Tag: rice

Rice Sensory I Spy Bag

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This activity is part sensory bag and part “I Spy” game, and a great option to take in the car for long rides!

The goal is to hide a few trinkets in a bag of rice, but you’ll need to take a picture of those items, first. You can use a variety of items (think buttons, thimbles, pennies etc.), but I decided to make the game about color, too. That meant I used all one item (flower-shaped beads) but in different colors.

Thanks to a recent gift of a Zink jet printer, I snapped a pic and was able to print it right from my phone, saving the need for a trip to the one-hour photo!

Next, I poured 1 cup rice into a small zip-top plastic bag, then added the flower beads from the picture. Press out the air, then seal and shake to distribute. Place this bag inside a second zip-top bag (for security against rips and tears); seal and then add an edge of colored duct tape for a finished look.

Now, I handed the Veronika the bag, along with the picture! She picked a color from the picture, then searched for that matching bead in the rice. Or sometimes she did the reverse, spotting a bead and then looking over at her picture to see which one matched.

To make this easy to take along in the car, punch a hole in the corner of the picture and in a corner of the bag, then attach them together with a small length of yarn or string.

Rainbow Rice Letter Learning Tray

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It’s been all things rainbow in our house this week as we get closer to St. Patrick’s Day. Here was a new spin on an old idea, since we’ve made rainbow rice before, but with some learning thrown in. Today, there were letters hidden in all that rice!

As a reminder, you can make rainbow rice by combining 1 cup white rice, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, and a few drops of food coloring in a zip-top bag, using 1 bag for each color desired. Seal and shake to coat, then pour onto paper plates and let dry overnight.

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In the morning, I arranged the colors in rainbow order for Veronika. I then set out two sets of letters. The first was smooth rocks, which I had labeled A through Z with a sharpie.

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The second were the pieces of a letter puzzle. I recommend working with only a few letters at a time for a toddler, or you risk wearing out your child’s concentration! As always, a great place to start is the letters of your child’s name, so today I placed the puzzle letters V-I-K-A (Veronika’s nickname) in the rice.

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I pulled our each correspondingly lettered rock, and we went hunting for them! “Hmm, where’s k?” Veronika said so seriously, sifting through the rice with a spoon. “Here it is!”

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After we had matched these letters, it became more of a free-for-all. She loved putting the rocks in the rice and burying them with the spoon.

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Then, as she uncovered each one, we would look over at the puzzle to find the one it matched.

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Finally, things turned into regular sensory play, which was just fine. She loved the sound the rice made as we sprinkled it down!

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The pastel colors of the rice helped us channel spring, which is less than a week away, a very welcome thought as winter weather continues outside.

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Rice Art

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This easy colored rice not only serves as the base material for a pretty craft, but doubles as a sensory material for toddlers!

You’ll need to prepare the batches of rice the night before. For each color, spoon 1 cup uncooked rice into a small zip-top plastic bag, then add 3 tablespoons white vinegar and 5 to 10 drops of food coloring, depending how saturated you want the color to be. I would have made a full rainbow of 6 colors but only had 5 cups of rice, so we skipped orange!

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Spoon each color onto a paper plate and let dry overnight.

In the morning, Veronika spotted the rice and instantly wanted to play. I spooned it onto a craft tray, where the rows of colors were almost pretty enough to be a game in their own right!

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But we had other plans for this particular rice. I set out pieces of cardboard to be Veronika’s canvas, because you’ll need a sturdy background for this particular art medium. We dumped on big pools of white glue and I showed her how to sprinkle the rice down to make pretty colored designs.

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Veronika loved choosing which colors to add where. As a two-year-old, her design was obviously very abstract, but older kids can make deliberate pictures with the glue before covering with rice. Sunny skies, rainbows, or flowers would all be beautiful made from the rice!

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Whenever you need to, pat the rice onto the glue and then tilt the cardboard over the tray to dump off any excess. Keep working until the design comes out to your child’s satisfaction.

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And of course, when the artwork was done, the leftover rice was a delight for Veronika to scoop through. She loved seeing the beautiful colored grains on her fingers!

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Pumpkin Risotto

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Pumpkin Risotto

If you’re looking for new pumpkin recipes to add to your seasonal repertoire, this savory recipe is a nice alternative to sweet pumpkin desserts.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon Earth Balance butter
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 cup Arborio rice
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a 3-quart casserole dish over medium heat. Add the sage and garlic; cook for 1 minute.
  2. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover, transfer to the oven, and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.
  3. Stir before serving!

