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Introducing Baton Rouge Virtual Playdates – Join us for some virtual fun!

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As you already know, events are being canceled, businesses are temporarily closing and kids are out of school for the next month. We know that school closings will cause lot of disruption and worry for some families. Baton Rouge Moms (soon to be Baton Rouge Family Fun) hopes to make the transition a little easier and a little more fun! Beginning this week, we will be partnering with local businesses and organizations to help you over the upcoming weeks – in the form of Baton Rouge Virtual Playdates!!

Baton Rouge Moms Virtual Playdates

Many thanks to our community partners for making this project possible.

Do you have a business or organization that would like to get involved? Email Tiany at Tiany@batonrougemoms.com to let us know you are interested.

 

Baton Rouge Moms Virtual Playdates

We’re lining up some of your favorite small businesses, organizations and groups to lead us through daily 15-30 minute activities via video.

The Virtual Playdate videos will be available each day on our Facebook and Instagram pages. We hope that this will be a great way to keep our families engaged in the community even while practicing social distancing.

Look Forward to:

  • Follow-Along Dance Lessons
  • Special Character Appearances
  • Study Tips for doing Schoolwork at Home
  • Fun Science Experiments (Video demos you can follow along to)
  • Outdoor Activities
  • Fun Treats Kids Can Make at Home
  • Easy Art & Craft Ideas (How to videos with these too)
  • Family Challenges
  • Ideas for Helping Families in need
    and more!

How to Follow Along 

>> Virtual Playdate videos will be posted to our Facebook and Instagram pages starting this week! 

Follow Baton Rouge Moms on Facebook

Follow Baton Rouge Moms on Instagram

Stay tuned for all this and more in upcoming emails! Sign up to receive the emails to be notified about each days video and any prep you might need to participate.

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See below for links to each day’s posts; we will add them as they are published.

 

More posts relating to COVID – 19

Gluten-Free King Cake Recipe – Mardi Gras 2020

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I pride myself on being a solid scratch baker: Alton Brown practically raised me, for Pete’s sake, not to mention I audited an online Food Science class from Harvard one semester (hair flip). Harvard, people! So when I was tasked with developing a recipe for gluten-free king cake, I wasn’t intimidated. How hard could it be, I know how to bake!

As it would turn out, I do NOT know how to bake without gluten.

Gluten-Free King Cake

Test after test came out dry, crumbly. Disappointing. Just when I had decided I never wanted to see Bob’s Red Mill 1-To-1 baking flour again, I realized: I was going about it all wrong. I was trying to force my favorite king cake recipes to be gluten-free, rather than find a great gluten-free recipe that I could then make my own. Off to the internet I went.

I quickly became overwhelmed by expensive, unfamiliar ingredients. Whey protein isolate? Tapioca starch? Potato flour? If I were looking to get into the gluten-free baking market professionally, investing in these might have made sense. But all I really wanted was to occasionally be able to make a good king cake for my friends.

After some thought, it finally dawned on me: what was simple, comparably inexpensive, and easily accessible? Bread mix! After all, what is king cake, after you strip it of all the flavors, fillings, and toppings? Just mildly sweet, soft, bread.

I used Hodgson Mill gluten-free white bread mix because it was convenient to pick up at my local supermarket, but this recipe is straight-forward enough to work with whatever your favorite may be. For best results, it should be the kind that stays loose, like the consistency of a thick cake batter. I hope you enjoy creating your own homemade gluten-free king cake and would love to hear about the results!

