Raw Vegan Chocolate Brownie Balls – Sinfully Delicious! Mmmmmm. Yes they are THAT good. I can’t help but make little moaning sounds when eating them…you know what they say about chocolate right? Hubby thinks I have lost my mind a little. He loves them too though and says they taste like the truffles his mom used to make.

I never understood the mainstream obsession with chocolate until yesterday when I made these. The recipe is my own invention that has definitely earned a position in my Raw Vegan Kids recipes book.

What you need: 1 cup of walnuts, 8-12 dates (soaked first), 1/2 cup carob powder, 1/2 cup cacao powder, 1/8 cup shredded coconut, and 2 teaspoons Agave nectar. A little water may be added if more moisture is needed.

I mixed it all up in a Blendtec and then rolled into little balls. Then I let them chill in the frig for a couple hours. The kids got into them first and declared love at first bite and then I got in on the action….ooooh so good.

This recipe makes about a dozen balls but they are very rich so we still have a couple left this morning….but not for long. Excuse me while I go devour them.

Oh and while I am eating, check out this review I wrote on my other blog about a wonderful guide to raising raw, natural, free range, kids called Evie’s Kitchen.

My toddler is 3 years old today! Happy birthday to Parker Maclain my beautiful boy. 3 years ago today on Friday the 13th he arrived via natural childbirth and only 2 hours of labor. He was nine pounds, 6 ounces. He breastfed immediately and with gusto. He didn’t even mind sharing with his older sister. He was a chubby little thing who wanted to sleep in his own bed right from the beginning.

Of course our babymoon ended to soon as only 6 months later I would be diagnosed with cancer and he would be rudely ripped away from me and mama’s milk. He came through it like a champ though. I think it may have even been harder on me. He is now my little buddy, my shadow, a momma’s boy who climbs into bed with me each morning and plants a big kiss on my cheek. Happy birthday baby! You are loved more than you could ever know.

Due to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) natural toys have been getting a lot of attention lately. It has quite frankly woken many people up the value of homemade and all the reasons we need to fight to protect these items.  To lose them would be to lose a part of our natural history… a part of our heritage. For us and for children all over the country it would mean a loss of the magic that is unique to hand crafted toys.

By voicing our concerns over the poorly written CPSIA legislation we can save the toys and help to ensure that our local artisans can continue to operate… artisans like Beccijo Neff of The Fairy Ring and The Enchanted Cupboard. Toys and handcrafted items like what you find here are magical, charming, and bewitching.

I interviewed Beccijo this week and asked her about CPSIA, her business, and why preserving the traditions of handmade are so important. Of course first I asked her how she got started in this business.

Beccijo: As a child in rural Pennsylvania I spent much of my time inventing new things to play with.  New games and toys were always being made by me in my free time, and I never remember being bored.  My parents encouraged creativity.  I loved kids, and there was never a short supply in my big, extended family. There was always someone around to try out my new game with.  I felt blessed by my life back then. After high school, college beckoned.  I pursued the course that my artistic talents led me on, but in my heart I always wanted to be a nanny.  My mother had a nanny growing up, and I loved the stories she told me about afternoons at the beach in Australia with her sisters and the nanny.  I decided to follow my dream, and in 1991, I enrolled in The English Nanny and Governess School.  Afterward, many years passed as I lived that dream being the enchanted Nanny I always dreamed I would be.

Years later I found a prince among men and married him in 1997.  We started our family in 2000 and now have 4 beautiful, wonderful children for me to create for and dream with.  I am now a happy housewife, SAHM and homeschooler trying to find ways to bring that same childhood enchantment that I experienced to my own children. Besides caring for my family, the other thing that brings me great joy is making things that encourage creativity. First I was just a shopper on Etsy, and then I started making items for other kids and thought that this might be a good idea for a few shops. This year I got the biggest joy knowing that under other people’s Christmas trees, my toys were waiting all wrapped up.

Tiffany: What is CPSIA?

Beccijo: The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is a new law that is intended to insure the safety of basically any consumer product that is intended for 12 year olds and younger.  It requires materials testing of all clothes, toys, books, educational materials, baby items, etc. to prove that they do not contain any toxic materials.  It was passed last year in response to the influx of materials from overseas that had lead paint and other toxic materials on them.

Tiffany: Who will be impacted by this legislation? And why should parents care?

Beccijo: Everyone who buys or sells items for kids 12 yrs. old or under will be affected by this law.  Parents should care because the law as it is stated now is too broad and will eliminate many nice and useful products from the marketplace because smaller manufacturers will not be able to afford the testing that is required by the law.  Handmade toys and other organic and safe products are required to be tested even though by their very nature they are made from safe materials.  This means that many handmade wooden toys and other products like them will disappear from the marketplace. 

It is good that the government is stepping up and taking action on lead, but this law is very vague in it’s terminology to the point where it encompasses anything and everything. The lawmakers wanted to make sure that there were no loopholes in the law, but they went too far.  And now the law is affecting those who make, sell and benefit from quality items that are safe including small shops, crafters, charities, yard sales, EVERYONE!  One of the worst parts of the law is the mandatory (re)testing by third party certified laboratories. The cost for the testing is overwhelming and has actually increased by as much as 20% in the last few months. My main complaint regarding the law is that my supplies are bought at the same craft stores you buy you paints, etc. and they have already been tested and labeled as non-toxic. When I put them together, they are still non toxic and should not have to be retested.

