This activity is by Donna Erickson, a family lifestyle columnist with King Features Syndicate and host of Donna's Day on public television. For more ideas, visit www.donnasday.com.
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Activity Photo credits: Donna Erickson and Paul Nelson.
Ants on a Log
Fall means packing lunches, fixing snacks after school, and preparing treats for outdoor weekend adventures. Enjoy this whimsical, tasty and good-for-you treat whenever and wherever you have a snack attack. You won’t even mind inviting these “ants” to the table!
Here’s the stuff you’ll need for 6 snacks:
• Two stalks of long, crisp celery with ends trimmed
• Six tablespoons of creamy or chunky peanut butter
• 30-35 raisins
Here’s the fun:
1. Wash the celery well, let it dry, and cut it into 3-inch pieces.
2. With the help of an adult, use a table knife to fill the hollow side of each celery piece with peanut butter.
3. Arrange raisins on top of the peanut butter to resemble ants scampering about on a log. Let an adult cut each log into three pieces with a sharp knife.
Extra ideas:
• Invite other critters to the log! Use dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots or sunflower seeds in addition to the raisins.
• If you are allergic to peanuts, you can still enjoy this snack by substituting cream cheese or hummus for the peanut butter.
• It’s fun to stretch your imagination! When I used small curd cottage cheese instead of peanut butter, the ants looked like they were crawling on a snow-covered log!
TABLE TALK
Ask your mom and dad what their favorite snacks were when they were kids. Did they make “Ants on a Log,” too?
