SpanglishBaby™

Three Latin-Inspired Mini Indulgences with Honey {Recipe}

Ana Flores — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:10:44 +0000

During warmer months we crave fresh ingredients in our kitchens. Spring days call for lighter meals full of all the flavors that the season brings. That’s why we want to share three delicious recipes with you made with one special ingredient: honey! The three tasty recipes that you’ll find below put a fresh spin on some of our favorite comfort foods: nachos, tostadas, and caramalized nuts with honey and chile piquín!

I also must admit that I’m a bit biased because these recipes were developed by Coral Bosch, event planner and owner of Zikei Event Design, and also one of my dear friends and comadre! I’ve sat down at her table so many times and can attest to the special sabor of ther dishes because she puts real passion into every single thing she does.

Chicken Nachos with Honey, Zucchini and Jalapeño Salsa

-Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

3 tbsp honey
2 chicken breast fillets
2 cups cubed zucchini
1 red onion
1 garlic clove
4 jalapeño peppers
1 handful of cilantro
¼ cup olive oil
1 ¼ cups lemon juice
Salt and pepper
1 regular-sized bag of tortilla chips

Preparation:

In a small bowl, mix one tablespoon of honey, the lemon juice, one teaspoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place the mixture into a re-sealable freezer bag and add the chicken breasts. Seal the bag tightly and gently shake it to cover the chicken breasts. Let marinade for 2 hours.

Boil the chicken breasts in a saucepan. Once cooked, wait for them to cool. Finely chop the garlic, red onion and jalapeño peppers. Cut the zucchini into small cubes. Place all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix them with 5 teaspoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 250°F. Spread vegetables onto a baking dish and cook them in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking, cut the chicken breasts into small cubes and place them in a large bowl. Finely chop the cilantro and mix it into the bowl with the chicken. Once the zucchini cubes have lightly browned, remove vegetables from oven and wait for them to cool. When cool, add them into the bowl with the chicken cubes and the cilantro, and mix them with 2 tablespoons of honey, the juice of 4 lemons, 6 teaspoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for 2 – 3 hours. Serve over tortilla chips.

Mini Tostadas with Honey-Soy Marinated Tuna

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

2 tbsps honey
8 small corn tortilla tostadas (preferably baked and pre-packaged)
2 tuna fillets (5 – 6 oz. each)
2/3 cup of low sodium soy sauce
½ cup lemon juice
½ cup chopped chives
2 leeks
2 avocados
3 tbsps mayonnaise
1 tbsp chipotle paste
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

For the chipotle paste:

3 canned chipotle peppers
¼ cup chicken stock or water

Preparation:

Cut the tuna fillets into thin slices, approximately ½ cm thick. In a medium-sized bowl, combine honey with soy sauce and lemon juice. Place tuna slices inside the mix and leave them marinating for 3 – 4 hours in the refrigerator.

In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, chives, a tablespoon of chipotle paste and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Cut the white portion of the leeks into thin strips and heat in a frying pan with the olive oil. Fry leeks in small quantities until browned and crispy. Place on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Spread the mayonnaise mix on each mini tostada and top with the marinated tuna slices. Cut avocados in thin slices and distribute them evenly onto tostadas. Garnish with a bit of fried leeks and serve.

*For the chipotle paste:

Clean the chipotles peppers and remove all the seeds. Put them in a blender with the water or chicken stock. Blend until perfectly mixed. It can keep for weeks in the refrigerator and is a good base for preparing chipotle sauce or for flavoring other dishes.

**If you are unable to find packaged mini tostadas, use 8 tortillas and cut each one using a round cookie cutter, focusing on the center of the tortilla to obtain a mini tortilla. Preheat oven to 350°F and place all the mini tortillas on a baking sheet in one single layer. Lightly spray each mini tortilla with olive oil. Bake for 7 minutes. Turn the baking sheet and bake for another 7 minutes or until they look crunchy. Let cool before serving.

Caramelized Nuts with Honey and Chile Piquín

-Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

¼ cup honey
3 cups plain mixed nuts
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp powdered chile piquín or cayenne pepper

Preparation:

Heat honey and butter in a pot over low flame, stirring with a spatula until blended. Add the chile piquín and the salt. For best results, use a thick-based pot so that the heat distributes evenly.