Gluten-Free King Cake

Gluten-Free King Cake
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Cake
  1. 3 ½ cups Gluten Free Bread Mix of your choice
  2. ½ cup butter, divided (one stick)
  3. 2 tablespoons cinnamon
  4. ¾ cup white sugar, divided
  5. ¼ cup light brown sugar
  6. ½ teaspoon vanilla
  7. 1 ½ cups milk
  8. 1 ½ teaspoons fast rise yeast (included in most mixes, check yours to confirm)
  9. ½ teaspoon salt
  10. 2 large eggs, room temperature
  11. 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
  12. 1 teaspoon orange zest
  13. ½ teaspoon lemon zest
Glaze
  1. 1 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  2. 1 tablespoon milk
  3. 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  4. 1 teaspoon almond flavoring (optional)
Sugar Topping
  1. 1 ½ cups white sugar
  2. Purple, Green, and Yellow food coloring
  3. 3 sandwich size plastic storage bags
Cake
  1. 1. Prepare a standard size bundt pan by spraying with thoroughly cooking spray and lightly coating with either cornmeal or GF baking flour. Tap out excess.
  2. 2. Melt ¼ cup butter (half stick) in a medium sized bowl; add ½ cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, and ½ teaspoon vanilla. Stir to combine, set aside.
  3. 3. Warm milk in a small bowl to approximately 100*-110*. It will be warm to the touch but not scalding.
  4. 4. Add 1 teaspoon of the remaining sugar and all of the yeast to the milk. Stir, set a timer for 5 minutes and set aside.
  5. 5. Pour the bread mix into a mixing bowl of a stand mixer* equipped with the paddle attachment. Add remaining sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt and mix on low briefly, just to combine.
  6. 6. Melt the remaining ¼ cup butter.
  7. 7. When your 5-minute timer goes off, add milk and yeast mixture to bread mix along with melted butter, room temperature eggs, cider vinegar, and orange and lemon zests.
  8. 8. Mix on low until mostly combined, stop the mixer and scrape the bowl well with a spatula. Mix again for on medium-high for 3 minutes. The dough will be similar to a very thick cake batter.
  9. 9. Spoon approximately 1/3 of the dough into prepared bundt pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Top with another 1/3 of the dough, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Finish with the last 1/3 of dough, smoothing the top with a wet spatula. Spray lightly with cooking spray, cover loosely in cling wrap. Allow to rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
  10. 10. Preheat oven to 375* near the end of rising time.
  11. 11. Bake at 375* for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested.
  12. 12. Turn out onto a cooling rack after 5 minutes, allow to cool completely.
Sugar Topping
  1. While cake is cooling, divide sugar into 3 sandwich bags. Add the purple, green, and yellow food coloring to the bags, then seal and shake. Add more food coloring, a few drops at a time, until desired color intensity is reached.
Glaze
  1. Combine powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, and almond flavoring (if desired). Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled king cake then top with colored sugars immediately.
Notes
  1. *A hand-held mixer can work also, but add 2 minutes to mix time. Mixing by hand is possible but tough on the arms! Stir for 8 full minutes if by hand.
Baton Rouge Family Fun https://batonrougefamilyfun.com/
Gluten-Free King CakeThe Little Things Cakes is a home-based bakery owned and operated by Christy Broady. It was founded in 2016 when increasing demand for her baked goods inspired Christy to go into business on her own. In the three years since starting, Christy has grown from making a few dozen cupcakes here and there to several elaborate cakes a month. With her sophisticated flavors and impeccable attention to detail, Christy can’t wait to show you why it’s the little things that will truly make your next event special.

Operation Imagination: NEW Indoor Play Area in Baton Rouge

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Something NEW and EXCITING has opened up for families in Baton Rouge! If you’ve been wishing for another indoor play option for your littles, you’ll want to visit Operation Imagination, an intimate 2,000 square foot imaginative indoor play area where children can explore, learn and have fun through pretend-play! We’ve partnered with Operation Imagination to host a giveaway, be sure to enter below!! 

Operation Imagination

Operation Imagination is a unique and imaginative play experience designed for young children. The play stations have been well planned with great attention to detail to stimulate children’s minds through exploration and pretend play. Unlike other local facilities, Operation Imagination doesn’t just focus on active play but use pretend-play to engage the mind. The elements/activities are structured for preschool-age children to learn gross motor skills and build confidence as they interact in this “town within a town” with settings such as a grocery store, a theater, a camping area, home, education station, a mail stop, construction area, streets, an airplane to fly and more!

Operation Imagination

 

Pretend play is the acting out of stories that involve multiple perspectives and the playful manipulation of ideas and emotions; an important part of thinking and brain development. Our focus is for those 6 months to 7 years old looking for a play space to put their imagination to the test. 

