A prayer!!

Forgive me...

If I have this day...

Done any wrong in work and play...

Oh! help me always to do right and...

Bless me every day and night.

Thank you god for this good life!!

Eggless very berry whole grain heart healthy cake!!

Featured on Stonyfield blogger-bites

Makes 1 bundt cake , 24 muffins, 8 mini loaves or 3 large loaves.

Fruity, nutty, and whole grain heart healthy, this delicious cake has a goodness in every bite. Its a great way to turn any moment into celebration!!

Happy baking :) :)
 
4 OZ Blueberries

3 OZ Cranberries
1 OZ Blackberries
2 Oranges for 1 cup fresh orange juice
1 Mango for half cup fresh mango juice

4 Tsp. Orange zest (crushed fresh orange peel)

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup white all purpose flour
1/2 cup milled flax seed
4 Tsp. baking powder

1 Tsp. baking soda

1/2 Tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. yogurt

4 Tbsp. Olive oil

1/2 cup milk (optional)
8 Tsp. egg replacer

1 Tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar

1 cup sliced dry fruits and nuts (I used mix of walnuts, almonds and raisins)

1. Preheat oven to 400`F. Lightly coat pan with oil and flour.

2. Using processor take out fresh juice from 2 oranges and a mango. (Don’t throw orange peels and leftover pulp from juice)

3. Wash and grate orange peels into fine zest.

4. In a bowl whisk together yogurt, olive oil, fresh juice, egg replacer, sugar, vanilla extract, orange zest and left over pulp from juice.

5. In a separate large bowl whisk together whole wheat pastry flour, whole wheat flour, milled flax seed, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

6. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix them together with nuts. (Add an extra 1/2 cup milk if the batter is not wet enough to pour)

7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until pale brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

8. Cool in pan for 15-20 minutes.

Loosen edges, and turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Bakers Note:)
You can use dried or frozen berries too. Soak them in water to regain moisture. (Approximately 20-25 minutes)

If you are not using fresh juice and pulp add 4 Tsp. more of orange zest. (8 Tsp.)

You can replace sugar with agave nectar, which is low in glycemic index. It can also be used on the slices while serving for extra flavor and sweetness:)
Add an extra bowl of water to oven to keep the cake moist.

For green living try this..Boil the left over orange peels in water and set aside for an hour. The house smells great....naturally :))

Thanks for visiting. Have a colorful celebration!!

Things!!

The best things in life are not things!!

Green and Responsible Celebrations!!

Applying the 3 R's- recycle, reduce and reuse to a party theme is a good example to teach our kids to think outside the box, be more creative and less materialistic. Educating them about the green living is a step forward in raising the child who appreciates and is thankful!
Parties are fun and will always be because they are from us and people around us. They are about getting together, celebrating, enjoying and cheering. A few hours of glee should add smiles and memories to our lives and not a heaping pile to the landfills.
My green and responsible party series is going to be all about simple and savvy ideas which will help us think creative, save money and bring the waste to bare minimum.
Change begins with us. Happy green and responsible living!

Pom Pom Chicken!!

What you will need

• 2 big yellow pom poms, a little different in size (small pom poms can be used for book marks, greetings, gift wraps, envelopes and even on top of pencils)
• Orange foam or construction paper for nose.
• Orange foam or construction paper for wings
• Glue
• Scissors
• Pencil for sketching (optional)
• Crayons or paints to add some color to wings (optional)

Glue the pom poms together.
For eyes, stick black beads.
For nose, cut a tiny triangle from foam and stick under eyes.
For wings, cut construction paper or foam in oval shape and glue it on the sides.
For webbed feet, First cut the foam in oval shape, then cut zigzag design (Like vvv) on one end. Stick them on bottom with the zigzag design outwards.

Pom Pom Chicken is all ready to rock!!

Fraktur Art!

Fraktur is both a style of lettering and a folk art created by Pennsylvania Dutch. It includes sun, birds, hearts, flowers, leaves, patterns and tulips. The art was executed in ink, natural and water colors and was used for variety of purposes like personal gifts, certificates and blessings.

Mosaic Gond Painting!

Featured in Times Republican.
Featured on cool stuff art gallery

Gond Painting in India is an ancient tribal art dating back several hundred years. The Gond tribe painted the walls of their mud homes with pictures to mark important occasions such as weddings, birth and the harvest. Gond painting has no borders or rigid themes and is done with very bright colors. The basic form is filled with tiny dots and dashes.

All you need is

• Construction Paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Card stock
• Paints
• Paint brush
• Marker
• Pencil (for sketching)

For each bird cut 4 pieces (2 wings, tail and body) from different color construction paper.
Glue them on card stock in the shape of flying birds. Draw stripes using marker. Finish with vibrant polka dots using paints and brush.

Enjoy the art!