Add nuts into pot, stirring every so often to make sure that the honey covers them completely. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure to leave enough space between them so that they don’t stick together. Let stand until cool.

Heat the oven to 250°F and bake the nuts for 10 – 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand until cool and serve.

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A Great Alternative to a Restaurant Meal

Ericka — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:14:45 +0000

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Conagra Foods. All opinions are our own.

Trying to stick to a healthy meal plan with a busy routine is often hard to do. When I’m on the go, I try to stick with sensible meals that are light and quick. Sometimes, It’s extremely difficult to find a balanced meal that has both of those elements. Our intense schedules limit us and this often leads to very bad nutritional choices. Bad choices result in higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol and yes, weight gain.

To keep my life a little bit more balanced and to keep my schedule somewhat in order, I started to replace a restaurant meal with a frozen meal. I save time, money, calories and just a bit of sanity. I started doing this because a recent study shows that by replacing a restaurant or cafeteria meal with a single serving frozen meal, you can lower your blood pressure and lower your cholesterol in just 30 short days. Surprised? I certainly was. Now I don’t know about you, but eating good food and improving your health is okay in my book. As much as I love cooking and preparing my own meals, there are those days when having the convenience of a frozen meal ready in five minutes is perfectly ok.

My frozen meals of choice are the Healthy Choice Top Chef Cafe Steamers. These recipes were developed by Bravo TV’s Top Chef Cheftestants and are less than 500 calories each. Packaged in a special tray, they are placed in the microwave to steam, thaw and cook evenly. I never get bored because their selection offers a wide variety; from Sesame Chicken to Meatballs and Sausage Marinara, there’s always something new and different to try.

Having these convenient options when life has you running is a great alternative for a busy and healthy lifestyle. Give them a try and add a little bit of ease to your hectic schedule.

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Deciding What Type of School is Best for a Bilingual Child

Suzanne — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:57:29 +0000

When should academic centered schooling begin? This has been the question I have been grappling with for weeks. My daughter is not quite 3 and was accepted to a private dual language school for this coming fall where academics and inquiry-based learning is at the heart of what they do. This past January is also when we switched her to an “English school” where a play curriculum is at the heart of how children’s curiosity is nurtured. She is emotionally and socially thriving there and learning English fast, hence our interest to switch her to a Spanish school as soon as possible.

As I have gone to several observations at the dual language school I cannot help but compare the difference in the ways children are taught to think and socialize between the two schools. At the dual language school children are definitely being asked and taught how to be free thinkers, but at my daughters current child development center she gets to do what 2+ year olds love to do: get their hands dirty and have options of when and how they want to play no matter what time of day it is. In other words, if they want to paint all day, painting all day it is whether they are inside or out on the playground. I am not sure I am willing to give that playful and creative atmosphere up, yet. I am not sure she is either.

One of the struggles I have had on my search for the ideal foreign language school is finding one where there is both a strong foreign language program, yet flexibility in the options children have to learn. A trend I started to notice, at least in my city, was that the foreign language schools were stricter with children’s behavior. For example, it was impossible to find a Spanish immersion or dual language Montessori-based school. One has recently opened up, and I have yet to visit, although it is far from our home. In other words, the options are definitely limited.

I also started to notice how many parents seemed sold on a school based on the reputation it has and are willing to leave a hefty deposit not having visited a single classroom! Maybe I am over analyzing our school options, but what I have concluded that a parents main concern should be, how will the current school meet the needs of my child from an academic perspective, socially and emotionally?

For example, I have learned that my child learns best in a setting that offers lots of socialization and options. It is in those settings where she seems to be developing her intellectual curiosity and emotional well. That is to say, as parents we should be concerned about our children’s overall academic, social, emotional, linguistic and psychological development and in which context those elements are likely to prosper. A challenging task but one I have decided to continue to try and fulfill even if it means deferring our acceptance to a highly sought out school until our daughter is a little older.

Have you grappled with a similar decision? If so, how did you decide on what kind of school to choose for your child? In other words, were you willing to give up a certain characteristic of a school for another?

{Image by woodleywonderworks}

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Join a SpanglishBaby Playground Near You!

