Little Chef: Banana Date Oat Bars

So, are you getting the impression that the girl pictured above enjoys baking? You would be correct.

We were back in the kitchen recently trying out a new simple recipe: Banana Date Oat Bars.

Simple indeed.
First mashing:

What three year old doesn't enjoy mashing bananas?

Then pouring:

First time I've ever used dates in anything. They're a bit ugly, but tasty.

Pan Prep:

It's fun letting her get hands-on.

Bake, cut into squares:

Mmm, oaty goodness. Tiny Buddah approves.

and enjoy:

Unfortunately, Jellybean didn't love the end results. I liked them more than she did. It was still a fun, easy baking project. The recipe could probably use a little more spice and may have benefitted from some nuts. (We are tree nut free in our house)

Oh and look, I'm even wearing my matching apron!

You've got to love a selfie.

Try it out, tweak it, see how you and your little chef enjoy it.

Banana Date Oat Bars

Ingredients

2 large, very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/4 cup pitted, chopped dried dates 
Grated nutmeg or cinnamon 

Method

Heat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9x9-inch square baking dish with olive oil or butter.

Peel the bananas and mash their flesh in a medium mixing bowl. Mash very thoroughly until no large chunks remain; the bananas should be essentially liquid. (You will have between 1 cup and 1 1/4 cup.) Stir in the vanilla. Add the oats and stir them in. Stir in the salt and dates.

Pat the thick mixture evenly into the baking pan. If desired, sprinkle the top lightly with nutmeg or cinnamon. Bake for 30 minutes or unti the edges just begin to crisp up.

Place the baking pan on a rack to cool. When the pan is mostly cool, cut into bars and enjoy.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

The Dreaded Food Allergy

See this kid?

He had an incident about a week ago. It all started with a fruit and nut bar sample at Costco. I didn't think much about trying the sample, seeing as Buddy has been exposed to about every nut under the sun. At almost 4, I naively thought we had escaped food allergies. Simply put: I was wrong.

We have now been ushered into the world of food allergies. After one bite of that bar, Buddy began to cry and complain that it wasn't going down to his tummy.  Twenty minutes later we were home, he was coughing, rubbing his eyes and saying that he no longer wanted to eat lunch, he only wanted to go to bed.  At that point, I discovered that his lips were swelling and that his eyes and entire face were beginning to break-out in hives.  This is when I reached for the Benadryl and called my doctor.  They strongly suggested that I go directly to the emergency room.  He wasn't in distress, so I packed up both children and we went to the closest KidsCare where I knew the pediatricians were good.  We were rushed to an exam room after one look from a nurse and a pediatrician. There, while they were monitoring his oxygen level, he threw up. This is when the doctor knew for certain that it was anaphylaxis and an epinephrine shot was ordered.  After the shot, we stayed for observation for an hour.  He responded to the shot fairly quickly and was almost back to normal by the time they released us.

I came home with the strict instructions to stay away from ALL nuts and to make an appointment with a pediatric allergy specialist. After making the appointment,  good old Google provided me with a photo of the food label that I needed. Our allergy doctor was pleased to have the list of ingredients since so many parents are unsure of what their child ate.

We did a skin prick test to see what in the ingredient list Buddy reacted to.  The culprit? Pistachio. The doctor recommends that we stay away from all tree nuts from here on out.  He didn't show a sensitivity to almond, but I guess it's better to stay on the safe side.  

Mostly I'm relieved that tree nuts are fairly easy to avoid, but I'm a little sad because of my love for nuts.  Of course, I'm so thankful that it's not gluten, milk, eggs, peanuts or any number of things that would be harder to avoid.

I'm am a bit anxious because of what it means for us going forward. One bite of that bar and now I get to be "that" parent that has to tell every person under the sun that my son is allergic to tree nuts and cannot be exposed to them.  I need to carry an epi pen in my bag and another at home, just in case. Now, I have to read every food label for warnings about traces of tree nuts. Just some of the fun things that I'm sure many moms out there are familiar with. 

It threw us for a loop for a little while, but we are adjusting to the idea. I'm so glad my cute, little boy is safe and well and that now we know how to keep him that way. 

Here are a couple of allergy resources that I found to be helpful in our research on allergies and the different allergy tests that can be performed:
Food Allergy Testing - This is a great informational sheet on who should be tested, what tests are available and how they are interpreted.
Allergy Testing- A more in depth breakdown of the difference between skin tests and blood tests.
Anaphylaxis- What it is and how to identify it.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Asparagus is not "yucky"

I was in the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and I over heard a conversation between a mother and her (maybe) 5 year old son.  They were standing next to a large display of asparagus in the middle of the produce section.  Here's what I heard:

Boy: Mom, what's that?
Mom: It's Asparagus.
Boy: Can we get some?
Mom: No, Asparagus is yucky.

