Being a married-but-single mom really stinks, so as part of a sponsored post with Collective Bias, I treated the kids to a Family Movie Night in, with our new favorite Disney movie . The Workaholic is like never home, and when he is home, he wants to do what he wants to do which generally involves cuddling with his pillow or drooling on the sofa for most of the day.
Don’t get me wrong, he does a ton around the house that I just can’t always get to. He is crazy helpful around the house. But on his days off, he just wants to laze around instead of doing anything, because his days off are so few and far between. I GET it. I’m not complaining. I’m just saying that to make you understand why I can’t just sit around and wait for him to live my life. I’m not a sedentary person. I have to be doing something, going somewhere, or making something happen. It’s just who I am.
Sometimes that something involves my children. The thing is, when I do something deliberate like a family movie night in, I want it to be fun for everyone. The one certain way to my children’s hearts is through their stomachs. It’s also the only way to get them to sit still for any length of time, but only if their stomachs are being filled while sitting on the sofa. Eating on the sofa is completely forbidden in our house, except when a good movie like Disney’s Planes is being shown on our tiny little 32″ flat screen.
“What happened to your 60″ TV, Summer?”
OH, I thought you’d never ask! The Stinky thought it would be a good idea to throw a popcorn bucket at it this summer. It completely cracked the plasma screen. Our TV is now collecting dust in the garage and we are using The Nerd’s TV.
I love my kids.
I also love food. And Disney movies .
We had seen Planes in the theater, so I knew that it had an international flair throughout the entire movie. I thought it would be a perfect chance to tickle my kids’ taste buds with some international fare, and teach them about the different flavors that other regions are known for.
I pulled up the Planes “Wings Across the World” race map to remind myself exactly where the planes had gone, and I tried to think up food for each leg of the race.
The first leg of the race is from the USA to Iceland. I was relatively certain that my kids wouldn’t be interested in lutefisk, so I went with a sweet, safe snack from the USA to kick off our taste bud trip around the world. Super simple to make, The Muffin & The Stinky were bug-eyed over this special treat. They had never had one before and they loved it.
The second leg of the race is from Iceland to Germany. There are so many delicious things I could have served from Germany, but I know my kids love pretzels and mustard, so in keeping with the snack theme of this party, and for my lazy-mom sanity, I served up a handful of pretzels with three different types of mustard: Yellow, Dijon, & Whole Grain. One of our favorite Planes characters is Franz Fliegenhosen. The Muffin had fun imitating his accent while munching on one of her favorite snacks.
The third leg takes the planes from Germany to India, where Ishani and Dusty fly off at sunset to view the Taj Majal. It’s one of the most breathtaking scenes in the movie. I love Indian food, so this was another difficult choice. I decided to make a Paleoized version of an Indian apple dish called Apple Halwa. I actually found it to be a delicious substitute for oatmeal, and I’m adding it to my morning breakfast routine. The recipe can be found at the bottom of this post. It’s dairy free and DELICIOUS.
The next leg is from India into Nepal and a fifth leg lands the planes in China. I’m not familiar with Nepalese fare, so I skipped that leg and spent some time whipping up a homemade sweet & sour plum sauce to go with the pork dumplings that were to represent China. The sauce is tangy and sweet, and great with the mild flavor of the pork dumplings. We used our fingers instead of chopsticks, and we sat on the floor. I didn’t want plum-sauce-covered upholstery. I absolutely love the low & slow version of “Love Machine” that El Chu sings to Rochelle. I have it stuck in my head as I write this. True story. “I’m just a love macheen”. The Sweet & Sour Sauce recipe can be found at the end of the post.
