tsp.

Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Curry spice blend (cardamom, ground tumeric, ground cumin, coriander, chili powder) - 1 tbsp

Pumpkin spice blend (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all spice) - 1 tsp.

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until it bubbles.  Be sure to stir often to avoid burning the bottom.

While I made the sauce I had these cooking.  Boneless pork-chops, seasoned and popped into the oven at 350 degrees F for about 30-45 minutes.

To make the lion, I put the pasta and sauce on the plate first and topped it with a pork chop face.  I also used two small pieces of pork chop for the ears.  The details on the face were made with green, yellow and red pepper (eyes, mouth and whiskers), an almond (nose), black beans (pupils), and a cauliflower (muzzle).

We ate our lions with a side of "Jungle Leaves" (aka. kale chips), recipe here.

The Grouchy Ladybug Snack

Today during circle time, we read one of the boys' favorite books, The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle.  

Shortly after reading the book, it was time for me to make morning snack for the kiddos and The Grouchy Ladybug was still on my mind.  Mostly because the boys kept repeating, "Hey you!  You wanna fight!?"  So, I used this page from the book as the inspiration for today's food art.

Here is MY version:

The sun is pineapple, the praying mantis is cucumber with tomato eyes, the ladybug is black beans and a cherry tomato and carrots for the ground.  I used a toothpick and some black food coloring to "paint" the dots on the wings and the pupils on the mantis eyes.  I realized later that I probably should have put the carrots at an angle to better imitate the brush strokes in the book and maybe added a few red and yellow  bell pepper strips.  Next time.

Making grain-free and dairy-free food art is a lot more complicated than when I could just cut a "sammy" and some cheese into a fun shape, but I think it turned out pretty good.  Most importantly the boys loved the theme and they devoured this healthy snack!