The Laurie Berkner Band Blog

Avocado and Chocolate

Laurie's two favorite foods are avocado and chocolate... so how lucky were we when Facebook fan Gail Lehman sent us these two recipes COMBINING the delicious duo!?

Jenn Cohen's Chocolate Mousse (Vegan, raw, gluten-free)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pitted medjool dates, soaked.

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 to 2 avocados, pitted

1/4 cup raw cocoa powder or more to taste

1/4 cup water

Place dates, agave necter & vanilla in food processor and process til smooth. Add avocado, cocoa and water & process til creamy. Refrigerate before serving.

Tach's Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

4 avocados

1/2 cup melted dark chocolate chips

1 Tbsp coconut or olive oil

Puree four avocados. Then add 1/2 cup of melted dark chocolate chips, using a small amount of coconut or olive oil to melt the chips. Mix the melted chocolate into the pureed avocados until well incorporated. Serve immediately (my personal favorite) or chill first. If you like, you can sprinkle with hemp seed (for extra protein) before serving.

 

Thanks, Gail, for sharing!

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day, everyone! 

We are thrilled to celebrate our wonderful Earth today (and everyday!)

One of the great things about being a kid is all the fun things you can do to help the environment AND have a great time doing it.

Here are some fun, Earth-friendly activities:

1) Go for a walk and pick up litter.  Don't forget to sort between recyclable material and landfill garbage - you can even drop off compostable things at your local compost drop-off! You can play games while you do it, too - try "I Spy" or see who can pick up the most litter!

2) Make an eco-friendly snack. Go to your local Farmer's Market and pick out local and organic foods, then go home and start cookin'. 

3) Use those old bottles or egg cartons to make planters! First, get some seeds (we like Seeds of Change). If you're using a plastic soda bottle, have a grownup help cut the top off so you are left with the bottom 5-6". Next, decorate your bottle bottom with such recycled things as cardboard from cereal boxes (color or paint it!), pieces of cloth from old clothing, pictures from magazines or catalogues, etc. Poke small holes in the bottom.  Then, fill your planter with dirt and plant your seeds! Egg cartons make excellent herb gardens :)

4) Have old CD's and records lying around?  Make this clock!

5) Take some time to talk about nature, why it's important, why we are thankful for it, and ways we can help make it strong and healthy.  Read books, tell stories, and think about what would life be like without trees and nature. It feels good to give thanks!

6) Listen to this song!

Can You Imagine?

7) Next time you want to buy a toy, think about going home and making one, instead!  It's really fun to figure out what you love about a toy, and then recreate it for yourself. You can make trucks out of toilet paper rolls and dolls out of old clothing.

8) Reuse old baby food jars to make beautiful candle holders for your home or gifts!

Enjoy, and let us know what you do today!

December Contests: Week 4 Winner!

Wow, we've had a ton of fun reading all the great responses to our contests this month.  The holidays are almost over, and we can't wait to jump into 2011!

The contest question this week asked about your favorite New Years Eve traditions! 

Our winner this week was:

Tabitha

With this great idea:

To remember the past year, we make a picture collage of the past year. We put both the good and the tough times in the collage (like the birth of our newest child and birthdays, or my oldest going through surgery again., and any times that we want to remember (my oldest really playing in the snow for the first time). We put the collages in our children's memory books so that they will always have them to look back on. Looking forward to the next year, we don't make resolutions. Resolutions often get broken. Instead, we get together as a family and set goals for ourselves. We talk about where we want to head as a family. For example, this year we want "daddy" to finish his dissertation and graduate from school. We would also like to work on adding another member to the family-- a little brother or sister. Also, we would like to reunite as a family-- my husband works to far away to commute, and we currently own our house, so we are apart a lot. So this year our goal is to find a way to be together again. When you set goals you tend to reach for them-- they are very positive things. Of course, to celebrate we do the usual-- aglio olio dinner, champagne and sparkling grape juice toast, banging pots and pans at midnight, and a big feast after midnight (we are big Italian family, so lots of food involved!) It is lots of fun!

And the runners up were:

Andrea T, Britt D., Marcus Johnson, Kate E., and Natalie

With these fun ideas:

Britt D:

On New Year's Eve, our family likes to spend time with our friends.  We have a close knit group of 6 familes and there is 9 children all under the age of 5.  We like to get together for dinner, somthing easy and fun-pizza, pasta bar, pot luck.  We do a holiday grab with the kids and play music (especially LBB!!) and we dance!  We do an early toast with the adults and have sparkling cider for the kiddos.  It's an early night for us all but it is so much fun!!
 
