Valentine’s Day Fun!

This post is going up a little later than I hoped because I’ve been busy running around like crazy preparing for Valentine’s for my kiddos (last minute like I always do.) But I decided to share what all I’ve been up to while I should’ve been writing this blog entry featuring divine paleo chocolate covered strawberries (and I promise that recipe is included at the end!)

So I tried my very hardest not to be “THAT” mom this year… you know the one who stays up late into the night creating pinterest-inspired Valentines?! Well, I had the best of intentions when I set out yesterday afternoon to pick up three boxes of Valentine’s cards (yes, I said yesterday afternoon… procrastination at its finest!) It didn’t work… Probably because I decided to make my first stop at Michael’s instead of Walgreens. Cute ideas began to flood my brain, and they just wouldn’t go away!! I thought “Oh that would be so easy!” And yes it is easy… but the part I ALWAYS seem to forget is that when you times it by 56, it becomes a six hour ordeal! And of course, I thought of gender specific ideas, which complicates the entire process.

But after several hours of crafty work, the kids are thrilled with the result. I’m pretty happy with how they turned out as well… check them out!

For the little ladies:

For the young men:

For the preschoolers:

For the teachers:

There are so many ideas out there for edible Valentine’s that are super cute, but almost always they use foods that most moms don’t want their kiddo to actually eat, nevermind 20+ of these types of food items. (Think sugar, wheat, more sugar, oh my!) So I was pretty excited that we came up with something fun that wasn’t food/candy!!

Speaking of sweet treats … too bad our school doesn’t allow for homemade foods as favors because we could make absolutely decadent desserts and candies using the melting chocolate recipe we found this week for our feature “Chocolate Covered Strawberries.” Enjoy.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. 100% Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
• 3 T coconut butter or pasture butter
• 3 T maple syrup
• 1 lb fresh strawberries
• ½ c crushed pecans, optional

Step 1: Wash strawberries in cold water and towel or air dry well as chocolate will not stick to them wet.

Step 2: In double boiler pot, heat chocolate, butter, and maple syrup, stirring continuously.

Step 3: Dip dried strawberries in hot chocolate and place on wax paper to dry, being careful not to burn yourself.

Step 4: Then roll into the crushed pecans, if desired.

Step 5; Place strawberries in the freezer for 30 minutes to set the chocolate.

Step 6: Serve immediately, or store in refrigerator until ready to eat.

These are really simple and quick to make and are the perfect dessert to share with your honey this Valentine’s, guilt-free. Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Hope you all have a fabulous holiday weekend with family!