The sixth leg remains unrepresented because it goes from China to Mexico and over the Pacific Ocean. Dusty finds himself in a bit of a mess when he crash lands into an enormous wave. He is picked up and carried to Mexico where he is told that he can no longer fly. His compadres come to his rescue with new parts, and he’s better than new. Kind of like this new little snack that the kids and I discovered recently. While I know pizza isn’t exactly a Mexican thing, diced green, red, and yellow bell peppers represent the Mexican flag and the last leg of the race takes our planes back to the USA, where pizza is totally a thing. These little pizzas are so easy to make. You simply take pepperoni, put a dollop of pizza sauce on top, then top it with cheese, and teenie little diced pieces of bell pepper, then pop them in the oven at 400* for 6 minutes. The kids gobbled them up like hungry little Cessnas, while our underdog took the race.
The whole evening was completely winning. We gorged ourselves on food and had lots of snuggles and laughs. It was fun to teach the kids about flavors from each country as well as the flags from each nation. We also touched a little bit on Dusty’s feelings throughout the movie. This is one of my favorite movies from Disney in the last decade at least. I love how courageous Dusty is, and what a good friend he is to the very planes who were trying to suppress him. Every time we watch the movie, I point out to the babies what a good friend Dusty is, and how brave he is for doing things he is afraid of doing.
Sometimes being the underdog isn’t such a bad thing.
Disney Planes can be yours to own soon! Own it on Blu-ray Combo Pack & Digital HD on November 19 !
Apple Halwa
Serves | 4 |
Prep time | 5 minutes |
Cook time | 30 minutes |
Total time | 35 minutes |
Dietary | Gluten Free , Vegetarian |
Meal type | Breakfast , Dessert , Side Dish , Snack |
Misc | Child Friendly , Gourmet , Serve Hot |
Region | Indian |
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups Grated Apple (Do this easily in your food processor with the grating attachment)
- 1.5 tablespoons Ghee
- 1 can Coconut Cream ((Trader Joe's brand is my favorite. you need coconut cream, not coconut milk.))
- 3.5 tablespoons Coconut Sugar
- 1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts
- 10 drops Real Vanilla Extract
Note
Enjoy this apple dish as dessert, or as a snack on a cold winter day.
Directions
Step 1 | |
Heat the ghee in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add apples and cook on medium for 7 minutes while stirring continuously. | |
Step 2 | |
Add the can of coconut cream and stir for 2 minutes until well combined. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 7-8 minutes, stirring once. | |
Step 3 | |
Add coconut sugar & walnuts, mix well. Continue to cook on medium for 8-10 minutes, or until all of the moisture has evaporated, stirring continuously. | |
Step 4 | |
Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Mix well, top with apple slices and a shake of cinnamon if desired, and serve warm. |
Sweet & Sour Plum Sauce
Prep time | 2 minutes |
Cook time | 10 minutes |
Total time | 12 minutes |
Dietary | Gluten Free , Vegan , Vegetarian |
Misc | Gourmet , Pre-preparable , Serve Hot |
Region | Asian |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Plum Jam
- 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1.5 teaspoons Chili Garlic Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Water
Note
You can find delicious Amish-made
Plum Jam
Online. This recipe is fantastic for any of your Asian dishes that require a dipping sauce e.g.: dumplings and eggrolls. It is a runny sauce, not thick and syrupy.
Directions
Step 1 | |
Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium-high heat until the sauce begins to bubble. | |
Step 2 | |
Simmer for 10 minutes so that sauce thickens slightly. |
JanetGoingCrazy says
You are simply amazing! So much thought went into this movie night. My family gets excited about pizza and ice cream, ha! I love all the themed snacks and this is the perfect movie for teaching special family values like courage and friendship. Love! #client
Summer says
Thanks, Janet! We had a great time! It was a fun way to watch the movie.
Mary @ Giving Up on Perfect says
What a FUN idea!! I’d love to try something like this to get my daughter to try more new foods!
Summer says
It’s a great way to expand their palates! Thanks for stopping by, Mary!
Marie Young says
Ohhhhh #Bookmarking! I want to try that apple halwa. When make it I will tweet you the photo’s!
McKinney Mommas says
Love this idea, Summer! So fun and creative!!!