Fun & Creative Pudding Snacks with Kozy Shack + a Giveaway!

Thank you to Kozy Shack for sponsoring today's post. My love for their delicious pudding is all my own!

I can hardly believe it is already June! This week is the last full week of school for my kids and we are already excited about our Summer adventures. I thought it would be a great opportunity to celebrate the end of another school year with a fun snack with Kozy Shack pudding and my three youngest while we talked about some of the plans we have as a family this Summer.

Our little "pudding party" got rave reviews from Phoenix, Tyler, and Elijah, each proclaiming it as the best snack ever! Even I indulged in a little Kozy Shack and I have to admit, it was pudding love at first bite! Whether we were topping our pudding with fruit (my favorite) or even some not so nutritious Oreo cookies every once in awhile, I felt good knowing that Kozy Shack pudding is made with real wholesome ingredients that you can actually pronounce.  Kozy Shack has eggs, milk, real tapioca pearls, and even real cocoa, so it's pudding made right... simply delicious!

Banana Pudding with tapioca pudding , Chocolate Pudding Sundae, and Chocolate Oreo Pudding

No matter what our plans are this Summer, picnics seem to be one at the top of their list ever since we took the kids on a picnic at the park a couple weeks ago. Now, they want picnics at the park, the beach, the lake, and everywhere else we go. They pretty much love the idea of helping me plan and prepare our picnic lunches. And of course, no picnic lunch is complete without finishing it off with a sweet treat but, idea of bringing ice-cream or even popsicles doesn't go over well since there's that little thing they tend to do... MELT!

Coconut Mango Mint Tapioca Pudding

Kozy Shack pudding snacks come in 3 delicious flavors including, rice, tapioca, and of course, chocolate! They also travel nicely, making them a great addition to our picnic lunches, where we can easily toss them into our picnic basket, along with some fruit and even whipped cream. There's no secret recipe, just simply layer your pudding and ingredients for a fun and creative pudding snack. It's like having portable ice-cream!

How would you like to try Kozy Shack puddings for yourself? Today is your lucky day because one Six Cherries on Top reader will win 2 premium ceramic Kozy Shack pudding mugs with spoons, along with a product coupon good for 1 free package of any Kozy Shack product (up to $4.99 value).

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Quick & Simple St. Patrick's Day Snack for Kids: Gold Coins

Let me just go ahead now and say that I have no idea why these are called "gold coins". This is a snack that we made for the kids every year for St. Patrick's Day, when I worked in childcare, and the kids loved it. I have been making it for my kids every year since then and it has sort of become a tradition to make them every year at this time.

This is a great snack for kids to make themselves also. We used a regular knife to cut the banana, but if you aren't comfortable with your little one using a regular knife or a butter knife, using a plastic knife is of course fine too. I have been allowing Elijah to cut with a knife, while I supervise him, and it has been an excellent time to talk to him about the safety of handling the knife, and the dangers of mistreating it as well.

Gold Coins

You will need: 

• Ritz crackers
• Bananas
• Honey
• Rainbow sprinkles

Cut the banana into slices. Place one slice on top of a Ritz cracker, drizzle it with a bit of honey, and top with rainbow sprinkles. Enjoy!

Please be mindful that honey is not for children under age 2.  This can easily be made without the honey, which is what I did for Elijah when he was younger. 

                    

Quick & Simple Valentines Snack

This is a simple alternative to the Baked Tortilla Chips I shared a while back. The chips are the same, except this time, I used the heart shape miniature cookie cutter from The Pampered Chef Creative Cutters set I have. However, this time, I created a quick little Valentine's Day dip to go along with it.

This little dip is so easy that it doesn't even deserve to be called a recipe, but it is sure to win the hearts of your children because it is jammed packed with sweetness. This is definitely not something you would want to share with them on a regular basis, unless paying dental bills is a hobby for you. 


Cherry flavored Kool-Aid Dip

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You will need:

• 8 oz. Cool Whip (thawed)
• 8 oz. Cream cheese (softened)
• 8 oz. Marshmallow cream
• 1-2 Cherry flavored Kool-Aid Singles packs
• Sprinkles (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a Kitchen Aid (or use a hand mixer), and whip until smooth. Set in refrigerator until ready to serve. Add sprinkles before serving. Serve with Baked Tortilla Chips. Enjoy!