To remember last year, my husband and I like to look through old photos of the year, especially since our son is 20 months old we like to look at photos from his birth on.  We also make a family New Year's resolution.  Our resolution this year is to make sure we have more family sit-down meals.  It's hard with our work schedules but we want to make a true effort to make it happen.
 
We hope everyone in the LBB and their families have a Happy New Year!!
 
Happy Holidays!
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Marcus Johnson:

Our New Year's Eve consists of one thing: FIREWORKS!! We would go outside late at night and throw snappers, send bottle rockets to the moon, and light sparklers to brighten the night sky. As far as remembering the previous year, we don't really focus on that...we're too busy looking at what's ahead, because that's where our best days are located. If the fates allow, my family and I hope to see you all in 2011! Much love.

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Kate E.:

On the morning of New Year's Eve, we do some type of fun physical activity as a family. If we have snow, we go sledding or if not, we go for a hike. Then we settle in with some hot chocolate and finger sandwiches to watch family videos from the year. Our 3 sons love seeing & remembering everything they were up to during the year. Our local bowling alley has an early New Year's Eve party for families, so we bowl, eat pizza and countdown to the New Year at 8 pm. Our 10 year old wants to try to make it to midnight this year, so we'll see how long he lasts! Our 2 youngest will be sound asleep when the new year rolls in, but the rest of us will bang our pots outside and call relatives who live far away to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!!! After everyone sleeps, we'll make brunch together on New Year's Day and talk about what we hope the new year will hold for our family. Then we watch the parades and get outside for some more family fun!
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Natalie:

First, we turn off the computers, then we make Popcorn and watch old movies and picture albums of relatives to remember those who have gone. We also play family games, (usually board games). We (kids included) stay up late and like to watch the ball drop at times square on TV. It is also fun to watch other time zones celebrate New Years!

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Andrea T:

We celebrate New Year's with a few close friends at a house party (where kids are not only allowed, but encouraged!) We all put on our party hats, blow our noisemakers, dance to kid-friendly music, and play kid-friendly video games on a big-screen. We ask everybody young and old to remember the best parts of the year before our apple juice toast to the New Year at ~9 p.m. (Then all the parents send our littlest ones off to slumber in a spare bedroom). The grown-ups party on with Dick Clark on t.v. until the ball drops!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

I'm Gonna Catch You

 

Trail Mixes

Need a simple snack that doubles as a musical instrument?  Trail Mix is the answer!

Trail mix is easy to make, totally customizable, makes a great shaker (just put it in a takeout container!), and the best part? Everyone in the family, no matter how small, can help make it!

We asked our Facebook page for some suggestions, and here's a handful of the tasty answers:

Elaine McNeal: Melvin Any simple trail mix is always good. :) Mix together cereals, nuts, candies, pretzels, whatever everyone likes.

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Marcie Ochoa: Jacob's Popcorn: Your favorite popcorn, craisins and some plain cinnamon (no sugar added)- mix and enjoy. super easy and super yummy (and pretty healthy:-) )

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Melissa Jeter Ramirez: Reindeer poo!!! Crispix cereal or rice chex, honeycombs, pretzels, mixed nuts, peanuts....mix it all up. Melt almond bark(dark or white) and pour all over. Mix up again. Cools in less than 10mins. EAT and ENJOY!!!

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Betsy Arndt: Sophie's Snack mix- scoop of pretzels (any shape & size or a varitey), scoop of goldfish, scoop of chex cereal, scoop of nuts if not allergic. Thow it all in a bag and let your child shake, shake, shake to mix it up. :) You can also add animal crackers, cheeze its, pretzel goldfish, raisins, or any thing your heart desires. :)

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Jennifer Liss Diffley Honey graham cereal, mini marshmallows and mini chocolate chips...s'mores mix!

Happy Halloween!

Our pumpkins are carved, we're finishing up our Halloween costumes, we have some fresh batches of pumpkin seeds, and we're all set for Halloween!

We hope you have an awesome time this Sunday - and we want to know all about your costumes!  Please be sure to post your photos on our Facebook page and let us know how you made them/where you found them.

Need Laurie Berkner Band Halloween costume ideas?  Click Here!

How about some great fall-themed activities? Click Here!

Having a pumpkin day? Check out some pumpkin-themed ideas and tips by clicking here!

Don't forget to check out our Halloween Webcast.

Happy Halloween - be safe, have fun, and don't forget to munch on a couple of healthy snacks in between all those sweets :)

Pumpkintivities!

