Friday, October 31, 2014

The Princess Frog Costumes



charlotte la bouff costume

Happy Halloween!

I've had a few people ask for patterns for our Princess and the Frog Halloween costumes, but I actually don't have any for these. If you have read my other sewing adventures you know that me and patterns don't usually get along. I do a lot better when I use other pieces of clothing as a spring board and then just cut as I see it in my head. Most of the fabric I had or it was given to me, so the colors don't all match, but work fine for costumes.

the princess frog costumes

Charlotte La Bouff or Lotte
For Lotte, I used another dress of K's to cut the top and then measured her and cut for the bottom piece. I added poofy straps using fleece covered in tulle, so that the sleeves would stand up.

charlotte la bouff costume

Dr. Facilier or Shadow Man
Mr. Crafty found a jacket at the Goodwill. I cut off the sides and then sewed them to the back for tails. I also shortened the sleeves to be more like Dr. Faciliers.
The vest is patterned after a vest he already had. I used it to cut 2 back pieces and 2 of each side pieces. The buttons are for looks and it closes via velcro. The pants we're his own, we just hemmed them to be shorter.

shadow man costume

I did kind of use a pattern for Dr. facilier's spats. I didn't print it out, but I cut mine the same way it's pictured here. I cut all one piece on a fold to keep it simple and added a couple snaps and then non functional buttons for looks. I also added elastic to the bottom.

spats

He made the necklace, medallion, hat and cane. The medallion is made out of modelling clay and painted.

dr. facilier costume

Princess Tiana
K wanted me to wear the dress Tiana wore after her and Prince Naveen we're married. I just measured and cut for this one. I wound up adding sleeves afterward. The bottom lily pad and vines tie on and the flowers pin on. The gloves and necklace are my K's.

princess tiana costume

The Frog Prince
S never fully had his costume on, but it was super simple. I bought the footed pj's from here. It was hot that day, so he wore a green onesie earlier and changed to the other later that night. He already had the frog beenie, so he was set. I think it was a gift, because I cannot remember where it came from.

frog prince costume


We wore our costumes to Disneyland for Mickey's Halloween Party.

Click here for my review and a list of their healthier Trick or Treat options.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

A Vegan Family's Review of Mickey’s Halloween Party.



We took the littles to Disneyland for the 1st time last year. We all had a great time, but my son was too young to care.

This year we decided to go for Mickey’s Halloween Party. Mainly because we wanted an adult and kid friendly costume party. Secondly, my daughter wanted to trick or treat and when researching the event, I saw that they offer healthy trick or treat options as well. You have to be sure to specify you want the healthy option when you're at each station. My friend had gone in years past, so I asked her about the healthy treats and also called Disneyland Customer Service and asked. Unfortunately, Disney customer service didn’t have a list of what would be offered, just a general idea.


We went on a Monday and the party runs from 6pm to 11pm, but you are allowed to enter at 3pm. Parking and tram ride was pretty painless. It was fun seeing everyone dressed up and pointing out their various costumes with the littles. Entry lines weren’t too bad and we were in the park in no time. I actually wound up walking back out with my son to rent a stroller for our bag and for when my daughter got tired. Mickey’s Costume Party Cavalcade was happening as we walked onto Main Street to meet up with my mil and sil. After the parade we made our way over to Tomorrowland and promptly got in line for Astro Blasters. K liked this ride last year, but was a bit timid while we rode. All this year she had been talking about how she wanted to go on the ride when we returned to Disney. Well, she absolutely hated the ride this time around and hid under my husband’s arm the whole time. I felt horrible for her, but she had looked forward to it for a year. S on the other hand, slept on my chest in the ring sling the whole time. I had the tail up over his face and my hand over his ear, but I still couldn’t believe he napped the whole time!


After that we headed over to see if the Asimo show was happening. My husband is obsessed with Asimo. We wound up missing it, but there was a treat trail there, so we made our way through one for the first time. K said “Trick or Treat, Healthy Treats Please” at each station and received Kettle Brand sea salt chips and chocolate covered Craisins at the different stations. Each trail has 4 to 6 treat stations on it. She had fun trick or treating for the first time!