Xochitl — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:09:18 +0000

One of my favorite things about belonging to the SpanglishBaby community is the opportunity to meet other families who are also raising bilingual and bicultural kids. I have met online friends and local friends through SpansglishBaby Playground where families have been organizing local playgroups all over the nation, from South Jersey to Orlando, from Philly to Colorado you can find local groups wanting to meet, play and speak Spanish!

Find your local Playground and join us today!

Tri State Mamas: NY, NJ and PA – Philly zoo, Sesame Place and the aquarium are on their list!

South Jersey SpanglishBaby – South Jersey / Philadelphia – I’m only 20minutes from the city and would be willing to travel or host at my house…So if you’re in the region, then this is the group for you.

Motor City Mamacitas – Metro Detroit, MI. – Get together with other Oakland County Spanish-speaking kids (native and non) to immerse them in fun and a second language.

Bilingue in San Antonio – San Antonio, TX. – For San Antonio parents who are trying to teach their children Spanish…lets get together online and in person to help our kids learn more Spanish and practice speaking it.

Denver Mamas – Denver, CO. – For moms in Denver (or any of its surrounding cities) raising bilingual kids. Let’s share info on upcoming bilingual events, schools, camps, story times and other fun things to do in Spanish!

NC Familias Bilingues – North Carolina – Ser Latino o extranjero es una experiencia única en cada parte de este país. Queremos compartir con otras familias Latinas y bi-culturales en nuestro estado.

East Los Angeles – Los Angeles County and Inland Empire – …those of us out of the city can group together when the city is just a little to far to travel… but at least LA is nearby, we’d love to get together on the weekends.

Los Angeles Moms Raising Bilingual Kids – Los Angeles, CA. – A space for L.A. area moms to share local tips, events, happenings and school information for bilingual/bicultural kids (Spanish/English)

San Diego Mamas – San Diego, CA. – A place to share local events, immersion schools, activities, meet new families close-by and more!

Nor-Cal Madres – San Francisco Bay Area – Let’s share events, get together and have fun if you live in or around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Oklahoma City Bilingual Mamas – Oaklahoma City, OK. – A group for bilingual mamas (Spanish/English) that reside in the Oklahoma City Metro.

Orlando Mamis - Orlando, FL. – If you are in the Orlando area, this is the place for you!

Did you find your playground? If not, you can start your very own today! Is simple, here are the steps on How to create your local Playground

For information and tips on how to start a playgroup please read Roxana A. Soto’s post Are-playgroups-really-that-important?

Let’s get together, play and speak Spanish!

{photo by phalinn}

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Let’s Go to a Juanes Concert Together!

Ana Flores — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:09:12 +0000

{Photo credit: Chris Duque on juanes.net}

Disclosure: Brisk Iced Tea is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to us. We are receiving two priority tickets to a Juanes concert, but no monetary compensation. This program is not administered or sponsored by Brisk Iced Tea or its affiliates, but solely by SpanglishBaby.

Brisk Iced Tea has partnered with Grammy award-winning, Colombian singer-songwriter, Juanes to support his 2013 U.S. Loud & Unplugged Tour. Through this partnership, we’d like to give one lucky SpanglishBaby mom in or around the Los Angeles area the chance to see him live!

I’m especially excited about this because I will be attending the concert in L.A. as well and that means we can get to sing-out-loud to our favorite Juanes songs together!

Some of you know that I was a TV producer for 15 years. One of my positions was on MTV Latin America out of their Mexico City offices. In 2002 we launched a brand new show called CXN where we had top Latin artists perform in front of a live studio audience. Back then, Juanes had just launched his breakthrough solo album Un Día Normal and was barely getting started on his way to mega stardom. He accepted to be our Padrino for our very first show and performed in our studios. We rocked out to “A Dios le Pido” and just knew we were witnessing a huge star in the making. Not only that, but he was the most humble and nice person you can imagine.

Later that year, I headed out to Miami to work on the first “Premios MTV” and got to spend a whole day hanging out with Juanes producing a video spot of what a typical day looked like for him. He took us to a recording session, to his house in Coral Gables to see the studio he had set up in his garage and then to his manager’s office for some business meetings. Again, he was wonderful throughout the whole thing. Oh, how I wished I had a copy of that video to share with you (and relive memories!!)

