Pumpkin STEAM!

It's that time of year. Let's learn and play with pumpkins! We had so much fun!
First up was reading 2 books. We chatted for a moment about the difference between fiction and non-fiction books and then I read one of each. First up:

Simple explanation of how a pumpkin grows from seed to pumpkin.

 

Cute story of a pumpkin on the loose. Run through a farm and everyone imagines what they can make with the pumpkin.

After stories, we set off to investigate what the inside of a pumpkin is all about. I had the top carved off ahead of time and the kids estimated how many seeds were in the pumpkin. We had guesses from 19 to a zillion (these are K-2nd graders). Next, they were invited to feel inside the pumpkin and squish the guts around to see if that changed their guesses. (Of course, some didn't want to). 

Our first experiement was making Oobleck with the pumpkin guts. Found a simple recipe on Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/203436108143596025/ It worked great. Simply added 1c. cornstarch and 1/2 c. water to guts and viola! Is it a solid or is it a liquid? It's a Newtonian fluid. 

What else can we do with our pumpkin? Sink or float time! I cleared out a large bin and filled it with water. The kids had to guess which item would sink and which would float. Items used, pumpkin, apple, large rock, little rock, stick, straw, paper clip, rubber band ball, plastic toy. Pumpkin floats, paperclip sinks, kids amazed!

For my favorite part of STEAM, the art. We did a mini-lesson on negative and positive space making a jack-o-latern face. Fold paper in half, cut out half on folded edge. Cut paper in half, glue to background, then glue opposite items. 

Then to top it off, we made pumpkin dip (inspiration: Aunt Roxie). It is yummy, easy and even bashful pumpkin eaters love it .  Simple as can be: can of pumpkin pie puree, tub of cool whip, and small box of instant pie filling. Mix together. Serve with a variety of items including apples, pretzels, gingersnaps, vanilla wafers, graham crackers, etc. 

What a great way to have a STEAM-y kind of day!

And It's Good For You!

So my cholesterol has been borderline for a number of years. This time it inched up a little too much for the doctor. She prescribed some medicine, but I want to bring the weight down through diet and exercise. More fruits and veggies (hello smoothies), of course. Reading about super foods and what to add to my diet, I've decided on more oatmeal, dark chocolate, raw walnuts and cashews, and chicken instead of beef (most of the time). This looks yummy from http://www.cookincowgirl.com/. Add some chia or flax seeds? Perfect for today's Meatless Monday breakfast.

Going Green

The weekend is here and time to do all those things we can't get to during the week. First up, making a grocery list and shopping. Need to get ready for Meatless Monday. This week I'm going meatless in the extreme. 

A patron (there's my library tie-in) told me about the 10 day green smoothie cleanse. I'm going to give it a try.  She told me, you will lose weight, but it will help you feel better too. She is starting it, so I'll have someone to compare notes with. And it is only 10 days. I can do 10 days. 10 days...10 pounds. The worst part will be no coffee. WHAT?! I know, I'm crazy to go 10 days with no coffee, but c'est la vie. The smoothie recipes look easy to make, are healthy, and very green. (Every recipe has a base of spinach or other leafy greens with various fruits added.) Author JJ Smith is selling tons of books (Yay for her!), but remember, it's free at the library. I'll need to put the book on hold to get all the recipes, but here's the one the author made on Steve Harvey and other shows. 

Pineapple Spinach Smoothie 

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh spinach, packed
• 1 cup pineapple chunks
• 2 cups frozen peaches
• 2 bananas, peeled
• 1 1/2 packets stevia
• 2 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
• Optional: 1 scoop of protein powder

Directions

Place spinach and water into blender and blend until mixture is a green juice-like consistency. Stop blender and add remaining ingredients. Blend until creamy.

Water, herbal tea, salad, crunchy veggies and fruits, raw nuts, boiled eggs, unsweetened peanut butter round off the choices. There are various versions and recipes online, but I'm going with the original. I'll make updates in the comment section on the results.

Parmesan Asparagus Appetizer aka Dinner

Okay, let me say, I thought I invented this delicious concoction, but when searching for beautiful pictures of asparagus, I discovered various versions of this recipe. This is so quick to make, I even whip it up after working until close at the library. This pic from Pillsbury Pinterest is much prettier than my version. My recipe below:

  1 tube crescent rolls

  1 bunch fresh asparagus

  1 c. shredded
   Parmesan cheese

  1 t. garlic powder

Wash, dry, trim asparagus. (Gently bend near end until woody part breaks off.)
Unroll crescents and sprinkle with desired amount of cheese, reserve 1/4 cup.

Place 2-3 stalks of asparagus on wide end of crescent. Roll to small end. Sprinkle with garlic powder and reserve cheese. Bake on non-stick or foil lined cookie sheet according to crescent roll directions.

Ends of asparagus should be slightly crisp and rolls golden.

Enjoy!

Simple Meatless Monday

Is it strange to look forward to Meatless Monday? Monday evening used to be my night off at the library and I had grand plans to make elaborate vegetarian meals. Now that I'm working Monday's, I'm going more simple. Lately, I've been craving steamed or roasted broccoli and cauliflower mix. Super simple: buy it already mixed in the bag. Pop it in the microwave according to package directions. Put in bowl and top with butter, lemon, salt, pepper to taste. Please use real butter! Eat with fresh bread, garlic bread or a "baked" potato to totally fill up. Yum!