Earth Day Party and Blue Raspberry Slushies

I, like many people, try to do my part in taking care of our precious environment. I recycle, reuse, don’t litter, and try to conserve. I still to this day boycott Exxon after their horrific oil spill (not to mention the more current BP oil spill too). I started doing this as a little girl when my Dad would take me to do the biannual beach clean up in my hometown of Destin, FL. It was and still is hands down the most beautiful beach in the world but people continue to litter the sand with trash and destroy the fragile environment for the nesting turtles and delicate sand dunes. But we can make a difference and teach our children to make small changes to help our Earth too! Today we celebrate Earth Day and together we can make a difference and protect our planet!

I teamed up with these amazing Earth friendly companies to host a Earth Day Healthy Baby Picnic for my friends last week. We enjoyed a casual lunch with our kids by the pool in my neighborhood. All the ladies took home goodie bags filled with samples and coupons from sponsors Seventh Generation, Happy Family, Zarbee’s Naturals, and Stonyfield. I had Earth Day coloring pages and recycled crayon flowers for the kids and other fun Earth Day themed fun! Since this was my first outdoor party of the year I wanted to make a fun drink that was both kid and adult friendly. My Blue Raspberry Slushies served in Mason Jars were bright and fun and most importantly delicious and refreshing for our earth day party! Check out the recipe below along with some Earth Day Party tips and come back tomorrow for more recipes and pictures from my Earth Day Picnic!

Help make a difference!

Create a healthy home for your family and reduce chemicals of concern in our environment.

Watch the video here: healthybabyhomeparty.com and sign the petition at www.fighttoxins.com/healthybaby.

Blue Raspberry Slushies

Makes about 4-6 small cups/jars

Ingredients:

4 cups of cold water
1 cup of sugar
2 tbsp Raspberry Flavoring Syrup (or use approx 2 tsp Raspberry Extract)
4-6 drops of Blue Food Coloring, or other color of your choice

Directions:

In
a large bowl, combine water and sugar and stir until sugar is
completely dissolved.
Add in raspberry syrup and stir
well.
Follow with 4-6 drops of food coloring to achieve your
desired color. Stir well.
Pour into your ice cream maker and turn on and
run according to ice cream maker package directions.
Let run for
approximately 20 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
Scoop into chilled mason jars or cups and serve immediately with a colorful straw!

*No worries if it melts some! The raspberry “juice” is delish!

Recipe adapted from Love From the Oven.

Start by combining water and sugar in a large bowl or measuring cup.

Stir well then add raspberry syrup and about 4 drops of blue food coloring.

Pour into your ice cream maker (make sure the ice cream bowl is fully frozen- about 24 hrs in the freezer – I made that mistake the first time and my Slushies never got icy!). Run for about 20 minutes and voila! you have icy, tasty Slushies!

I tried to use blue, brown, and green Earth color for my decor, food, and drinks at the picnic. Don’t you love these cute mason jars with flower lids? I found them at a local craft fair.

After a little while my leftover Slushies turned into an icy Blue Raspberry drink.

No biggie to me! It still tasted delicious!

Earth Day Party Ideas!

How cute are these FREE printables? I framed one to display on the tables and the circles I printed on card stock, cut them out, and tied them with green raffia to my goodie bags. Find them here.

You can always use silverware from home but I also love these recycled festive forks and spoons. I found these through Groopdealz but also check out Etsy.

I stay away from Styrofoam items but I used Tupperware and reusable bowls and trays for the food and I had a collection of mismatched leftover paper plates from previous parties for everyone to use. This way they weren’t wasted and I was able to use up a variety of leftover partyware!

I always serve water in a cooler for my party guests but I made sure to have a recycle bin for the empty bottles and plastic.

Always remember to RECYCLE!

Here are my goodie bags filled with samples and treats from the Healthy Baby Party sponsors. I used recycled, simple brown paper bags, added a sticker from Seventh Generation to the front, and punched a hole on top to add an Earth day card with a note to each guest (from the free printable above) tied with green raffia.

I picked up these Earth Day color sheets from my local Army post, Ft Polk for the kiddos.

Here’s a great way to reuse! I used broken pieces of Ava’s crayons and melted them in a silicone flower shaped tray. Simply place in the oven at 200 degrees for about 2 hours. Place in the freezer to cool, then pop out of the tray and you have cute crayons to give to the kids!

An easy and beautiful way to decorate your picnic area: potted flowers from your home! I potted these plants for my front patio a few days before my party and these were the perfect decor for my Earth Day Picnic.