This is part of a sponsored collaboration with HBO and DiMe Media. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
Just this morning it hit me – Valentine’s Day is almost here. Sure, it falls on the same day each year, but this year Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday, which means I need to have the kids Valentine’s ready for school on Friday…a full two days before Valentine’s Day. Eeek. That’s the day after tomorrow. Double eeek. Bottom line is, we don’t have a lot of time to get our card boxes decorated and Valentine’s signed for school. Plus, I haven’t even thought about what to get the kids for their Valentine’s Day gifts. I always try to pick up something little to make their day special, a tradition that my mom started when I was very little.
But my kids won’t be the only ones getting Valentine’s Day surprise this year, because the residents of 123 Sesame Street have a special Valentine’s Day episode to share with everyone on Saturday, February 13 at 9am/8am CT! Even better? I have a sneak peek to share with you today! This adorable clip of of Rosita teaching Abby Cadabby words of affection in Spanish is the very reason to I love Sesame Street.
Sesame Street has, and has always had, a special way of making learning fun; they create new and interesting ways for kids to learn. As a kid, I remember waiting eagerly for new episodes, how quickly the minutes would pass when they started, and immediately wanting to see another episode as soon as it ended. Now that I’m a mom, I’m thrilled to see the same excitement from my kids, all of whom seem to like Cookie Monster as much as I did as a kid. I’m even happier that Spanish is still such a big part of the show, as demonstrated by this cute clip.
In celebration of Sesame Street on HBO and their Valentine’s Day episode due to air this Saturday morning, I decided to create a little surprise for my kids – Sesame Street Inspired Fruit & Yogurt Parfaits! They’re full of healthy ingredients and easy to make, too. They’re the perfect snack to enjoy while watching the Valentine’s Day episode of Sesame Street and combat all that Valentine’s Day sugar that’s no doubt headed their way. I bet your kids will love them just as much as mine did!
Be sure to tune in to Sesame Street on HBO & HBOLatino with your kids every Saturday morning at 9am/8am CT and see what all your favorite characters are up to!
You will need:
Plain/Vanilla yogurt
Food coloring (red, blue, green)
Berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)
Banana
Chocolate chips
Raisins
Mandarin oranges
Mini chocolate chip cookies (I used Chips Ahoy from a snack pack)
Carrot
Step 1 – Mix 3/4 cup yogurt with 7-9 drops of food coloring and stir until color is consistent throughout.
Step 2 – Pour half of your yogurt into your serving dish, top with a layer of berries (blueberries for Cookie Monster, raspberries for Elmo, and blackberries for Oscar the Grouch), and then pour the remaining yogurt on top, smoothing it with the back of a spoon.
Step 3 – To make the eyes, press the chocolate chips into banana slices upside down (you want the pointy part in the banana and the flat part exposed).
Cookie Monster’s Berry Blueberry Yogurt Parfait – Be sure when putting the eyes in that the chocolate chip eyeballs are not even. Cookie Monster’s eyes balls are always out of sync because of his cookie antics. Once the eyes are completed, create a mouth with the raisins and press a cookie into the middle of mouth.
Tip: If you want your mouth to be more defined for any of these monsters, you can always create an outline with a strip of black licorice and then place your raisins inside that outline. My kids don’t particularly like back licorice, so I skipped this part.
Elmo’s Red Raspberry Yogurt Parfait – After creating a mouth out of raisins, cut a mandarin orange for the nose and place it in the center of Elmo’s face. Voila! The perfect (and delicious!) Elmo!
Oscar’s Not So Grouchy Blackberry Yogurt Parfait – It’s the eyebrows that make this parfait the most difficult, but don’t be daunted, they’re actually quite easy. Place your banana and chocolate chip eyes on top of the yogurt, leaving room above them for the eyebrows. Cut small pieces of carrot at an angle and place them arching over his eyes (you could also use mandarin orange slices for this step as a short cut, but I prefer to sneak in veggies wherever I can). Once complete, place half of a raspberry where the mouth will be and create your mouth out of raisins around it. Your kids won’t be grouchy anymore after they dig into this parfait!
Want to celebrate Sesame Street with a fun giveaway? Great, because one lucky reader will receive a Prize Pack filled with a Sesame Street tote bag, child’s Elmo apron, Sesame Street cookbook, and cooking utensils! Pretty much everything you’ll need to whip up some healthy snacks with your family this Valentine’s Day. Enter using the rafflecopter form below and it could be yours! Good Luck!
My son loves Elmo the best and he also likes Cookie Monster.
I like the Cookie Monster because he enjoys cookies like I do.
My kids like big bird he is a cute character
My son loves elmo and the elmo song
They are so cute. My little one loves Elmo!
As a kid, I always liked Oscar the Grouch. I loved when they would show what his trashcan home looked like from the inside. My daughter is a fan of Elmo; she’s got a huge Elmo plush that she uses as a pillow.
I really like Elmo because he is cute and teaches my grandkids loads of things
I have always loved Snuffelupigus because he is like a big brown elephant!!!
Thank you for the chance.
I have always loved Ernie because he loves to annoy Bert in fun. I always have thought of myself as an “Ernie” with the way I can crack jokes.
Growing up as a child I loved the cookie monster
animal cuz he is nuts
I always liked Erie the best. I thought he was funny.
oh OSCAR…So funny
I like Elmo because he is so cute and makes me laugh
I love how sweet Elmo is, but Grove has been my favorite since I was a kid. He is so innocently naive, it is funny.
I love Oscar the Grouch lol. Sometimes he reminds me of myself on a bad day.
Elmo – he is the sweestest of ’em all!
I like Cookie Monster…he’s silly and likes cookies.
I like elmo hes cute, he sings and is my favorite color red.
I like Elmo because that’s my daughter’s favorite.
I like Oscar the Grouch because I think he is funny 🙂
i like big bird. he is so lovable.
Elmo because he is so loveable
Grover has always been my fave, because he’s funny. My youngest that is 17 months old is obsessed with Elmo.
I like Big Bird because he is so awkward, but cute!
Cookie Monster is my favorite because he’s so funny.
I always related to Big Bird. I’m not sure why — he’s like an innocent five-year-old, which is about what I was when I first watched Sesame Street. Also, he’s got a kickass nest!
MY KIDS ALWAYS LIKED BIG BIRD….I HAVE NO IDEA WHY…OTHER THAN THE COLOR
I have always loved Elmo because he was fun and sang!
My favorite Sesame Street character is Big Bird. I love the way that he is so tall and has the size of heart to match.