VEGAN BAKING RECIPES: Petey’s Almond Cookies

Looking for a fun family holiday activity that will engage kids of all ages and provide great gifts and tasty treats for your family? Let me suggest baking with your kids. Kids of all ages love the hands-on active, creative work that goes into baking and you can start with toddlers as young as 18 months old. You'll need some patience and time to bake with a toddler, but it's such a great learning activity that young kids can really grasp and really enjoy. My 3 year old son Petey (above) loves to bake (and eat his creations naturally), and since we're a vegan household, I've adapted some of my mother's passed-down cookie recipes to suit our vegan lifestyle. This almond butter cookie recipe is a sure fire winner because it's extremely simple and exceeding delicious. It only requires 5 ingredients and provides ample opportunity for the down and dirty elements of toddler baking: smushing, kneading and rolling dough, and decorating. This recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies, and - be warned - they will all be devoured within hours.

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Environmental Health Strategy Center Report Finds BPA in Plastic Toys, Baby Rattles, Formula

The state of Maine has decided to take matters into its own hands while the Federal Government wavers on updating the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. The state has now released its own commissioned report, Poison in Paint, Toxics in Toys, which found that hundreds of brand name consumer products including Playmobile Toys and Chicco baby rattles contain bisphenol-A (BPA), a hormone-disrupting chemical already banned in baby bottles and sippy cups. The report also found another class of hormone-disrupting chemicals known as NPEs in household paints, cleaners and wood finishes. Read on to discover which toys contain BPA.

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Plan Toys Alphabet Game A-Z is a Fun & Educational Game for Tots

This affordable green game offers plenty of fun and education. The Plan Toys Plan Preschool Alphabet A-Z won a Best Green Product from Dr. Toy’s Guide and it’s easy to see why. Children can use this set to learn how to recite the alphabet, letter-names and identify letter-sounding relationships. Additionally, little ones may match up alphabet letters with the animal picture base …

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HOW TO: Make Healthy Homemade Granola

We are a granola family for sure. Everyone from Dad to 2-year-old Maria loves granola - on top of plain yogurt in the morning, mixed in with açai after a couple hours on the beach, or even just as a little snack while watching a movie. Homemade snacks are always a win, and granola is a a great homemade snack, easy to make with your kids. I find that buying my own ingredients and making granola at home is always more cost efficient than buying from the store. Not to mention how so much of store bought granola is loaded with sugar, additives, and sometimes even high fructose corn syrup. My husband is the baker in the family and he was always experimenting with different granola recipes, modifying here and there until he created his granola masterpiece. Making granola at home is easy, the only hard part is making sure that the granola doesn't burn. This recipe that I'm going to share does a good job at making sure the granola is moist before putting it in the oven, and if you check on the granola every 10 minutes while it's baking you'll prevent it from burning. I promise you, you'll have a hard time going back to the store bought kind. And if I need to convince you further then think about all of the homemade jam and marmalade that's gifted as holiday presents in glass jars this time of year. Well, homemade granola also looks cute in a glass jar and can be a great holiday gift.

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Hopper Blocks Stay Simple and Sustainable For Hours of Creative Building

Hopper Blocks are the kind of kid's toy that we are thrilled is on the market because the creating is kid-powered, not battery-powered. Yes, there are still companies resisting the flashing light pyrotechnics, whirligigs, and sounds that seem to accompany many of the toys in more mainstream stores these days, and Tree Hopper Toys is one of them. The blocks are made in Chicago using sustainably harvested and smoothly sanded hardwood from the United States.

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Pong™ iPhone and iPad Cases Reduce Exposure to Cell Phone Radiation

We’ve reported on cell phone radiation, especially with regard to the dangers of childrens’ exposure to iPhones and iPads on multiple occasions over the past year. Most readers have admitted they think iPhone apps are a lifesaver when it comes to keeping tots entertained. But that doesn’t change the fact that studies show that kids’ brains absorb twice as much cell phone radiation as adult brains, and we’d be remiss not to take precautions or avoid letting children play with these devices full stop. Lucky for diehard fans, young and old, of the iPhone and iPad, there’s a new case on the market which drastically reduces a user’s exposure to cell phone radiation. Pong Research, Inc. is a new health technology company founded by a team of PhDs from Princeton, Harvard, UCLA and MIT, that offers the only solution proven in FCC-certified labs to protect consumers significantly (up to 95% below FCC limits) from wireless device radiation.

