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July 16, 2010 | 14 Comments

Panda Bear Rice Balls

panda snack

I am so blessed , after giving birth I have had so many wonderful friends offer help and guest posts for No Time For Flash Cards. This one is from a dear friend Amanda from ohAmanda and Impress Your Kids , she is sure to impress you with this cute and tasty edible activity!

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Is this the yummiest, cutest and most fun thing you have ever seen?! I saw this idea in a magazine and knew I had to try it. Well, after the panda-monium and panda-venture in the kitchen, I knew I had to share it with you! It’s an easy fun snack (or a full meal when coupled with some stir-fry) that introduces kids to new tastes and flavors, helps them with handling a knife and opens up conversations about pandas, other countries and cooking!

All you need is 1.5 cups of uncooked sticky/sushi rice, some celery stalks and a can of pitted black olives.

sticky rice

Cook the sticky rice according to directions. (We actually made ours with long-grain white rice by adding 3tb of rice vinegar, 1tb of sugar, 1.5tsp of salt after it was cooked)

While you’re waiting for it to cook, set aside a few whole olives for your panda’s ears. Then, give kids a butter knife and let them work on slicing the olives around its’ equator. My 4 year old could get about 3 cuts total on the olive.

panda snack

My almost 2 year old? Well, he tried!

panda food craft

Then take a 1/4c or 1/2c measuring cup and firmly pack rice into it. Turn them over on a plate or waxed paper and carefully remove to leave a mound of rice!

rice for kids

Use your whole olives as the panda’s ears. Then take your slices and use as eyes, an tiny down nose and an upturned smile! Cut a few pieces of celery to resemble bamboo and you’ve got your own panda playmates!

panda snack

My kids loved eating their pandas for dinner (along with soy sauce, broccoli and chicken). While they ate I read them two panda books that I just happened to have in our stash:

rosalie seidler

Panda Cakeby Rosalie Seidler

This is the cutest story about a Mama Panda who is making a special panda cake “that only pandas can make”! She sends her two sons to the market to buy the ingredients. The oldest panda decides to steal the ingredients from his animal friends (cherries from the birds, eggs from the duck, etc.) and then runs off to the fair to spend Mama’s money. While he’s gone, the animals visit Mama and demand their food back. But it’s too late—the panda cake has been baked. So, they all sit down to tea and cake! The animals are happy but when the young panda returns home, he’s sad to see his cake eaten up! This book has sweet illustrations and a fun cadence. It looks like it is out of print but I found it at the thrift store a few weeks ago and couldn’t pass it up!

panda book toddlers

Panda in the Park by Anna Milbourne

This was my daughter’s very first book. It’s an Usborne Look-Through book and tells the story of a panda playing hide-and-seek with his animal friends. It’s perfect for toddlers because of the bright colors, the bold questions and the fun holes and layers on the pages. It’s still one of my favorite books to read!

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Amanda is a former Children’s Pastor turned stay-at-home mom. She blogs her crafty parenting endeavors at Impress Your Kids and her daily life at ohAmanda. She is also a 2010 Disney Mom, a bibliophile and long time lover of purple!

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Age: Kindergarten, Age: Toddlers, China, Chinese New Year, Cooking, Food Activities, Panda | 14 Comments

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14 Comments

  1. oh amanda says

    July 16, 2010 at 6:28 am

    Thanks for letting me post, Allie! This one was so fun!
    .-= oh amanda´s last blog ..Why I Didn’t Have Time To Post Today =-.

    to oh amanda" aria-label='reply to this comment to oh amanda'>reply to this comment
  2. Jenae says

    July 16, 2010 at 6:32 am

    Thanks for all your great ideas!

    Check out this racecar snack idea at http://www.icanteachmychild.com.

    And be sure to enter the giveaway!

    to Jenae" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jenae'>reply to this comment
  3. Amber says

    July 16, 2010 at 10:17 am

    I love this! It’s like kid-friendly bento. 🙂
    .-= Amber´s last blog ..Dining Alone =-.

    to Amber" aria-label='reply to this comment to Amber'>reply to this comment
  4. Leigh says

    July 16, 2010 at 10:19 am

    SO cute! I love it!

    to Leigh" aria-label='reply to this comment to Leigh'>reply to this comment
  5. Rebecca says

    July 16, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    Ok this has to be the cutest snack ever!
    .-= Rebecca´s last blog ..Connor’s Past Year 2009-2010 All Alphabet Posts =-.

    to Rebecca" aria-label='reply to this comment to Rebecca'>reply to this comment
  6. vanessa @ silly eagle books says

    July 17, 2010 at 6:36 am

    yay for Amanda! I love this idea and I love her! 🙂
    .-= vanessa @ silly eagle books´s last blog ..owl books for kids and freebie! =-.

    to vanessa @ silly eagle books" aria-label='reply to this comment to vanessa @ silly eagle books'>reply to this comment
  7. Tara @ Feels like home says

    July 18, 2010 at 8:47 am

    I love these! We just got some bento rice molds from the Muffin Tin Swap, and they do something similar. I never thought to use black olives to make their faces, though. That looks really cool.
    .-= Tara @ Feels like home´s last blog ..Happy Birthday to You! =-.

    to Tara @ Feels like home" aria-label='reply to this comment to Tara @ Feels like home'>reply to this comment
  8. v says

    August 4, 2010 at 1:05 pm

    Thank you so much for posting this! I used to read Panda Cake all the time when I was little and I had forgotten about it until I saw it here. I’ll be looking for it at the library.
    .-= v´s last blog ..going in a different direction =-.

    to v" aria-label='reply to this comment to v'>reply to this comment
  9. Ichi Tokyo says

    March 25, 2019 at 12:51 am

    Wow so cute. I love it!

    to Ichi Tokyo" aria-label='reply to this comment to Ichi Tokyo'>reply to this comment
  10. Fuji says

    October 16, 2019 at 9:31 pm

    So helpful! Thanks for sharing!

    to Fuji" aria-label='reply to this comment to Fuji'>reply to this comment
  11. Ramen says

    October 17, 2019 at 7:24 am

    Looks like a great. Thanks so much for sharing with us!

    to Ramen" aria-label='reply to this comment to Ramen'>reply to this comment
  12. Fuji Sushi says

    November 12, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    I really enjoyed your page. Thanks so much!
    chinese food near me

    to Fuji Sushi" aria-label='reply to this comment to Fuji Sushi'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Parenting & Crafty Links: fyi@iyk | ImpressYourKids says:
    July 17, 2010 at 5:43 am

    […] Panda Bear Rice Balls by ME {my guest post at the fabulous No Time For Flash Cards!} […]

    to Parenting & Crafty Links: fyi@iyk | ImpressYourKids" aria-label='reply to this comment to Parenting & Crafty Links: fyi@iyk | ImpressYourKids'>reply to this comment
  2. Things to Write Home About – 7/18/10 | Feels Like Home says:
    July 18, 2010 at 2:09 pm

    […] is part food and part fun, but Amanda from OhAmanda posted panda bear rice balls at No Time for Flash […]

    to Things to Write Home About – 7/18/10 | Feels Like Home" aria-label='reply to this comment to Things to Write Home About – 7/18/10 | Feels Like Home'>reply to this comment

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