And now that I’ve spilled some bits of nostalgia with you, let’s get on going with this giveaway because the prizes are just amazing and we want to make this one F.U.N!!

The Giveaway!

One of you will win a Bold Brisk Bag, provided by Brisk Iced Tea, that includes:

Two priority tickets to Juanes’ Los Angeles concert (May 25th at Nokia Theatre)
An autographed Juanes poster
$50 Amex gift card to use at concert concession

To enter to win you must use the rafflecopter below and share with us in the comments section if you were one of these four Bold Brisk flavors, what would you be and why:

Lipton Brisk Sweet Iced Tea

Lipton Brisk Mango Iced Tea

Lipton Brisk Ginseng Iced Green Tea

Lipton Brisk Raspberry Iced Tea

Me? A sweet and tropical mango. Now your turn…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Meet Mando! Sesame Street’s New Bilingual Latino Character

Roxana A. Soto — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:21:18 +0000

I just got back from PBS’ annual meeting, which took place in Miami this year and where I had the pleasure of meeting “Mando,” Sesame Street’s newest bilingual cast member who is Latino.

Ismael Cruz Córdova (Mando) is a charming and very talented 26-year-old actor who was born and raised in Puerto Rico and learned to speak English thanks to Sesame Street. I also had the chance to interview Carmen Osbah, who plays one of the other bilingual cast members — the lovable Rosita — and Carol-Lynn Parente, Sesame Street’s executive producer.

I must say I’m very pleased with Sesame Street’s continued commitment to represent a more diverse, multicultural and bilingual American neighborhood. I’m pretty sure you’ll love the new character Mando just as much as I already do, and so will our kids! I’m working on a more in-depth post with a lot of info about the new character and the actor who plays him, but in the meantime we wanted to give you a taste of what’s to come in Sesame Street’s 44th season, so we’re sharing this short video clip which contains a special message for the SpanglishBaby familia from both Mando and Rosita.

¡Qué lo disfruten!

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Crayola Color Wonder Gets Rid of the Mess {Review}

Roxana A. Soto — Thu, 16 May 2013 06:37:31 +0000

Just in time for summer break, we got a box full of Crayola’s Color Wonder line of products and my kids couldn’t be happier! With only two weeks left of school, I know they’ll be spending a lot of time getting creative both in and outdoors.

Both my children LOVE to draw, paint and color, so these products are the kind of gifts that will always be welcomed in my house. And while we had experimented with some of the stuff we got before — such as the sidewalk paint and chalks — the Color Wonder tools were all new to us.

In simple terms, Color Wonder products allow your kids to get as creative as they want without the mess that can come from coloring or painting. My daughter was never one to color furniture or wall… sadly, I can’t say the same thing for my son. So these products are any mother’s dream. Basically, they work only on special paper created specifically for the Color Wonder products. The tools include mess free markers, paints and paint brush pens.

My kids thought it was magic and, as you can see in the picture above, they were entertained for a good amount of time and I didn’t have to worry that they were going to make a mess on the dining room table! My 3-year-old son was delighted with the Hot Wheels metallic coloring pad, while my first-grade daughter enjoyed the Hello Kitty glitter coloring pad. The best part is that all the Mess Free Color Wonder Licensed Activity Sets are on Rollback at Walmart through the end of May.

We’ll be taking a long plane ride on our way to visit my husband’s family in Puerto Rico this summer and I plan on packing these mess free Color Wonder products which will be perfect for the trip.

Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Spanish Word Game iPad App for Toddlers

Chelsea — Tue, 14 May 2013 21:35:02 +0000

Sometimes, the simplest apps are the best for language reinforcement. A new app from emerging developer Tiny Factory, Bilingual Child Bubbles Word Game is an entertaining and straightforward way to keep toddlers interested in Spanish.

In each of 10 categories, including La Escuela, Los Números, and Los Medios de Transporte, pictures float around in bubbles on the screen and you must tap the one that matches the word being spoken by the character, Carlos. While the bubbles aren’t moving too fast, it is definitely a mental challenge to quickly search for the correct one. Sometimes, there is more than one you have to “pop” before moving on to the next word.

The time pressure is the best element of this app because it makes it more fun for young children and means that they won’t mind the repetition of playing categories over and over. It is also intended to improve fine motor skills.

