Winter

Healthy Hot Chocolate Recipe – Vegan and Dairy Free

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Ohio’s cold weather has been pretty brutal this week, but don’t let these chilly temperatures keep you from having a sweet, classic winter treat. Want to keep your family warm with some healthy hot chocolate? Check out this vegan and dairy free recipe from Ambitious Kitchen!

 

Ingredients (for two servings, increase accordingly):

  • 1 cup light coconut milk, from the can
  • 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 
  • Pinch of sea salt

 

Instructions:

Step 1

Place all your ingredients into one small pot, warm it on a low-medium heat setting. Combine the ingredients by whisking them, mix until you’ve gotten rid of all the cocoa clumps. Be sure to not let the mixture broil, as to not burn the almond milk. Warm the mixture for 3-5 minutes, or until steamy.

Step 2

Now that your hot chocolate is warm, you can grab two mugs and serve it! Add your choice of toppings (I prefer marshmallows in my hot chocolate). 

 

According to Ambitious Kitchen, this the nutritional value of this hot chocolate recipe:

Serving: 1 serving

Calories: 166 cal

Carbohydrates: 18.7g

Protein: 1.8g

Fat: 10.2g

Saturated Fat: 7.1g

Fiber: 2.6g

Sugar: 13.6g

Adapted from: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/healthy-hot-chocolate/

DIY Winter Decor for Families

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Now that your Christmas and holiday decorations are down, you might want to find ways to keep your house decorated and festive for the winter. Whether you’re home for a snow day or looking for a fun craft to do on the weekends, here is a quick and easy craft for you and your family!

 

Supplies:

12” by 12” paper

Crafting scissors

Optional snowflake templates: https://assets.marthastewart.com/d29/perfect-paper-snowflakes-1015/perfect-paper-snowflakes-1015.pdf?_ga=2.90616730.1692996583.1610948935-22653803.1602503328 

 

Instructions:

Step 1:

Fold your paper in half, bringing the top left corner down to the bottom right corner to create a triangle.

how to make paper snowflakes step one paper

 

Step 2:

Fold the paper in half again, bringing the top right corner down to the bottom left corner. This should allow for the pointed corners to meet and create a smaller triangle.

how to make paper snowflakes step two fold paper diagonally

 

Step 3:

Next, fold your paper into thirds, overlapping the left pointed corner over the triangle.

how to make paper snowflakes step three fold triangle in half

 

Step 4:

 Overlap the right pointed corner over the triangle. Adjust the folds until the sides match up and don’t crease the paper until the folds are aligned.

how to make paper snowflakes step four fold triangle in half

 

Step 5:

Trim off the pointed ends to create a triangle.

how to make paper snowflakes step five fold into thirds

 

Step 6:

Using whatever cutting pattern you prefer, cut out the snowflakes! Use variation to create a diverse range of snowflakes, each of them being unique. You can also incorporate the snowflake templates for a more uniform pattern.

how to make paper snowflakes step six cut bottom with scissors

 

Step 7:

Unfold your snowflakes to reveal the final product! Enjoy your homemade decorations!

how to make paper snowflakes step seven snowflakes

 

If you want to spice things up, use multiple paper colors! If you want to smooth out creases from folding, use an iron on a low heat setting. Additionally, use spray starch to hold the snowflakes in place!

 

Adapted from: https://www.marthastewart.com/266694/decorating-with-paper-snowflakes 

 

If this decor project was a hit in your household, check out more DIY Winter projects here: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g34004079/winter-crafts/ 

Free 4-H Project Books For Ohio Military Families – Order by 10/20

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We are excited to announce that once again, Ohio Military Kids is offering free projects books for you and your family! Continue reading to learn more about how you can get your hands on a free project activity book.
Our partners at Ohio 4-H are proud to present a collection of project books to military families – at no cost to you! Ohio Military Kids is an organization that benefits from the youth development education offered from Ohio 4-H and the organization resources contributed from Ohio National Guard Family Readiness and Warrior Support. Together, we hope that your families may benefit from the education opportunities found in the collection of project book titles listed in this survey.
Here are the books we are offering:
  • Scrapbooking: A 4-H Guide to Preserving Memories – “This project is designed for youth with limited or no experience in scrapbooking. Requires completion of project activities and creation of a scrapbook. Can be repeated by completing additional activities and a new scrapbook each year.”
  • Superhero You – “Who are you? What makes you unique? Find your superpowers and those of your family and friends. Discover your super future by exploring how to put your super skills to work. Have fun and learn about your self-identity.”
  • Let’s Start Cooking – “This project takes a fresh look at basic cooking and baking skills. You’ll learn about kitchen equipment and food prep, and how to read recipes and measure ingredients. Then you’ll tackle how to slice and dice food, and how to cook in a microwave oven, on the stove and in a conventional oven, all while keeping safety in mind. Appropriate for members of all ages with little or no cooking or baking experience.”
  • Science Fun with Kitchen Chemistry – “Join the Terrestrial Alien Defense Academy and figure out how to outsmart the aliens by doing experiments in your kitchen. Learn about what matter is and how it changes form; explore the different properties of matter; find out about acids and bases; and discover how everyday items and kitchen ingredients can be used in cool tests!”
  • Pantry Panic – “This advanced-level project is for community-minded youth who want to take a step back and look at food in a broader context. “Food insecurity” is an issue affecting much of the world’s population and many people right here in our own communities. Learn about hunger in your community and develop the skill and imagination to prepare healthful meals from ingredients you have on hand or might receive from a food pantry. Consider it a challenge!”
Please note that we have very limited supply of each book. You may only select one of each book per order. If a book has “sold out” it will not be displayed as an option.
Requests must be placed by Friday, October 20. Orders will then be processed and sent to families approximately 3-5 weeks after the order deadline.
For additional information about this program or enrollment in Ohio 4-H, please contact State 4-H Healthy Living and Ohio Military Kids Student Assistant, Matthew Swearingen (swearingen.96s@osu.edu)

Winter Activity Books – Order by 2/10

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Ohio winters can be chilly, but they don’t have to be boring!

Between now and June OMK will be offering four opportunities to order activity books for your family, and they are completely free.

To kick us off, we are offering 7 books that will give your family activities to complete while staying indoors.

This month’s texts are:

  • Exploring Polar Science
  • Get Started in Art
  • Grow Your Own Vegetables
  • Let’s Bake Quick Breads
  • Not Just Knots
  • Shopping Savvy
  • Your Feelings Matter

 

You can order activity books for your family by using this link: http://go.osu.edu/omk4hbookorder

Orders should be placed by 2/10 and are expected to ship by 3/10.