Hellobee

by Mina of Mini Piccolini

Sensory play is so important for little children, and baking is a great way to get started.

My son Alec spends quite a bit of time with me in the kitchen. Usually he plays on the floor while I prepare our meals, but if he is having trouble entertaining himself, I often pull up a high chair to the counter where I am working and let him get involved. The Ikea Antilop chair is better for this than the Stokke Tripp Trapp since it’s not as wide at the base, and therefore gets Alec closer to the counter. We talk about what we are making, and I narrate as I chop and stir. When I can, I let Alec smell and taste small pieces of food as I am cooking. I also try to do things down low in front of him so he can see what I am doing.

The other day while baking oat cakes, I actually just brought all the dry ingredients down with me onto the floor so that Alec could really be involved. First I counted as I measured out the oats and put them in the bowl. He “helped” and we ended up with some oats on the floor, but so what? Then we measured out cinnamon and cardamom and added them to the bowl, stirred and stopped to smell the spices.

Afterwards I put Alec in his high chair at the table and got him set up with his own bowl and spoon to stir with. I used the Unbelievabowl so he could get into stirring without the whole thing flying off the table. I didn’t bother with a smock or anything, as we weren’t going to be using anything that wouldn’t wash off easily. While I continued with my baking at the table, I measured up some oats for Alec to work with in his bowl. He stirred and “chopped” and scooped and was completely fascinated. He pressed and felt the oats between his fingers and of course tasted some as well.

After a while I added first just a few drops of water and let him stir to see what happened to the oats and how they changed consistency. Then I added more water so that Alec had a real “batter” to work with. He did a lot more stirring and scooping and mushing around with his fingers. And tasting.

We have been making these oat cakes twice a week since we discovered the original recipe in Cooking for Baby. Now when we make them, they are different every time depending on what we feel like putting in and what we have around the house. This is super-fast baking and the oat cakes are super-yummy. Everyone who tries them loves them (my sister can’t get enough) and since there is no sugar or other dodgy stuff, you can feel really good about giving them to your little one. They make a good snack on-the-go and when Alec was refusing to have porridge in the mornings, he had these slathered in butter instead (they are basically like baked oatmeal).

OAT CAKES

2 cups whole rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons finely chopped dried apricots (and/or other dried/fresh fruit such as blueberries, bananas, apples etc)
1/2 cup water

Measure oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a bowl
Add butter and honey and mix well until all the oats are coated
Add dried apricots or whatever fruit you are using (we use apricots, rehydrated dried blueberries and mashed up ripe bananas)
Add water, a few tablespoons at time until you have a sticky dough
Dollop out 12 little piles of dough/batter on a lined cookie sheet and then use your wet hands (rinse them in cold water first so the batter won’t stick) to shape and flatten them into little cakes
Bake for 15ish minutes depending on your oven

Alec actually kept himself so busy with this activity that I had time to finish baking and get a head start on that evening’s dinner before he ever got tired of it.

There is so much sensory exploration you can do in the kitchen using just the simplest ingredients and utensils. It is a great way to start thinking and talking about our senses with our little ones!