Find Bilingual Child Bubbles Word Game in iTunes

Available for iPad

Recommended for ages 1-4

Price Free (2 levels); $2.99 per additional level; $11.99 to unlock all levels

Find out more about Tiny Factory on their website and Facebook.

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Tips to Start a Spanish Children’s Book Club

Roxana A. Soto — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:05:17 +0000

For almost two years now, I’ve been taking Vanessa to a monthly Spanish children’s book club started by a bilingual mom I’m lucky to call my friend. While I’ll never get tired of raving about the benefits of joining a Spanish-speaking playgroup, once kids get a bit older and start school, it’s not as easy to participate in weekly meetups for the kids to be immersed in Spanish. Enter the idea of a Spanish children’s book club.

If your kids are already in school and you want a more structured way of exposing them to literacy skills in Spanish, a book club is the way to go. But how do you go about doing something like that? In my case, I got really lucky because my friend Sisi — who worked 16 years as a bilingual kindergarten teacher and is one of the original members of our Spanish-speaking playgroup — was the one who came up with the idea and took the lead. Truth is, though, that you don’t have to be a teacher to do something similar.

Here’s a look at how our book club is structured: Sisi starts by reading the book and interacting with the kids at all times by asking pertinent questions and making sure everyone understands new vocabulary. Once she’s done with the book, she goes through a series of reading comprehension questions regarding the characters, the setting, the problem, the solution, etc. to make sure every kid got the story. Then, there’s always some kind of activity or craft related to the theme of the book. Sometimes it involves food and the kids love that. Before we’re done, all kids get a copy of the book and a stamp in their “passport” so they can keep track of all the books they’ve read.

I highly recommend starting something similar for your bilingual kids and so I wanted to share some ideas on how to get started:

1. If you already belong to a Spanish-speaking playgroup, talk to the other moms to see if maybe one of them is interested and has the abilities to lead a book club for children. Maybe you can help organize all the little details, but someone else can be the “teacher.”

2. Keep in mind that for a Spanish book club to be successful it should be for a smaller group of kids who are a bit older and are already fluent in Spanish.

3. On that note, choose a book that you feel all kids will understand, but that hopefully will teach them new vocabulary words. The theme of the book should lend itself to fun activities and a lively discussion.

4. The club shouldn’t last more than 1 1/2 hours, including snack time and an activity that includes movement.

5. You can alternate who’ll be hosting the club every month to make it easier on everyone.

6. A fun way for kids to keep track of the books they’ve read is through a passport. Kids really enjoy the challenge of filling it up with stamps.

¡Buena suerte!

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Lets Celebrate el Español at LéaLA!

Ana Flores — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:41:15 +0000

The LéaLA Spanish book fair is returning on May 17th through 19th to the Los Angeles Convention Center for the third year in a row! We have been attending since the first year it came to LA and are more and more excited every year it comes back. It’s been great to see the success of this book fair and how much it grows each year. It truly shows that we, Angelenos and Latinos, love to read en Español and literacy matters a great deal to us.

This free, three day cultural event will feature 100 publishers showcased in 200 booths which means plenty of opportunities to stock up on libros en español ! Whats great about LéaLA is that there are plenty of book presentations, workshops, and theatrical events for kids to keep them excited about learning and practicing Spanish. It’s also a great opportunity to connect with other Spanish-speaking families and have plenty of fun en español.

You can head out next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to this FREE cultural event and the Los Angeles Convention Center. For a printable version of the 2013 program click here.

In the meantime we’d like to share a few of the many highlights we are looking forward to this year at LéaLa:

En español se oye más bonito – a workshop for parents and children all about reading en español and how fun it is!
La calaca tilica y flaca – a Day of the Dead themed workshop where kids get to create a special craft to take home.
Los muralistas- a workshop for kids where they learn about famous Latino muralists and kids get to create their own works of art.
José-Luis Orozco – For our musical and dancing needs José-Luis Orozco will be present all three days.
The many book presentations throughout the weekend including: La Casita, Trencitas, and La vuelta al mundo en cinco cuentos among many more!

We strongly encourage you to attend this wonderful event! I’ll be there with my family for the third year in a row for sure! You can also follow LéaLA on Twitter and Facebook.

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