Mmmm... pumpkins.  We really love pumpkins.  There are so many things you can do with them!  They smell good (don't they remind you of all the yummy things about autumn?!), they taste good (Pumpkin pie... need we say more?), they look good, and they even FEEL good (that pulp is pretty fun, huh?)

Below are some of our favorite pumpkin activities that we'd love to share with you this Autumn!  We hope you enjoy them, and please tell us about YOUR great pumpkin ideas!

Decorating

If carving a pumpkin is a little too much for little hands, you can substitute a knife for:

1) A paintbrush and paints

Make a face, a landscape, or a spooky Halloween picture.  You can also simply paint the pumpkin a different color - a purple pumpkin? WOW!

2) Toothpicks and veggies

Make a "Mr. Potatohead"-like pumpkin by skewering different fruits and veggies into a fun face.  Use baby carrots for a nose, radish disks with grapes in the middle for eyes, or make a mouth with some bok-choy!  You can also make a fun veggie-platter by sticking dip-able favorites into a fun pattern on pumpkins for your guests to enjoy.  Who says you can't play with your food?

3) Glue and sparkles, felt, foam shapes, googly eyes, or even construction paper!

Even the smallest pumpkin-enthusiasts can put together a beautiful pumpkin masterpiece with some household craft supplies.  Practice making shapes, seeing how the pumpkin's shape affects placement, and working on spatial relations!  Then, proudly display your masterpiece for all to see!

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Playing

1) Pulp

If you've carved a pumpkin, you probably have a big bowl of squishy, seedy pulp waiting to be used.  Simply spread out a layer of newspapers on the ground or table and dig in!  Feel the way it squishes between your fingers.  Use scrap paper and a scoop of pulp to "paint" orangey pictures with using your fingers.  Try slopping the pulp into your hands to make funny noises.

2) Seeds

Pick out the seeds from the pulp and arrange them into fun shapes on scrap paper.  Notice how they leave a little orange mark, and experiment with making pictures this way.  If you are outside, try squeezing the seeds between two fingers and shooting them  into a cup or bowl (like pumpkin Tiddly-winks!)

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Eating

1) Pumpkin Seeds

When you're finished playing with the seeds (assuming they haven't traveled too far from the bowl or gotten too dirty!), wash them and remove all the pulp from them.  Preheat the oven at 350 degrees and dry the seeds on a paper towel.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or sprinkle with olive oil or vegetable oil in an even layer.  Spread the seeds on the sheet in one layer, and bake for 10-20 minutes, or until the seeds are golden brown. Sprinkle with a little salt or other spices and serve!

2) Pumpkin Gnocchi

Cut the shell of your pumpkin into medium-sized chunks, sprinkle with a little olive oil, and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the meat is tender.  Remove from oven and cool.  Scrape the meat from the skin and mash together into a smooth pulp.  In a large bowl, mix 1 cup flour, 1 egg, 1/2 cup pumpkin meat, a sprinkle of nutmeg, and a pinch of salt into a dough (add flour if it is too sticky).  Roll 1/4"-1/2" logs of the dough onto a floured surface, and cut into gnocchi-sized dough balls (about the size of a quarter).  Boil water in a pot and add salt.  Add gnocchi. In a pan, heat your sauce (fresh sage and butter/olive oil is delicious, but you can use any favorite pasta sauce!).  Gnocchi is finished boiling when it floats to the top.  Add to saucepan as gnocchi finishes cooking.  Serve and enjoy!

 

 

Yummy Bananas

Want a special treat for those cool summer nights?  Katie in our office has fond memories about summer nights with her family making (and eating!) this sweet treat.  Try this fun recipe that only takes 10 minutes and can be made over a campfire, on a grill, or in your oven!  You can customize it to include (or not include) whatever you like.  We hope it will leave your family with happy memories, too.

Stuffed Bananas!

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  You can also cook these over the fire or on a grill.

Step 2: Gather your ingredients - choose whatever you like.  Ice cream toppings work great, but get creative:

• 1 banana per person
• Aluminum foil
• Ice cream!

• Stuffing Items (pick as many as you want!):
• chocolate or peanut butter chips (or chunks, or chopped bars)
• marshmallows (we like the organic homemade ones best)
• peanut butter
• caramel
• chopped nuts
• You favorite snack bites
• Dried fruit

Step 3: Slit your banana.  Make sure an adult does this step!  Keeping the peel on the banana, simply cut a slit on the underside of the banana (the side that curves in) about 3/4 of the way through the banana.

Step 4: Stuff your banana.  This part is for the kids!  Place anything that melts deep inside the banana - chocolate/peanut butter chips, marshmallows, candy bits, etc.  Next, drizzle any sauce on top and sprinkle with nuts, dried fruit, etc.