In my opinion, and going by the ingredients lists, the chips are a more “healthier” option than the white sugar artificially flavored and colored sweets. I certainly was glad they went with a non flavored chip with msg or other additives in it. However, I don’t see how the Craisins are healthier at all. The ingredients are MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR, WHOLE MILK POWDER, COCOA BUTTER, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR, SOY LECITHIN (AN EMULSIFIER), AND VANILLIN (AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVORING)), SWEETENED DRIED CRANBERRIES (CRANBERRIES, SUGAR), COATING (GUM ACACIA, MALTODEXTRIN, SUGAR AND CONFECTIONER'S GLAZE).
I’ll list the other “healthy treats” we received at the end of this post.


The other activities we did were Monsters U Dance Party, Princess Meet and Greet, another Mickey’s Costume Party Cavalcade (because we got stuck once it started) and the others did the Haunted Mansion while the kids and I went on some treat trails and got some veggie gumbo at New Orleans Square. The fireworks started as we were sitting there eating. My son was asleep again on my chest and once again napped the whole time without waking up.
All In all, it was a fun evening. My daughter had fun, Mr. Crafty and I enjoyed ourselves and my son was once again indifferent about the place, except for the Monster’s U scare off and seeing Woody in the parade!

As for the trick or treating, if you’re a candy lover, you will be set. At each station on each trail, you get handfuls of candy. If you want the healthier options or are vegan, you will be disappointed if you’re expecting much. I noticed most of the packs said whole grains on it, so maybe that’s why Disney thinks these options are healthy. With all the wonderful prepared snack options out there today, they could do so much better.


We did 7-8 trails and received the following:
Kettle sea salt chips
Chocolate covered and Greek yogurt covered Craisins
Carrots
Apple Slices
Gold Fish pretzels
Rold Gold Heart Shaped Pretzels
Cheez It’s
Gold Fish Big Graham Crackers
Keebler Bug Bite Graham Crackers
White Cheddar Pirate Booty

We gave away the Craisins, Cheez It’s, Pirate Booty and Bug Bites. The kids each ate 1 pack of the big graham crackers.
Have you gone to Mickey’s Halloween Party or other parties with unhealthy treats? How did you handle the treat situation for your littles?

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Cauliflower Rice and Cauliflower Scramble





I keep seeing cauliflower everything around the internet, especially Pinterest. Cauliflower popcorn, pizza crusts, mashed "potatoes" and rice. The crust and rice one has been in the back of my mind to try for awhile. Rice and me don't really mix. I'll have some brown or wild every now and again, but I don't like the way my body feels after consuming too much of it. The key words there are too much of it. If I just have a small portion with whatever else we are eating, I'm good, but a bowl of rice is a no go.
Anyhoo- this was one of my first week foods after my juice fast. I was so looking forward to it and it didn't disappoint!
I've had it all kinds of ways, raw and cooked. I even found it wonderful as a scramble. Due to my son's sensitivity to soy, I've been avoiding it for the past 11 months. I've really missed my tofu scramble and I found that I get a similar taste with the cauliflower when I prepare it using the same seasonings. Who knew that I would find a tofu scramble substitute from cauliflower!
Next, I would like to try it as an omelette. If you have already, let me know how it turned out!

Cauliflower prep:
Before any application, I cut out the middle stem and leaves, then I rinse and drain the cauliflower.
Once I have it pared down to smaller pieces, I toss it in the food processor. If I'm preparing as a fried rice, I add a ginger nib, garlic clove and green onion to the processor as well. Take note that if you are cooking this on the stove top, it cooks very quickly, so if you don't like the taste of raw ginger and garlic, you can saute it in the pan 1st or use ground versions. When I'm dehydrating, I use ground versions.

For the raw version, I added coconut aminos, ground garlic and onion, sea salt, black pepper, 1tsp coconut oil, 1tsp sesame oil. I then spread on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 115 until softened.

For the cooked fried rice, I sauteed some veggies first in coconut oil, then added the cauliflower mix along with coconut aminos and a little sesame oil. I mix this around for only about a minute and then remove from heat. It cooks extremely fast!

For the scramble, I process the cauliflower alone. I saute green onion and kale or spinach before adding in cauliflower, nutritional yeast, sea salt, black pepper, ground garlic and onion.

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