Tiffany: What is being done right now to try and save the hand made toy?

Beccijo: Things are changing fast. Right now, the government is beginning to hear the complaints, and they are making exemptions and rewriting parts (see the story at this link. So right now we need to keep writing letters and emails and making calls.

Those that know and care are doing what they can, but we need to get the word out and we need support from every parent. Everyone just needs to write, type, email and call. Get yourself heard! Contact Congress! Your representative can be reached at:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Contact your Senator here….
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
(choose your state on top to get started)

Contact the CPSC directly here….
http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/commissionernord.aspx

Tiffany: Anything else to share about CPSIA?

Beccijo: As a parent I try hard to live in such a way as to be an example to my children. When I have to wait in line, I point out that I, as an adult, have to take turns. When they don’t like to share, I point out that I let them share my things even when I don’t always want to. So this is another great example for me to show them.  Just like for them, for adults there are rules.  Sometimes those rules are not fair in my eyes, for them it is bedtimes and eating veggies.  For me, right now, it is the CPSIA.  I have heard lots of comments about the toy police not coming after the crafters. And to me, openly disobeying the law is not the point and not the example I want to send to my children.  I would rather take the opportunity to teach them how people can influence the government to achieve what is fair and right.  Let’s find a way to get a good solid law in place that protects the quality of our children’s lives without removing the things that are already there and safe for them.

A reader recently emailed me and asked if I knew where she could find glass plates that were sectioned or divided kind of like a bento or a tv dinner tray. She was having trouble finding anything like that and when she did they were no longer in stock. Well, that email sent me on a hunt to track down an option for this mom and along the way I fell in love with this concept.

As you most likely know I love bentos so it is not a stretch to see why I would also love idea of a tray or plate with dividers….like they use in schools. There are plates like this for babies but I never really saw any for older kids and the baby ones are plastic. I know my own kids love to use old baby plates we used with my youngest. They love the little compartments for each food but we stopped using them because they were old and most likely contain BPA. Or they were Melamine which we also won’t use. Well thank you Angela for giving me this idea, the picture above shows some vintage ceramic TV trays I scored for my own kids. Of course the thing about vintage is that you need to check etsy, eBay, Craigslist, or local antique stores to find them but you never know! These particular plates (above) can be put in the microwave or oven but I don’t intend to do either.

Non vintage options are around as well. First up is the BIA Cordon Bleu 12-Inch TV Dinner Trays Set. These are very retro looking trays (love that) and are made of durable white porcelain and stoneware. They have room for the main dish, a dessert, and two sides. Very fun! 

There is also the plain BIA White TV Tray but they only one left on Amazon and 2 on the source web site at Retro Planet. This may just be a low sale item so they order more if they have a definite buyer. A call to the seller never hurts. This place sells them too.

Here is a stonewear divided plate that is pretty cute but pretty darn pricey as well.

There are a few finds on eBay for divided plates. I found divided plates made of Vaseline glass. They are very pretty. Here is another listing.  Here are some in cobalt. This children’s nursery rhyme plate is made of glass. So if you want glass that is the place to look. I am just not seeing any new manufacture plates like this but I will keep an eye out.

Another option is stainless steel and Amazon has one for younger kids in their Reed & Barton Sea Tails Baby’s Divided Stainless Whale Plate. Very cute but kind of small for my kids I think.

I also found other examples of stainless steel “mess trays” as they called and this military surplus store sells them. I also spotted a set of 4 on eBay.

Other ideas might be to check Craigslist or local Army surplus stores. I used to visit the Army surplus stores a lot  as a teen…I had a thing for the fatigues, the boots, the canvas duffles, etc. I remember seeing steel plates in there. Old camping gear might have something like this too.

Some company needs to step up and make a new line of glass, ceramic and/or steel TV dinner trays and divided plates!

This weekend hubs and I tackled a small project. In our hallway off the kitchen we have 4 big storage areas. Three of them had been converted into much needed pantry space. The 4th cabinet was left empty so it was basically a 5 foot tall by 2 feet deep cabinet for various stuff like fly swatters, a broom, curtain rods, vacuum attachments, etc. Not only was it ugly IMO it was kind of useless. We really needed the space for food so we did a quick remodel today.

 After cleaning it out we painted with my absolute favorite “green” paint called C2 LoVo. It is high end, extremely luxurious, eco friendly, low VOC paint. VOC stands for volatile organic compounds. The Wiki definition tells us that VOCS  have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere. Typical paints have high VOC levels and the noxious fumes and off gassing are a big problem.

With LoVo there are minimal VOCs in the paint and the difference can be felt the moment you take off the lid. Absolutely no paint smell. It is AMAZING. We have started painting my bedroom with this paint (pics soon) and you cannot even ”smell” that we have painted. Usually the fumes would be about ready to knock us out.

LoVo has 496 premium paint colors and this paint is TOP quality. It looks like hardened silk after it dries…really beautiful. I wondered if you would sacrifice quality by reducing the VOCs but nope… this is the best paint I have ever worked with and I have painted quite a bit. I also love that it is low impact paint that releases much less ground level ozone into the atmosphere.

Soooo…after we painted the cabinent we attached some metal strips and used shelf clips to put the shelves on. We did not paint the shelves but might at some point. The unfinished look doesn’t bother me. I am happy with this quickie organizational project and we really needed the room. Here is a completed picture and a before shot.