A Better Bag of Groceries

Twins Take On Cooking with Kids!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 06:40 AM

Meet Twin Moms, Karen and Kim, and their lovely daughters, Olivia and Julia.

Karen, works as a recruiter and is mom to two kids.  According to her twin sister Kim, Karen is a health nut who loves to create new, nutritious recipes for her family.

Kim, pictured below, works on NuVal’s Customer Management team and is also a mom to two kids.

Last weekend, Karen and Kim got together with their daughters to channel their inner food bloggers and write a post for Cooking with Kids.  Together they made No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bars.  And they look yuhhh-mmmy!  Karen, who is a vegan, found the recipe on the Love Veggies and Yoga blog.  But before I get to the recipe, I took a few minutes to ask Kim some questions about being a twin and cooking with kids.

Melissa:  Since you and Karen are twins, I can’t help but ask what it was like growing up.  Did you learn to cook together?

Kim:  It was so great having a twin growing up, we’re best friends.  We did mostly everything together.  Shared a room, had the same friends, went to the same college, the list goes on.  I was more interested in baking as a kid and was always looking for a new cookie/desert recipe.  Karen has developed into a great cook.  I would say she cooks more than me now, since my husband has become quite the chef in my house. 

Melissa:  How are your cooking styles similar or different?

Kim:  Our families do eat differently.  Karen has been eating more of a vegetarian diet for the past year and is always looking for new ways to make foods taste good without the beef (although she will eat fish).   My Irish/Scottish family is all about the meat and potatoes.  We eat a typical dinner most nights – meat or chicken or pasta, lots of veggies and more potatoes than rice.  My husband and son love potatoes, mashed, scalloped, you name it!  We go through two 5 lb bags a week.

Melissa:  You and Karen are both moms to one boy and one girl.  I find that my daughter likes to cook more than my son.  What is your experience?

Kim:  My daughter loves  to bake and makes great cookies and brownies.  My son, Brendan ( who will be 15 in a couple of weeks) on the other hand, loves to cook.  He took a student chef class at school and loved it (more of the cooking, not the instruction).  He’s great at grilling.  We cook on the grill all year long, even shoveling a path in the snow to get to it. 

Melissa:  What tips do you have for teaching kids to cook?

Kim: I think cooking can be intimidating to kids.  The key is to just get them involved at a young age and let them know that it’s OK to  make mistakes and messes!  It’s a real confidence booster and it can make them proud when they get to eat the finished product.  Most importantly, don’t be too controlling.  That is not so fun!

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bars

1/2 Ripe Banana (NuVal score of 91)
1.5 c Oats (We have not scored Stop & Shop brand. Quaker Old Fashioned Oats score a 57)
1/2 c Shredded Coconut (Sweetened Coconut scores a 14, Unsweetened scores a 23)
1/2 c Raisins (NuVal score of 91)
1/2 c Chocolate Chips (Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Chips, NuVal score of 8)
1/2 c Agave Nectar (NuVal score of 5)
3/4 c Peanut Butter (Teddie Smooth, Unsalted, NuVal score of 49)
 

The Following Ingredients are Optional 

2 to 4 scoops of Protein Powder
2 Tbsp Flax Seeds
2 Tbsp Chia Seeds  
1.5 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

The Following Ingredients can be substituted

Instead of raisins, you can substitute any dried fruit (date chunks, cranberries, craisins, dried cherries/mangoes/apricots/etc).

Instead of agave nectar, you can substitute maple syrup.

Instead of peanut butter, you can substitute any nut butter (almond, cashew, pecan, etc.)

Instead of chocolate chips, you can substitute butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips.

Step 1:  Mash the banana

Step 2:  Measure the ingredients.

Step 3:  Mix all ingredients together.

Step 4:  Spread into an 8×8 pan and freeze for 3 hours.

Step 5:  Cut into squares or bars and wrap individually.

The best thing about this recipe is that it is customizable. Depending on what kind of dried fruit, nut butter and chips your kids like, you can make a combination that suits your family best.  Kim and Karen tell me that their kids like these for breakfast, snacks and even late night treats.

Thanks to Karen, Kim, Olivia and Julia for sharing this delicious recipe.  I can’t wait to try this out with my kids!

Cracker GiveAway

Congratulations to Commenter #33, Joseline.  You’ve won yesterday’s Trade-Up Tuesday Giveaway!

Looking for Families!

Do you enjoy Cooking with Kids?  Grab your recipe, your kids and a camera.  I’m looking for families to feature for Cooking with Kids.  One way we can all get our kids to eat healthy is to teach them how to cook healthy.  Drop me an email at abetterbagofgroceries@gmail.com!

Posted by: Melissa 16 comments

Posted in: Cooking with Kids

Tags: No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bars