We Are One… with President Obama

So much fun stuff is happening in DC these next few days, and I’m so lucky to be able to be a part of it!

My plans:
Sunday: Attend the event at the Lincoln Memorial
Monday: Help assemble care packages for our military
Tuesday: The Swearing-In (duh!) & perhaps the parade if we’re allowed through
Wednesday: May just be invited to an Open House at the White House (keeping my fingers crossed on this one!)

How to Celebrate at Home

With the grand festivities taking place in DC, many families may want to enjoy an Inauguration celebration of their own at home!

Here are some fun ways to get kids excited:

• Encourage everyone to wear red, white, and blue to school.
• Start the day with patriotic pancakes/waffles…served up with whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries.
• Surprise kids with a patriotic lunchbox snack, such as cups of low-fat vanilla yogurt and stir-in mixers like de-thawed frozen strawberries and blueberries to make a healthy red, white and blue treat!
• Purchase small American flags and decorate the house.
• Record the presidential inaugural parade and swearing in ceremony so the family can watch it together Tuesday evening.
• Make one of the Obama’s favorite foods, chili, together as a family. (There’s an easy recipe below!)
• Make deep dish pizzas (and let kids pick their own toppings!) in honor of the Obama’s home city of Chicago.
• Obama worked in an ice cream shop as a teenager, so serve some delicious ice cream or frozen yogurt for dessert.
• At dinner discuss how Malia Ann and Sasha Obama’s lives will be different and fun in the White House
• Play one of Obama’s favorite family board games – Scrabble!
• Assign everyone is the family a past president who they research and teach the rest of the family about
• Make up a quick trivia flashcards that celebrate fun facts about our presidents:
  – Who was the first president?
  – Who was the first president to live in the white house?
  National Geographic Kids has fun and interesting facts and trivia!

Here’s a super-easy recipe for chili with beans:

Chili Bean Soup
Prep Time:   10 minutes
Ready In:     3 hours -10 minutes
Yields:         6 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. dried pink, red or pinto beans
3-4 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. each thyme and marjoram
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 can 4 oz. chopped green chilies

Steps:
Rinse, sort and soak beans. Drain and empty them into a large pot. Add boiling water, garlic and onion powder, thyme and marjoram. Cover and simmer until beans are tender (2 1/2 to 3 hours) Don’t let beans boil dry. Add hot water as needed. Mash beans if desired. Add remaining ingredients (stewed tomatoes can be cut smaller if desired). Heat at least 10 minutes to blend flavors. Makes 5 to 6 cups of soup.

Andrea Astrachan, Giant Food’s consumer advisor, provided me with these fun suggestions for how to celebrate Inauguration Day. Giant Food is actually supporting the Inauguration by providing food for the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police and the more than 5,000 officers coming from around the country to assist them, some 7,000 in total. During their long shifts, Giant Food will provide 7,000 snack bags including healthy, energizing foods, along with a thank you message of appreciation as well as a discount coupon. They deserve it! 😉

Find more great recipes in the Giant Food Kitchen.