Step 5: Wrap your banana tightly with aluminum foil

Step 6: Cook your banana.  If you're cooking it in the oven, place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.  If you're cooking in a fire, be sure it's wrapped tightly and use tongs to place your banana in a not-too-hot spot in the ashes.  You can also grill your banana!  Turn over a few times to be sure it's cooking evenly. 

Step 7: After about 10-15 minutes, remove your banana and carefully unwrap the foil using oven mitts.  Serve with ice cream!

Do you have any special memories from your childhood?

Summer Fun Ideas

Thanks so much to those who commented with great summer holiday ideas! 

We love taking advantage of the awesome weather and coming up with fun ways to spend time together!

Here are some of the responses we received.  Thanks so much to all who participated - we will be sending the following people autographed postcards from Laurie!

Kim Hakimian:

Nothing better in the summer than playing with water. My kids love water guns I however am not a fan of traditional water guns and it's hard to find squirts made of things other than guns, so I picked up some squirt bottles like the ones the barber uses, I marked them with the word water so not to be mistaken for chemicals. They are so much easier for my 4&2 yr olds to spray unlike the one finger trigger kind, great for motor skills and the best part is you fill them and it takes a long time to run out of water. And the fine mist is soo refreshing and mom doesn't mind a squirt on a hot day.

Jim Wissman:

We always seem to play the hide and seek game with the Ice Cream Man. In our neighborhood, we can hear him out back on our deck, but that just means he is on any of about 5 streets. Trying to figure out where he is and when he will make it to our street has become like a game.

Joanne:

We don't venture too far, we have a firepit in our yard, we roast hotdogs, and make smores, the kids love it, and it's not too far from a bathroom. We try to have a variety of smores, we use hershey kisses in a variety of flavors, and use coconut covered marshmallows for a change.

Stacy Stewart:

We are going to start a new tradition this summer: SMORES UNDER THE STARS! We are going to camp right in our courtyard and look up at the beautiful star-lit night sky and make smores and memories!

Maureen:

We like having BBQs!!!!! anything from hot dogs to london broil!! and sometimes even toast a marshmallow or two!!! YUMMMY!!!! love the nice weather!! and now having a grandbaby we will enjoy the yard even more!!!!!! :)

Stay tuned for more contests here on the blog for chances to win autographed postcards!

Holiday!!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everyone!

Are you doing anything fun?

We'd love to hear about your recipes for fun picnic meals, ideas for games that can involve everyone in the family, and other things you like to do while enjoying a little time off. Please leave us a comment here on the blog, and we'll feature the best (healthy, creative, and fun) ideas for the next summer holiday blog!  Winners will receive autographed postcards!  Be sure to leave your e-mail address so we can contact you.

We'll be out of the office on Monday enjoying some almost-summer sun and taking it easy before things start to get crazy with all the new projects we have coming up!

Don't forget to vote for "Rocketship Run" at ParentsConnect.com for the Parent's Picks 2010 Best Kid's CD - we're under "T" for "The Laurie Berkner Band". You can vote for more than one CD, and you can vote everyday for the next 3 weeks!  Click the badge below!

For kids' music cd

Sunscreen and Safety

Yesterday was a HOT day here in NYC, and it got us thinking... sunscreen is SO important to keep us safe while we enjoy the hot weather.  However, many sunscreens contain chemicals (such as oxybenzone) that can cause all kinds of problems, such as cancer, reproduction problems, allergies, developmental delays, and much more. 

A few weeks ago, The President’s Cancer Panel announced its findings in a 200-page document that the chemicals we find in an ENORMOUS number of common household objects and foods are directly related to cancer (See the Article).  This is groundbreaking, since the government is acknowledging that we need to begin to use these everyday chemicals with caution - they even strongly encourage eating organic foods.

So how can you protect yourself from the sun AND the sunscreen?  Easy! There are a few really great sites that break down the best and worst brands of sun screen (and tons of other skin products!)

We like The Cosmetics Database: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ - it not only rates products by hazard levels, but it also explains what problems specific chemicals found in the products are related to.  Remember: our skin absorbs the things we put on it into our bloodstreams! 

Brands such as Badger, California Baby, and Goddess Garden are both strong and safe, with hazard ratings of 1 out of 10, respectively.  (Most commonly known sunscreen brands rate in the 7-10 hazard rate - enormous for something we use so often!)

If you have any more info about safe skin products and sunscreen that you'd like to share, tell us about it by leaving a comment!