This small interchange really stuck in my craw.  It took all my will power to keep myself from rushing the asparagus stand and saying very loudly, "Asparagus?!  I love asparagus! And what a good price for this time of year! I can't wait to get this home!"  Unfortunately, though I do like asparagus, it just wasn't on my list that day.

I've been thinking a lot about why this bothered me so much. It occurred to me that it irritates me because I have such a hard time getting my kids to eat their vegetables. If my child asked if we could purchase something green from the produce section (even brussel sprouts, "yuck". tee hee) I'd be all for it.  If I didn't know how to prepare it, I'd go straight home and find a recipe online for it.  I'd do this because I am invested in my child exploring new tastes and experiences with food and not limiting his palette based on my own preferences.  He's already limited enough by my cooking skills;  I certainly shouldn't be denying him a healthy option or even turning him against it by calling it "yucky."

I'm no expert, but this line of thought got me thinking about ways I've discovered to get my kids to eat foods they claim to dislike on first sight. Aside from bribing, here are some tricks that have worked in this house.

Carrots give you super powers:

I just finished a great article entitled, "Raising Boys: A dad's parenting advice for moms." In the article, the author discusses the affinity that little boys have with superheros. He states, "Boys, even at a young age, realize the importance of super powers."  I've discovered this first hand with my oldest.  He is in a very serious Spiderman stage and is very interested in superheros.  One evening, during dinner, he decided that he was not going to eat his carrots, claiming, "I don't like them."  I leaned over and said, "Do you want to know a secret? Carrots give you super powers. They'll help you see in the dark."  Well, that did the trick, I've never seen him eat anything as fast as he downed those carrots.

There's a party in my tummy:
Occasionally,  we'll have a meal where the kids will eat almost everything and then not touch one or two items.  This is when an enthusiastic rendition of the Yo Gabba Gabba favorite comes in. "There's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy."  In the song, the character Brobee neglects to eat the carrots and green beans on his plate. He discovers that the veggies are heart-broken that they haven't been invited to the party in his tummy.  This reasoning scores big with the toddler set. 

Don't underestimate the power of a favorite cartoon character:
I have tried and failed to get my kids to eat scrambled eggs several times over the years.  They wouldn't even touch them.  Enter one of their favorite characters: Caillou.  After watching a single episode, Buddy was begging me to make scrambled eggs.  In the show, Caillou gets to visit a farm and finds out where eggs come from.  Then he brings home some "chicken fresh eggs" and his mother scrambles them for him.   Well, I made the eggs and both Jellybean and Buddy gobbled them down.  Amazing.  Why can't I have that kind of influence all of the time? 

Choosing and Naming:
Unlike the "yucky asparagus parent," I've had pretty good success getting my kids to eat foods that they have had the opportunity to choose for themselves.  I got a great idea from a post on Make and Takes a while ago.  They purchased the book Eating the Alphabet and then made a goal to purchase some of the fruits and vegetables in the book to try.  I tried this experiment with kumquats.  It was fun letting them pick something new to try. Though, I will say that neither myself or my children were all that impressed by the taste of kumquat.  Still, it was a new experience and a fun one as well.

Allowing your child to re-name a food will make them more likely to eat it.  I'm sure you've heard the idea of calling broccoli "little trees." From the time we introduced milk to Buddy, we had to call it "moo-juice."  He was a fan of juice and not milk.  Funny how changing the name made all of the difference. Last night we ate "alien pasta." (pasta shells in white cheddar sauce with peas and tuna). It's weird how fast that pasta disappeared once I stated that it was from outerspace.

Asking the Opposite:
Are my toddlers the only kids out there that enjoy doing the exact opposite of what I tell them to do? When I get fed up, I will sometimes say, "Fine, I don't want you to eat your broccoli. You'd better not eat it."  This comment will be met with a giggle and then at least one bite of the offending vegetable. That sure showed me. 

Fine, I guess I'll eat it:
In our house, Buddy and Jellybean are extremely possessive about their food, even if they claim to dislike it.  If I take away the offending plate and throw it away? No problem.  If I *gasp* threaten to eat their food myself?  Major problem.  For some reason the statement, "fine, if you're not going to eat it, then I will," is intolerable. How dare I eat their food? This will usually cause them to eat at least some of their food just to prevent me from eating it.

Nothing is foolproof and obviously I'm blessed with kids that are "pretty good" eaters.  That said, any strategy I've employed has met with failure at least at some point.  What strategies have you come up with for getting your kids to eat their veggies and other healthy foods?? 

Just for your viewing pleasure:  8 Super Health Benefits of Asparagus