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Tegu Introduces Tegu Mobility Magnetic Wooden Wheels and Cars

On December 16th, just in time for last minute holiday shopping, Tegu, a company we’re long-time fans of, will be releasing a brand new collection, Tegu Mobility. Tegu Mobility is a brand new line of magnetic wooden wheels and cars. Mobility offers beautifully crafted wheels that magically click onto any Tegu block creation, thus allowing your child to instantly create a mobile masterpiece. The line is fully modular and even integrates with the existing magnetic building system. Like all Tegu toys, the new Mobility collection is made with high-quality and safe materials, such as wood, magnets that are safely enclosed inside wood finished with water-based and non-toxic coatings.

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5 Eco-Friendly Holiday Gifts for Little Foodies

Food is fun, and kids know it. It seems like children are natural born foodies. Babies enjoy getting food on their little hands and faces and big kids enjoy using their imagination to create smily faces on their plates with their spaghetti. If You have a little foodie in your home then this is the perfect time of year to give them something that encourages their love for food and for fun. Here are five gift ideas your little foodie will love.

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Kamibashi Gingerbread Man String Doll is a Cute Stocking Stuffer

If you need the most adorable stocking stuffers ever (you know you do) than Kamibashi has got your back with their new 100% sweet Gingerbread Man String Doll. The String Doll Gang created by Kamibashi has long been one of our favorite small treats here at Inhabitots. Each member of the String Doll Gang, now numbering in the dozens, comes with his or her own special power that is always positive and helpful for the receiver. String Dolls are made with Fair Trade standards and some special String Dolls even help support important causes. Each String Doll comes with a double-sided fabric identification tag and lobster claw keyring so you can take your little friend wherever you go. As if all this wasn’t awesome enough, Kamibashi has some special deals going on all December long.

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Cate & Levi Reclaimed Wool Baby Blankets

Looking for a one-of-a-kind and adorable baby blanket? Look no further than Cate & Levi. Their handmade baby blankets are perfect for baby boys or girls and come in a variety of animal and color choices, so you can choose one that’s the perfect fit for your little one’s …

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Organic Cotton Santa Claus Pajamas for Festive Tots

The countdown begins! As tots wait for Santa to grace their living rooms, they can anticipate the arrival of the jolly man in red by donning these festive organic Santa Claus pajamas from Hanna Andersson. In addition to being super cute, their thoughtful design includes smooth, flatlock seams, soft, ready-to-grow cuffs and stretch waists. These pjs …

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OOO My Design’s Pin Press Shelf Makes Cleaning Up Fun for Kids

Wish your kids would learn to put away their toys and books on their own? OOO My Design’s Pin Press attempts to solve that problem. The wall of pins, which designer Vanesa Moreno calls a kid’s room shelf, can be manipulated to hold toys and books. When kids push the pins or push an object into the wall, it adapts its form to the objects to hold them like a shelf.

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HOW TO: Grow Paperwhites in Recycled Mason Jars

There are a handful of plants that just scream, "The holidays are here!" and paperwhites are one of them. Paperwhites are the perfect holiday gardening project to do with your children because they grow so quickly. Start your paperwhites now and you will have beautiful full blooms to enjoy all winter long. These pretty white blooms look great when grown in recycled mason jars. They make the perfect gift for children to give to teachers, grandparents and coaches. Read on to learn how you can plant paperwhites in recycled jars this afternoon.

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Unique Stuffed Peruvian Horsie from Amenity

This cute and huggable stuffed friend is a unique, modern take on the toy horsie. Sure to enchant little ones, this Peruvian Horsie is made child-safe. Each horsie is handwoven in Peru by indigenous artisans with 100% all natural, eco-harvested alpaca wool and is stuffed with 100% recycled cotton. Little fingers will love to explore and play with this horse due to its unusual …

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Should Doctors be Allowed to Refuse Treatment if Parents Won’t Vaccinate?

NPR recently broadcast an interesting discussion – Treating Families That Don’t Immunize. This NPR opinion piece asks the question: Is it okay, or even ethical for pediatricians to refuse routine care to families who refuse to vaccinate their children? The piece features commentary by New York Times Ethicist, Ariel Kaminer, who also recently posted this question to readers at The New York Times. The opinions are very interesting, especially if you read the reader comments on both. Many parents commented that a doctor dismissing a patient due to vaccine non-compliance isn’t fair. Yet, to play devil’s advocate, on the flip side, research shows that parents want their own freedom of choice when it comes to vaccine arrangements, such as many parents want to delay vaccines, have alternative schedules or not vaccinate altogether. It’s a little strange to want freedom of choice yourself, yet deny some doctors the same rights.

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Bilingual Organic Soft Books Teach Kids Shapes, Colors and Numbers in French and English

It's never too early to start teaching your little bébé a foreign language. Help her learn her un, deux, trois, circles and squares, along with rouge, bleu and the other colors of the rainbow with soft books featuring both English and French words. The books, or should we say livres, are printed on 100% GOTS certified organic cotton, using azo-free, water-based dyes.

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