Easter fun with my girl

My daughter, Vivienne, has got to the age when she really enjoys 'helping' me out in the kitchen. She at first just started asking to sit on the kitchen countertop while I was cooking so that she could see what was going on. Then she wanted to actually participate in the process. And, to some extent, she can be quite helpful. For example, she knows that I make my green juice the first thing in the morning. So now runs to the kitchen as soon as she wakes up and helps me with the juice by putting celery sticks and cucumbers in the juicer.

I thought this year for Easter it'll be really fun to cook or bake something together, besides traditional eggs coloring. So while  the eggs were soaking in the dying mix, we decided to make some quick and healthy banana oats cookies. While these cookies require only 4 simple ingredients, you can experiment with a lot of different toppings (recipe below).  Vivienne had a lot of fun mixing the batter, using the cookie forms, and of course, licking the leftovers from the mixing spoons.

Keeping my daughter busy this way while dying the eggs was also a good idea because the eggs could stay in the dying liquid long enough to get bright and colorful. Last year she was so impatient to decorate the eggs that we took them our of the dying liquid already after 15 minutes and they were really pale. This time Vivienne also got so tired 'making' the cookies that she wanted to go for a nap first and then decorate the eggs, so they got even more time to color. After a nap she was really excited to see these colorful beauties waiting to be decorated!

I won't lie and say that letting your kids 'help' in the kitchen is always a smooth ride. There will, of course, be some spills and mess, but that makes it even more memorable. For example, today, as Vivienne was so occupied with the cookie cutting process, she accidentally spilled a cup with the yellow dying liquid all over the floor and her new dress. So I spent 5 minutes cleaning the entire floor and my kid happily spent the rest of the day in her PJ's. And it's well worth it as preparing food together with the kids  teaches them a great deal about following instructions, doing things in a sequence and motor skills, as well as showing them that tasty meals don't just appear on the table but take effort to prepare.

Did you celebrate Easter today? Have your kids helped you out with something in the kitchen? What kind of household chores do you let your toddlers do? 

BANANA OATS COOKIES RECIPE

Core ingredients:
- 2 bananas (mashed)
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Toppings:
- Batch 1: extra dark chocolate chips - about 2 tbsp
- Batch 2: unsweetened coconut flakes - about 2 tbsp
- Batch 3: crunchy peanut butter - 1 tbsp
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 360F.
- Mix all core ingredients until smooth and divide into batches, depending on how many different toppings you want to add (in our case 3).
- Add your toppings to each batch of cookie batter and mix well.
- Shape the cooking on a tray lined with baking paper using a spoon or special forms. 
- Put in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Enjoy!