Easy Angry Bird Cookies

My friend recently brought over this Angry Birds Cookie Kit, and this was such a bargain price for some biscuit decorating fun! If you are looking for some school holiday inspiration during these last few days, see if you can get your hands on this kit- there are also Peppa Pig and Minni Mouse versions available.

The cookies come with the bases like this, which gives a good outline for the icing. There are three colours of icing- red, black and yellow, as well as candy eyes for decoration.



The black icing does get a bit messy- so I opted for yellow for my youngest. They started off by using the bag to pipe the icing on, and then used a plastic knife to spread the icing evenly.



The boys had great fun practicing their fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills!



The kit comes complete with eyes, and I added a jellybean for the nose. The icing in these kits is very sweet, so use sparingly and with adult supervision.



What fun have you been up to this school holidays?

WCW Tropical Teacakes

Those pesky bananas are still lurking in my fruit bowl as my 2 year old insists on buying them every time we go to the supermarket! 

I decided to whip up these teacakes instead of the usual muffins or bread. I used a pretty baking mold but you could use a mini loaf pan or muffin trays instead. These are dairy and egg free, and perfect to whip up for a quick afternoon tea.

Tropical Teacakes

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 tablespoons Healtheries Black Chia seeds

4 tablespoons ground flaxseed

1/4 cup cold water

2 small bananas

1/2 cup orange and mango juice

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

extra 1/4 cup orange and mango juice

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together. Create a well in the center and set aside.

Mix the water, flaxseed and Black Chia seeds to form a paste. Mix in mashed bananas and juice and add to the dry mixture. Mix well.

Fold in the coconut and add extra juice if needed. You want the mixture to be quite runny, about the consistency of pancake mix.

Add a dessertspoon full of the mixture to each mold or muffin tray. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned.

Serve warm or keep in an airtight container for up to three days.

Aladdin Family Fun Night

Adam has recently been requesting lullabies to help him fall asleep, and one of the songs I sing to him is my favourite song from Aladdin.

This got me thinking about a family fun night based on the Aladdin movie!

Firstly, I put down a tablecloth on the floor for us to sit on as a magic carpet. Pretty basic, but the boys think sitting on the floor to eat is awesome!



We all sat down to have our dinner and watch the movie.



We had Blue Genie Juice, which was Blueberry flavoured fizzy. A rare treat in our house, but this was rather tasty! We also had Turkish flatbread, moroccan couscous with eggplant and tomato, and some tandoori yoghurt beef kebabs from our local butcher.



Dessert was Cave of Wonders- strawberry ripple icecream with jubes to represent the jewels.



This was simple to throw together at short notice, and such a fun way to spend a Friday night together. The boys loved watching the genie, and I enjoyed reminiscing about the songs as I used to sing them in choir.

If you have any suggestions of movies that we should watch as a family, I would love to hear them as we love our movie nights!

WCW Chia and Pumpkin Seed Bread

I was lucky enough to be selected as a Healtheries Chia Seeds Super Sampler, and some black chia seeds arrived by post yesterday. I immediately thought of baking bread with them, as I planned to have soup and bread for dinner. With the addition of pumpkin seeds, this bread is wholesome and filling.



If you do not have a bread maker, this bread also comes together easily with minimal kneading and rising.

Chia and Pumpkin Seed Bread
1 cup lukewarm tap water
2 1/2 cups high grade flour
4 tablespoons wholemeal flour
4 tablespoons sunflower seeds
4 tablespoons Healtheries Black Chia seeds
4 tablespoons Healtheries Bran Flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon dry milk powder
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons bread machine yeast

Set your breadmaker to large white loaf.

Place the ingredients into the machine in the order listed and press start.

Leave to sit in the machine for up to one hour before removing and cutting into thick slices.



This bread is so delicious- my mother even asked me to bake a loaf for her on Mother's Day as her present!

The robustness of this bread lends itself well as a toast bread, which is perfect with poached eggs for breakfast.



Have you ever tried black chia seeds before? I would love to hear your suggestions on how to use them. You can also check out 7 Health Benefits of Chia Seeds for more information.

Playroom Planning- Part Two

If you missed last week's post, we were starting to tidy up the second bedroom to create a playroom space.

When we left off, the playroom looked like this:



Now, it looks like this when you walk into the room.



The left hand side of the room has the two toyboxes, as well as some fun canvas prints and some Winnie The Pooh cross stitch designs I did when I was a girl. The curtains we kept as is, since my mum made them for us when we first moved in and they match the room perfectly.



The large bookcase is now full of books for both of the boys to read, as well as their magazines and some Sesame Street flash cards.



Opposite the bookcase is this tent, where the boys can read in peace and have a rest! That clown cushion is another piece from my childhood that my mother made, which is now being put to good use in the reading tent.



We also grabbed a secondhand whiteboard for the boys to use, and created a mini art area where the boys can draw and paint.The cupboards have paper, crayons, pencils and everything they need to create a masterpiece!



I love this alphabet wall decal we bought when Adam was a baby, which we have left on the wall as a fun addition to the playroom.



All of the artwork created by the boys will hang up on this black frame.



I still wanted to keep our painted bookcase, so that now houses some of the bigger toys and sits by the Lego table.



I love all the bright and cheery primary colours in the playroom, and the mix and match decor.



The best thing about this makeover was that it was done in a weekend and cost us nothing as we used items that we already had. Now we have a bright, sunny space for the boys to play in, where I am also happy to sit and have a coffee and watch them create.



Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Pantry and Kitchen tidy up and a giveaway!

I hoped to have this giveaway up sooner, but have been having link issues so have decided to run this giveaway over on my Facebook page.

Simply post a photo of a pantry or kitchen area you have tidied up on the thread of my Facebook page, and one person will be randomly selected to win a $40 Bed, Bath and Table gift card! 

This is open to New Zealand residents only, but others are still welcome to share their photos. 

Please click here to be taken to the entry post. 

WCW Homemade Muesli Bars

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of What's Cooking Wednesday!

I am struggling to find some healthy, filling options for my son's lunchbox, and buying muesli bars all of the time was getting expensive. After some trial and error, I have come up with a mix that gets the thumbs up from my entire family.

Homemade Muesli Bars
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

Combine the first five ingredients in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to and simmer for about four minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, combine all other ingredients. Pour the boiling honey mixture over the oat mixture and combine.

Press mixture into a greased baking pan and pat down with wet hands. Chill in fridge for an hour, or until firm, before cutting into bars. Store in the fridge until ready to eat, or these will keep for up to 4 hours in an airtight lunchbox.



Everyone in my family enjoys these, although I tend to cut them in half again for a lunchbox snack as they are quite filling! They have a slightly nutty taste from the peanut butter, and the dried fruits provide a welcome burst of sweetness.

Linking up with: Pin Me Party and Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday.