I don’t know why, but lately I’ve had a real hankering for Rice Krispie treats… Of course I could have easily whipped up the classic butter and marshmallow version I grew up with, but number one, I wouldn’t feel good about letting Miss G try one (which is slowly becoming the determining factor of whether or not any of us should eat particular foods), and number two, have you ever read the ingredient list on the side of a bag of marshmallows?! It’s not good.
So today Miss G and I set off on a little mission to create our own healthier version.
To be honest, I really had no idea if it was going to work. My thought process went something like this… Hmmm… I guess I could replace the butter with a nut butter (still lots of fat, but good fat with some added nutrition mixed in). Then I could replace the marshmallows with a more natural sticky sweetener (Maybe maple syrup? Honey? Brown rice syrup?) And the regular Rice Krispies cereal could easily be swapped for a sugar-free crisp brown rice cereal. It at least sounds like an okay plan, right?
In the end, I decided to go with cashew butter… It’s light, has a mild flavour {that is almost mallowy}, and is super creamy. As for my sweetener, after a bit of online research, I decided to go with this brown rice syrup. I haven’t used brown rice syrup a whole lot in the past, but that’s only because I hadn’t yet done my research. What I found out is that brown rice syrup is a natural sweetener produced by fermenting cooked rice and treating it with natural enzymes from sprouted barley. It’s about half as sweet as sugar, has a mild flavour, and is thick and syrupy (somewhere between pure maple syrup and a good honey). The benefits are that it has a low glycemic value, and it’s a good source of minerals and minor nutrients. Sold. In order to add just a touch of sweetness, we added a little bit of pure maple syrup, and pure vanilla is a must in almost all baking projects in our house.
So there you have it – crisp brown rice cereal, brown rice syrup, cashew butter, pure maple syrup, and pure vanilla – and all were available in our nearby {regular} grocery store.
Just for fun, we decided to make our treats in individual portions using a muffin tin, so Grae prepared the tray ahead of time by lightly brushing on some grapeseed oil.
Now for the actual cooking part… First, we put our brown rice syrup to a large pot…
Then we added our cashew butter…
And a little bit of pure maple syrup for sweetness.
Then we transferred the pot over to the stove and stirred the mixture over medium heat until it was hot and liquidy, but not bubbling.
Next, we added a good amount of vanilla, gave the mixture another quick stir, and removed it from the heat.
While you could just as easily dump your cereal into the pot and dirty one less dish, we opted for dumping our cereal into a large bowl and pouring the mixture on top so Miss G wouldn’t have to worry about the hot pot during the mixing process.
Then we mixed everything up until the cereal was evenly coated with the gooey mixture.
Working quickly, I filled each cup with a heaping scoop of crisp rice mixture.
Then we placed a large sheet of parchment paper on top and pushed the mixture down firmly into the cups.
Voila!
After a little bit of time in the freezer, I used a butter knife to pop out our treats.
The verdict on Miss G’s first ever crispy rice treat? She LOVED it.
We all loved them in fact. They’re soft and gooey just like regular Rice Krispie treats, with a similar flavour that is just slightly more caramely.
The true determining factor of success? Brad {my sometimes picky husband who doesn’t always love the ‘weird food’ G and I cook} announcing that he likes them just as much as the classic variety, only to later decide that he thinks he likes them more. Score. ☺
Healthy Crisp Rice Treats
- 1/2 cup of organic brown rice syrup
- 1/2 cup of cashew butter (or your favourite nut butter)
- 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla
- 4 cups of organic sugar-free crispy brown rice cereal
Measure the brown rice syrup, nut butter, and maple syrup into a large pot. Warm over medium heat, stirring almost constantly. When the mixture is hot and liquidy (but not bubbling), add the vanilla, give it another quick stir, and remove the pot from the heat.
Add in the crispy rice cereal and mix well to ensure the cereal is evenly coated with the sticky mixture.
Dump the mixture into a parchment-lined baking pan or scoop into a greased muffin cups and press it down firmly. Pop the pan into the freezer for about 15 minutes to allow the treats to set.
Enjoy your much healthier crispy rice treats!
♥
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Our house is still littered with Christmas things and bags waiting to be unpacked, but ahhhh… Does it ever feel good to be home. It was back to business as usual today – morning park visit, a trip to the library, hot drinks and treats at 
I’ve seen snow ice cream floating around the web a lot lately (like 
Here’s our line up of ingredients… Cream, vanilla almond milk, pure maple syrup, pure vanilla, and some really good cinnamon. 