Thanks so much for visiting and have a colorful day!!

This spring be like a kite!

Featured in Times Republican

The temps are warming up, the days are going longer, the birds are chirping more and the white blanket of snow is giving way to the green grasses. The Branches are going to be colorful with lovely blossoms. It’s a new start, a fresh beginning …the spring is on its way!

To mark the new beginnings, this month’s project is on kites in the sky. I was always fascinated by kites flying high in the sky and it always encouraged me to realize my full potential.

The winds keep calling

Come soar up high

Know no fear

Go touch the sky!

Kites are colorful, fun and full of joy and so is the project with so many possibilities.

What you will need

• Paper
• Pencil
• Acrylic paints (or any other medium)
• Paint brush.

Sketch flying kites on a paper. Paint the sky blue. Fill the kites with your choice of vibrating colors. Touch up the sky with the brush using leftover paints from kites!!

 Enjoy the colors of life and this spring be like a kite!!

Just be a kite!

The winds keep calling

Come soar up high

Know no fear...Go touch the sky!
This spring ….just be a Kite!!!

Love and Indifference!!

Love will find a way...
Indifference will find an excuse.

Raising a child!

Raising the child is a career in itself....Instead of getting a promotion and measuring progress in professional sense, a way to measure how well you are doing is how well your child is doing:)

Responsibility!

Responsibility makes us powerful!

Rethink Valentines!

Featured in Times Republican

Every year Valentine's Day is about acknowledging love for our near and dear ones. This year lets go beyond this simple (sometimes formal) acknowledgement and truly ask ourselves if we have unconditional love for everyone. The unconditional love is where we don't have any expectations and just want the people around us to be happy. If everyone has unconditional love for others the world will be peaceful and much better place to live in.
This month's project is 'Let love be'!

For this project all you need is

• Construction paper or foam
• Buttons with different colors and sizes
• Pipe cleaners
• Beads
• Glue
• Blank card
• Paper
• Pencil
• Scissors

1. Glue different sizes and colors of buttons on a  card
2. Draw dresses on paper or foam using pencil and cut.
3. For hairs take 2 pipe cleaners and cut them in same size using scissors. Add beads on both ends.
4. Cut pipe cleaner for hands, add some beads.
5. For legs and shoes, cut 2 pipe cleaners in same size. Turn one end and wrap a different color pipe cleaner.

6. Using glue stick the hairs, dress, hands and legs.

7. Add message

8. Turn hands to show the girl is holding the message card.

Love and be loved!

Don’t throw away those wipe containers.

Turn them into fun. Use them to store crayons, Pencil colors, pens, markers, pencils and other art and school supplies. They are easy and simple for children to manage too.

Add more fun by giving children an opportunity to use their stickers to decorate..no more messy walls and doors!!!!

Be more, a thoughtful new year art project!

Featured in Times Republican.

This year let's' Be more'.
Be more than what we think we are. Let's bid a farewell to tired mindsets, impressions and labels we have set for ourselves and embrace fresh beginnings.

This months project is a thoughtful wall art which depicts "we are much more and let's be more"

All you need is

• Paper
• Pencil
• Water color pencils
• Water
• Paint brush
• Black acrylic paint

All you need to do is

Use a pencil to sketch a feather and birds.
Use a black water color pencil in angled stroke to color the feather, followed by mildly wet paint brush.
Once the water dries, use black acrylic paint to touch up the feather in the same stroke.
Use water color pencils to fill color in birds.

Enjoy the art!

Be more!

Lets fight our fears and be more.
Be more than what we think we are!

Ignorance?

Ignorance is a bliss!

Problem!

There is no problem in the world that cannot be solved.
If we have a problem and we think it cannot be solved, its not a problem anymore.
It's a fact, and we have accepted it!

Who makes time good or bad?

Its us who makes time good or bad. Even in good times we can lose our happiness over small things....or flow happily through bad times. We all are swimmers in this ocean of time....Time is moving and we are moving through it, we are living these moments. Time does not label itself good or bad, we do.......Its us!

Christmas Art Project!

The month of celebrations and slow, cozy afternoons with friends and families has already begun. In our pursuit of planning the  perfect holidays sometimes we end up ignoring the involvement of little ones. This project is simple and creative enough to keep kids in high spirits and engaged in fun filled activity.

Enjoy simple pleasures by capturing those special moments and turn them into memories.

All you need is

• Green cardboard or sheet
• White paint
• Wiggly eyes
• Red paper
• Sequins
• Glue
• Pipe cleaners(Optional)
• bells(Optional)
• Pom Pom

All you need to do is

Dip your little ones hand in white paint and make an impression on green cardboard. Let it dry. Stick wiggly eyes. Using red paper make nose, mouth and cap. Stick little bit of sequence here and there.

A pom pom for cap and you are all done.

Enjoy the project!