Operation Imagination

There are endless options for pretend play inside of the magical walls of Operation Imagination. If you’re searching for a new birthday venue for your little one, you can book parties too! You can also reserve a time for larger groups of field trips. Have questions about Operation Imagination, no worries, they have answers on their FAQ page here!

Events

Operation Imagination also holds events and craft times – the next event is coming up in December. Wear your Christmas PJs and join Operation Imagination for milk & cookies, letters to Santa, elf hats and Playtime and a special Elf guest all the way from the North Pole! Register here!! 

Operation Imagination

 

WHERE:
4606 Jones Creek Rd, 100
Baton Rouge, LA 70817, US

HOURS: 
Monday Closed
Tuesday 9:30am – 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am – 4:30pm
Thursday 9:30am – 4:30pm
Friday 9:30am – 4:30pm
Saturday 9:00am – 1:00pm
Sunday Closed

PRICE: 
Children under 1 (utilizing the play space) – $4
Children over 1 – $7
Adults – Free

GIVEAWAY

We stopped by Operation Imagination and we were blown away by this locally mom-owned play area, it was evident that it was created with much thought and love. Don’t miss out on this gem, your little ones will LOVE it! We’ve partnered with Operation Imagination for a fabulous GIVEAWAY too! Operation Imagination wanted to bless one mama with a 10 Visit Punch Card – valued at $70! 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Disclosure: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated BRM via a cash payment, gift, or giveaway. Opinions expressed herein are that of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of the sponsor. 

Brew at the Zoo – Food Tasting, Beer Tasting, Live Music & More

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Friends of the Baton Rouge Zoo is hosting its sixth annual Brew at the Zoo on Friday, October 4 and it promises to be the best one yet! As summer temperatures wane and the leaves begin to change colors, guests (21 and older only) are invited to the Zoo for an evening of food tasting, beer tasting, live music and more. Sample dozens of craft beers and munch on pub favorites, or show off your “safari chic” style while listening to the sound of live music. 

Brew at the Zoo

Friday, October 4, 2019
7PM to 10PM – General Admission
6pm to 10pm – VIP

There will be 200 total VIP tickets available at $100 each & when they’re gone, they’re gone.

Brew at the Zoo VIP experience includes: 

  • An hour early access to the event

  • Skip the lines at express check-in

  • Access to the VIP Tent

  • Specialty food and drinks

  • VIP only air-conditioned bathrooms

Brew at the Zoo

Photo: Baton Rouge Zoo

The animals will be more involved this year! The Baton Rouge Zoo will have even more of their animal ambassadors on hand throughout the night to greet you and be a part of this magical night. After all, it’s BREW at the “Zoo” and they want you to walk away with an experience like no other!

This year’s event will also have new eateries with scrumptious tastings to satisfy your every craving! Brew at the Zoo is sure to sell out, be sure to grab your tickets now for an evening of food sampling, beer tasting, live music & much more. Learn more and purchase tickets at brzoobrew.org

Disclosure: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated BRM via a cash payment, gift, or giveaway. Opinions expressed herein are that of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of the sponsor. 

Six Reasons to Visit the Louisiana Children’s Museum in City Park

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Baton Rouge families, the Louisiana Children’s Museum opens to the public August 31st and you should start planning your day trip now! We recently had the opportunity to attend a media preview of the LCM, it wasn’t yet complete, yet we felt like we were walking through the most magical of places. It’s going to be something special for Louisiana families, a tactile experience that will delight young and old alike. Every section of the LCM is created to stimulate imagination, creativity and critical thinking in children and families through many inventive and engaging experiences, most importantly PLAY! Every decision made throughout the museum was intricately thought out to help elevate the capacity of our little ones. 

Julia Bland, CEO of Louisiana Children’s Museum, spoke beautifully on the importance of childhood, she encouraged us to enjoy and celebrate children where they are and to not make the mistake of wishing away seasons of childhood. The museum has been structured to support parents in their efforts to embrace each stage of development while focusing on literacy, environmental education, health and wellness, STEM, arts, and our rich Louisiana culture. 