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Arroz Verde con Frijoles Negro

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Rice and beans are a match made in heaven, with so many variations to keep kids from getting bored. This recipe gets its beautiful green color from fresh spinach sauce. Use brown rice in place of the white rice, if you prefer.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 and 1/2 cups water, divided
  • 2 cups uncooked white rice
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 10 ounces fresh baby spinach
  • 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 crushed garlic cloves
  • 1 (15-ounce) drained and rinsed can black beans
  1. To prepare the rice, combine the broth, 1 cup water, rice, and bay leaf in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and remove the bay leaf.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the spinach sauce: combine the spinach in a blender or food processor with the remaining 1/2 cup water, lemon juice, and garlic. Process until smooth.
  3. Add the spinach mixture and black beans to the rice, stirring to combine.

This is delicious on its own, but even better wrapped up in a tortilla!

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Rainbow Rice Sensory Bags

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These easy sensory bags kept my toddler busy for ages… and they look so pretty, too!

If you are playing this game with preschoolers, definitely enlist their help when putting the rice bags together since it’s great scooping practice.

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With my 16 month old, though, I did the set-up solo. Here’s my little helper standing by:

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Scoop 2 cups rice into each of 6 sandwich-size zip-top bags. Pour a little paint into each in all the colors of the rainbow, using red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Seal the bag and shake until the rice is completely covered in the paint.

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It’s then helpful to open back up and squeeze out as much air as possible before resealing. Now you have a sort of rice “brick” for your child to play with. Repeat for the remaining colors.

Veronika couldn’t wait to come see what it was all about. She stacked them…

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…threw them…

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…squeezed them…

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…and of course tried to open them up (phew, with no success!). In other words, they kept her very busy. There was lots of talking to herself as she played, so she must have had some game going in her head.

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For a little learning, I briefly lined the bags up in rainbow order and took the opportunity to sing The Rainbow Song.

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You can also pile them in rainbow order, although don’t expect the pile to stay neat for long with a toddler around!

Red Beans & Rice

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Red Beans and Rice

This mildly-spiced take on the classic pairing of red beans and rice is a sure winner with kids!

Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup marinara sauce
  • 1/2 cup carrot puree
  • 1 tablespoon wheat germ
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 4 cups cooked brown rice
  1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the beans, marinara, carrot puree, wheat germ, oregano, basil, and thyme. Cook for about 5 minutes, until warm.
  2. Meanwhile, place the cooked rice in a large bowl. Add the bean mixture and stir to combine.

Citrusy Rice Salad

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Citrusy Rice Salad

This salad makes a nice introduction to citrus fruits for toddlers. Veronika hesitantly asked “Apple?” when I spooned some onto her tray. Close but not quite!

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon agave nectar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped green beans
  • 1/4 cup chopped orange
  • 1/4 cup chopped pineapple
  • 2 chopped green onions
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
  1. To prepare the dressing, whisk together the orange juice, agave, and olive oil in a large bowl. Set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, steam the green beans for about 6 minutes, or until tender.
  3. Add the green beans to the bowl with the dressing, along with the remaining ingredients, stirring to coat.

 

Rice Garden

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Here’s a fun variation on playing with rice as a sensory activity. Rice + bucket + toys never seems to grow old for tots in that 12 month to 18 month window.

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But today, instead of random toys, we made it a “garden” for Veronika to plant – and uproot!

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She loved the variation right away, pulling out the veggies, replanting the asparagus, and more.

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Of course then the fun became emptying giant handfuls of rice on the floor, which was just fine with me since I love how easy rice is to sweep up at the end.

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She kept busy with this the entire time I prepped dinner, crawling through big piles of it by the end.

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Mistress Veronika, not contrary, how does your garden grow? With lots of smiles of course!

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Coconut Pineapple Rice Pudding

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Coconut Pineapple Rice Pudding

If your baby doesn’t like oatmeal for breakfast (which always seems to be the go-to for little ones), try rice instead! This sweet treat also makes a great sugar-free dessert. Look for organic canned pineapple like Native Forest.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup arborio rice
  • 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
  • 1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
  1. Spoon the rice into the bottom of a casserole dish with lid; set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, combine the pineapple and coconut milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
  3. Pour the pineapple mixture over the rice and place the lid on the casserole dish. Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour.