If you’re like me, you probably have some food in your pantry that isn’t quite paleo. Like rice, noodles, oatmeal, etc. I’ve been hanging on to it, thinking maybe I’ll use it one day (for what, I had no idea). Then one morning, my boy woke up and said “Mom, can I make macaroni art today?”. Ding ding ding! The light finally went off. So we got out the little bits of pasta and beans we had left in the pantry, watercolors, white glue, and cardstock, and by the end of the day, I had 3 beautiful works of art by a talented little boy.
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Then I remembered that I had seen something about colored rice once and decided to give that a shot, figuring it was one of those sensory-type things they do at preschools and the kids would like it. Another big score, and excellent way to use up the rest of the white rice we would never eat.
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Making the colored rice was ridiculously easy. I got out 5 ziplock bags, poured 1 cup of rice in each bag, put 5 drops of food coloring in each one, about 1/2 tsp rubbing alcohol, and a couple drops of peppermint extract (you could use any flavor, of course). I sealed up the bags and let the boy shake them all for a few seconds each until the colors were even. We opened the bas to let the rice dry and in about 5 minutes (probably less) we had a bunch of rainbow rice! And once the alcohol scent went away, it smelled nice and minty.
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While this was a fantastic idea that kept my kids entertained nearly the entire day, there was rice all over the dining room floor. So if you find yourself sweeping or vacuuming at the end of the day, don’t blame me, I totally warned you.