Cooking with Kinders: Energizer Bunny Bites

As a kindergarten teacher, I am always looking for way to engage my kiddos in real and meaningful learning. One of the silver linings of virtual teaching is that our weekly cooking sessions have been able to continue from home, with me in my kitchen and m kinders at home in theirs. In this Cooking with Kinders series of posts, I will be sharing some of the recipes that we have been making together.

We never judge healthy and unhealthy food, but use terms like “always” and “sometimes” foods. I want all my students to form lifelong healthy relationships with their food, and to nurture their innate ability to eat intuitively. Which means that no foods are inherently “bad” or good.” From pancake cereal to Tofu nuggets, every week we have cooked up something delicious, and even the parents are surprised when their children are eating foods they were turning their nose up at in other forms.

This past week, we made something that required not any baking or cooking at all. I like to call them “Energizer Bunny Bites,” as it is an energy ball recipe that has a sneaky vegetable in there that kids know rabbits love to eat— carrots!

As we were making this recipe over zoom, I was initially a little nervous it wouldnt go over well. I know that I love these energy bites, but with no sugar, and a base of dates , oats and raw carrots, I was bracing myself for at least a few “yucks.”

However, this recipe recieved 2 big thumbs up from EVERY SINGLE STUDENT in my class who was making it with me.

My heart warmed from these in class testimonials:

“its so so so so sOoOoO good” —Lauren, 5.

“so yummy!” —Mateo, 5

“These are good times infinity!” —William.

I thnk part of the reason they were such a hit with this group of kindergarteners was that they were right up in the activity of making it with me. From helping to pit the dates, to grating the carrots, to measuring and mixing and forming the balls, they were connected to their food, and enjoying getting their hands full of sticky sweet date dough in the process!

We also conected this to our garden inquiry we currently have underway. We have a nutritower for our classroom, and while the carrot seedlings we have growing are far away from producing any carrots for harvest, we did explore what carrot seeds look like, the part of the plant they come from, and how carrots grow under the ground, and not on bushes or trees, as many of us initially thought.

This is why I love cooking with my class. There are so many connected learning moments and topics that can come out of them.

Anyways, on to the recipe. Note that I gave lots of alternatives and options for my class to accomodate different food intolenaces, preferences, and what ingredients they had on hand. Some students chose to roll their bites in cococnut or graham cracker crumbs or other coating at the end, and others though they were delicious just as they were, “naked.”

With just a handful of ingredients, these energizer bunny bites are quick to whip up, and also make for a fibre-rich, nurient-packed and fun bite-sized snack. Keep them in the fridge up to a week, or in the freezer for several months for a quick on the go treat.

Bon Appetite!

Energizer Bunny Bites

Ingredients

For the Bites:

1 cup Mejool Dates* (soaked in boiled water to soften)

3/4 cup grated carrots

1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

1 cup oats, oat flour, or ground almond or coconut flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger or cardamom (optional)

Toppings for rolling:

Shredded coconut

graham cracker or ginger cookie crumbs

spinkles

finely chopped nuts or seeds

Recipe Steps

1. Place dates in glass bowl or cup and pour hot water over them. Let them sit to soften. Meanwhile, grate carrots to fill a 3/4 cup.

2. Once dates are soft, pour off hot water. Using a food processor, a strong blender, or potato masher or fork and pure muscle power, mash the dates until they are smooth and mushy. A few date "chunks" are okay.

3. Add all other ingredients and stir together until dough feels like playdough. You may need to add more oats or flour, or a little water to get it the right consistency. It shouldn’t be sticking to your hands, but also not crumbling apart.

4. Start rolling the dough into bite-sized balls, no bigger than a golf ball. If you want to coat your energy bites in coconut, chopped nuts, or crumbs, fill a shallow dish with your desired coating, and roll the balls gently to coat them.

5. Place balls in fridge covered to firm up! They will keep for several days in the fridge, or pop them in the freezer to grab as a cold and easy treat to enjoy for several months! Bon Appetite!

Additional Notes

*Another version of these energy balls replaces the dates with equal amounts of nut butter and liquid sweetener of choice, such as honey, agave, maple syrup, or brown rice syrup. Instead of using dates, gently heat 1/2 cup of syrup and 1/2 cup of nut butter of your choice on the stove or in the microwave. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe.