Crust Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
• 1/2 tsp salt (omit salt if you're using salted nut butter)
• 1/3 cup unsalted nut butter (we used almond)
• 2 tbsp milk or mylk 

​Puree oats, dates & salt in the food processor until crumbly. Add nut butter & mylk and pulse until it holds together when pressed. 

Baking Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degree F.
• Press crust into pie tins (this recipes makes enough for 1 large pie or 3 small pies)
• Pour filling into crusts
• Bake pies for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 more minutes (until top is golden and filling is almost fully set). 
• Let cool completely before slicing. 

Ask your young kids to join you in making a tasty treat! These gummies are a great snack (refined sugar-free) and work well in lunch boxes. Kids love whisking, squeezing a dropper to fill the molds, and testing the mixture as it gets stickier and hardens. 

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• bowl
• whisk
• molds & dropper
• orange juice
• gelatin
• honey
• stevia (optional)
• placemat (optional)

I'm always looking for ways to help my preschooler develop hand strength (to make his pencil grasp easier to learn). Squeezing citrus is a great exercise! It's fun, productive and tasty, all while building important gripping muscles. 

You or your child can massage and roll the citrus on the table before you cut into it (to loosen up the juices). Wash the citrus (it's likely the juices will run across the peel on their way into the cup) and then cut it in half. You may need to start the squeezing process before handing it to your child (if the citrus is still stiff). Help them pour water into a container and demonstrate a little squeeze into the container. Then set them loose! Ideally, they'll enjoy squeezing and tasting the different juices.

All kids develop abilities at a different rate, depending on a mix of genetics and environment. However, check out any mommy blog and you'll notice that we still want to know what kids can and should be doing at certain ages. Below, I've included some examples of activities many preschool-aged kids can to do in the kitchen. 

​REMEMBER, these skills are things kids can do WITH HELP and they will only build on their abilities with practice. That means your 4-year-old will likely need to start with the activities in the 1-year-old section if they've never cooked before (although, they'll certainly learn them faster than a 1-year-old). Now go have fun in the kitchen!