Oh, and a bunch of this – light and fluffy freshly-fallen snow.
To get us started, Gracen poured both the cream and vanilla almond milk into a large mixing bowl.
Then she added some pure maple syrup…
Some pure vanilla…
And a few pinches of cinnamon.
Then she stirred everything up.
The next step involved adding the snow.
The monkey requested a mitten in order to get the job done.
With all of the ingredients added, it was time to mix, mix, mix.
We found that alternating mixing with a sort of mashing motion worked really well and broke up the clumps at the same time. Here’s what our batch looked like once it was ready.
To serve it, I added a little sprinkle of cinnamon (Miss G loves it and it has great health benefits, so we add it to a lot of things) and topped it with a pecan.
Not only was it delish, but it was a really fun snowy day activity.
A couple of days ago as Gracen was emptying and restocking Grandma Charlotte’s pantry shelves just for fun (obviously), she came across a can of condensed milk. GC had no idea why she had it or what she’d ever do with it, but I had an idea… Shiny homemade paint!
Here’s what you need to start with… A can of condensed milk, some food colouring, some small bowls or cups (muffin tins work well too), and some teaspoons.
To get started, we poured a little bit of condensed milk into each cup.
We went with 5 separate cups this time around, but you can choose to do more or less.
Next, Grae squirted in about 5 drops of liquid food colouring (more for an extra vibrant finish and less for a more pastel look).
We stuck to the basics and added purple, but obviously you can create any colours you choose.
Then my little helper gave each a good stir.
Here’s what we ended up with.
With our new paints made, it was time to get creating.
I’d say she was pleased with the results, wouldn’t you?
The other fun part about these paints is that they drizzle really nicely due to their thickness… And who doesn’t love some messy fun, right?
Here’s the end result. A beautiful masterpiece created by our beauty. ☺
Most people walk their tushies to an actual hill. We, on the other hand, pile heaps of snow onto the deck stairs, send Brad down a few times to pack it in, and tell Grae that she now has her very own sledding hill. 
Afternoon walks with Grandma Charlotte have become a routine around here… Each day, G returns with a lapful of hay for ‘Santa’s reindeer’ (a white-tailed doe and her fawn) and sets it out on the snow-covered lawn so we can watch them eat it up in the evenings.
Miss G was so spoiled at Christmas that we’re still slowly pulling out new treasures, removing the packaging, and playing with them for the first time. Early this morning, she went down to her room {here at Grandma Charlotte and Poppop’s house}, retrieved her little wooden 
In addition to the mailbox, we collected a few different envelopes, some paper (both lined and coloured), a notepad, some pens and pencils, and some stick on labels.
Miss G got busy writing letters, stuffing envelopes, and adhering labels right away.
Once a letter was done, she’d either pop it in the mailbox, deliver it straight to the recipient, or place it in the ‘to mail’ pile…
So far, she’s absolutely been loving writing letters and drawing pictures for all of those she loves…
Even Bella’s received mail. ☺
Though it feels like we’ve had a good, long winter vacation already (because we have), we’re lucky enough to have one more week to spend in the Okanagan before Bradley’s return to work. And while we’ve been doing more than our fair share of relaxing (and indulging – oy!), we’ve also been trying to make the most of our time with the snow, because before you know it, we’ll be back to our city of rain, rain, rain. 
Today we tried something new – snow spray painting!
In order to make the paint, all I did was pick up a couple of cheap spray bottles (I made sure to give the triggers a little squeeze in store first – some are little hand-friendly, and others are not) and filled them with some cold water and food colouring.
Then we headed outside {in pajamas} to decorate the freshly fallen snow.
We played with the nozzle on our spray bottles to get the flow just how Miss G liked it – in a steady stream in order to achieve maximum distance. ☺
Her goal? Covering as much of the snow in snow spray paint as possible.
“A new spot now!”
Though using a fine mist is a little trickier (because you need to be quite close to the snow for it to show up well), it makes pretty cool results…. Pink snow anyone?
Of course when you’ve painted your little heart out and you’re ready for a break, you can always topple over in a snowbank and have a rest. ☺
Making a bonfire with wet wood in freezing temps isn’t easy.
Four excited little munchkins.
Chay Belly and Miss G having a good laugh together.
Fire success!
Auntie Roz made sure we were a noisy bunch.
Someone went to bed for the last time in 2012 with a noisemaker in hand. ☺ 
Only 6 weeks apart and absolutely smitten with one another.
Cousins.