Why the relocation? The new location allows the museum to better meet the needs of the community as well as improve geographic access and connect children to nature. The attention to detail outside is just as significant as the inside. The Louisiana Children’s Museum will include five new exhibit galleries indoors as well as a literacy center, a parent/teacher resource center, an edible garden, a sensory garden, and full-service café. There are a plethora of reasons to make the day trip to New Orleans to visit the LCM, here are just 6 reasons to start planning your family day trip…

Six Reasons to Visit the Louisiana Children’s Museum

Talk and Play Center

The Talk and Play center is a family-centered space that encourages families to make joyous connections  – connections of children to parents, to grandparents, to life long learning, to growing cycles – the continuums, connections, circles, and cycles that we see in so many parts of our lives.

Play With Me Exhibit

Created for children under the age of four, this ground-floor gallery is designed to provide easy access for parents of young children with strollers. Little ones can explore and play while resources are available to support parents in their journey as children’s first teachers. The Play With Me exhibit includes a fun one of a kind Sensory Lagoon, much like a tiny Lilly Pad water bed for children play on and experience. Play With Me also includes a Cypress Tree Book Nook, Peek-a-Boo Puppet Theater, Early Literacy Sensory Wall and a Discovery Zone. 

Louisiana Children’s Museum

Follow That Food 

Follow That Food will be one of the largest galleries. It will take children on a playful Louisiana Growing & Gathering food journey that starts in the fields and coastal waters, passes through the busy Ports & Cargo with stops at the Food & You Market, Creole Kitchen, café and finally, makes its way to the family table. 

Louisiana Children’s Museum

Dig into Nature

Overlooking the lagoon on the ground floor, this gallery is where children will discover the abundance of natural resources unique to Louisiana and the Gulf Coast Region. Through this tactile and textural set of experiences, visitors will explore the relationships between the diverse resources, ecosystems, plants and animals who live here. The “caring” and “sharing” stations will allow children to bring their own outdoor treasures to examine under massive microscopes and projector. The exhibit also includes Exploration & Innovation, Sedimentation Table, Storytelling Nest, Cajun Pirogue and an amazing Promise Tree Portal.

Louisiana Children’s Museum

Make Your Mark

Entering the second floor, Make Your Mark celebrates New Orleans’ rich art and its architectural, musical, historical and cultural heritage. When children understand and embrace their heritage it invites children to discover how to make their mark with their own original creations.  This is exhibit includes Studio in the Park, Jammin’ House, Jackson Square, NOLA Urban Design Studio, Build Big Dreams, Book Nook & Light Tables and more! 

Louisiana Children’s Museum

Move With the River

Move with the River will immerse children in an action-packed wet world of fun where they will begin to explore the story of the Mighty Mississippi River. Families will follow the journey of Louisiana’s most abundant resource, water! 

Acorn Café 

We’re not done yet, a huge BONUS to your visit to the Louisiana Children’s Museum is the family-friendly Acorn Café! Acorn a Dickie Brennan & Co. Cafe at the new Louisiana Children’s Museum in City Park is the icing on a day of fun exploration. Guests can enjoy a meal indoors or outdoors on the LCM balcony overlooking the lagoon, oaks, and wildlife. The menu is sourced around high quality, local food at an affordable price. The majority of children menu items are $6, and adult entrees range from $6 to $11. Have a little one with a food allergy? No worries! Acorn will be peanut-free and will offer many gluten-free options, including a gluten-free dough for pizzas. Come early or stay late, Acorn will open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with French Truck coffee and pastries served for a morning starter or an afternoon pick me up.

Louisiana Children’s Museum

We can’t wait for you all to visit. The new Louisiana Children’s Museum is breathtaking, but don’t take our word for it, make it a family day trip and plan to visit the new museum in City Park which will open on August 31st. 

Learn more about the museum, prices, birthdays and more on the LCM website at LCM.org.

Disclosure: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated BRM via a cash payment, gift, or giveaway. Opinions expressed herein are that of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of the sponsor.