                    

A Quick & Simple Snack for Kids: Bake Tortilla Chips

This is such an easy snack and my kids love it! I have made these many times and because I am able to pair them with such a wide variety of dips, it's like a new snack each time.

Plain and simple, these are just flour tortillas that I have cut into fun shapes with a cookie cutter. Right now they are cute little pumpkins, but at Christmas, I can use our holiday cutters for a whole "new" take on these. Of course, they taste the same, but to kids, something about a fun new shape makes them taste extra yummy! We still have a few tricks up our sleeves, huh?

I love this little set of miniature cookie cutters I got from Pampered Chef many years ago. They make the perfect size chips.Once you have cut the tortillas into chips, spray a pan with a little bit of olive oil, then place them on the pan. I spray them on top with a little more oil and then bake them in the oven on 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.

Some of our favorite dips to go along with our baked tortilla chips are peanut butter, hummus, salsa, and Velveeta Cheese.

What are some other dip options that you think you and your family would love?


                    

fat butt friday: pre-workout and post-workout snacking

this week was a big fail! i only exercised 3 times this week and ate some very unhealthy foods out  as well...sushi, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, chocolate...ugh! okay i'm done! i feel so miserable and guilty for letting my body down. i am already making plans for a run in the morning. last weekend i ran 4.5 miles, so my goal is 5 miles this weekend.

i have learned over the time that it is best to eat something before working out. at least 30-45 minutes before working out, i have a variety of go to foods that i like to eat to help jump start my metabolism and give me energy to make it through my workout. within 15-20 minutes after each workout, i try to eat again to recover and  refuel my body as well. the most important thing to remember is that you want to eat foods with a good balance of protein and carbs.

i usually eat either apples and peanut butter, a carnation frozen coffee drink, or vanilla greek yogurt with sliced banana and almonds, before my workout. afterwards, i usually eat oatmeal. however, i recently came across this great list of before and after workout snacks that i am going to start turning to, to give me a variety of choices.

i think part of my problem for getting off track lately has been that i am stuck in a food rut and have lost interest in the foods i have been eating over and over and over again. lists like the one above take the guesswork out of meal planning and most of them are fairly simple to prepare.

do you follow the recommendations and eat before and after you work out? if so, what are some of your go to foods?

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: sixcherries

halloween dirt cups

i shared these dirt cake cups as a guest post last year over at sunny with a chance of sprinkles and thought that since it's a new year, i would share it here as well. my kiddies have already been asking me for these, so i see them in our near future.

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one of my kids favorite treats is dirt cake cups. just like my rice krispie treats, I usually follow the basic recipe and tweak it for specific holidays. here is the basic recipe and two great ways to dress it up for halloween.

dirt cake cups

-chocolate or vanilla pudding
-oreo cookies (or any type of cookie such as graham crackers, vanilla wafers, etc.)
-cool whip (optional)
-food coloring
-canning jars (small size)
-gummy worms (or any type of decoration to finish off the cake)

prepare the pudding according to directions on the box. in a food processor, grind up cookies to a "dirt" consistency. in a separate bowl, mix cool whip with food coloring of your choice. in the canning jars, layer the ingredients, starting with the pudding, then the cookie crumbs, and lastly, the cool whip. continue to alternate ingredients until the jar is full. be sure that the last layer to fill the jar is the "dirt" on top.

for the first one, i just simply used chocolate pudding and halloween shortbread cookies. i layered them in the jar and topped it off at the end with one of the cookies.

the second dirt cake cups were made using chocolate pudding, chocolate on chocolate oreo cookies, and cool whip with orange food coloring. i topped them off with a plastic spider and mouse.

i think this one would have also looked great topped with a candy corn pumpkin. it would have even worked with the traditional gummy worms and a few plastic spider rings. the ideas are endless.

 

dirt cake cups are very inexpensive to make and are sure to please. sometimes changing up a simple recipe to make it "new" is all it takes to put a smile on your little one's face. I look forward to making these again at christmas and changing them up again to create a winter holiday theme. 

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: sixcherries