Category Archives: kids food

“Mini chef in the kitchen” 4 – delicious brownies with M&M

Posted on May 5, 2015 | Leave a comment

This simple and quick recipe is packed with chocolate flavor just as your kid loves it! It’s a basic recipe every mom should share with her mini chefs!

You will need:

1 1/3 cup flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
M&M for sprinkling on top

Mix all dry ingredients; flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Let your mini chef sift the cocoa powder.

In a separate bowl mix eggs, vanilla and oil then add them to the dry ingredients.

My son loves mixing! It is the best part for him, but don’t over mix, just the time to let all ingredients combined.

You can’t imagine how beneficial this exercise is, especially on the cognitive and motor skills. Click benefits of cooking with your kids to learn more about it.

Back to our delicious brownies, pour the batter in a greased baking dish (8×12”) and sprinkle the top with M&Ms.

Preheat oven (200°C) and bake for 20-25 mins or until skewer comes out clean.

You can add more M&Ms after baking, some might drown in! My mini chef suggestion!. Wait until is set to room temperature and cut. Get ready, by this time you will be asked thousand of times if it’s ready to be cut!

As i always say, the best part is when your kids taste the reward of their efforts. Now it’s time to pack some for the teacher in the nursery, friends and uncle to taste Nady’s chef d’oeuvre. He loves to share being proud of what he did!

I can assume it’s one of the best brownies i tasted. Crispy edges with chewy inside. Can’t get enough of it. It’s going to be the brownies recipe from now on!

Try it also with ice cream or chocolate sauce! Enjoy your time with your kids and have loads of educational fun !

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in dessert, kids food, way to play

Tagged blog, brownies, brownies recipe, chef, chocolate, cocoa powder, cognitive skills, cooking with kids, cup cocoa powder, cup vegetable oil, dry ingredients, food blogger, jaymmy, kids blogger, lebanon, M&M, marmite et ponpon, mini chef, motor skills, qatar, recipe

“Mini chef in the kitchen” 3- Easy and quick as 10 mns cheese bechamel spaghetti

Posted on May 1, 2015 | Leave a comment

Beside preparing a delicious dish, it’s also important to be an easy and quick one to keep your mini chef focused and entertained.

I believe the majority of kids are fan of spaghetti. It’s one of my son’s few favorite dishes because peppa pig loves it! Today’s recipe will not take more than 10 minutes the time of boiling the pasta.

To make this yummy dish you need: (for 2)

150g spaghetti
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup emmental cheese
dash of salt (optional)

Cook the spaghetti as per the pack instructions. Meanwhile, in a casserole mixmilk and flour until it’s well combined then bring to heat.

Keep on whisking until you see the first bubbles (2-3 minutes) add the butter and cheese(optional) and mix all well (less than a minute). Turn off the heat as the cheese is totally melt in and the sauce became thick. Toss in the drained pasta and let your kid enjoy the rewards of his efforts.

If you put emmental, disregard the salt, but if your kid is not fan of cheese, add a dash of salt to flavor it.

As i mention in every “mini chef in the kitchen” post, this activity provides your kids with plenty of opportunities to learn.Click on benefits of cooking with your kids to know more about it.

I hope you have a good time with your kids. Enjoy 🙂

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Tagged bechamel, cheese, easy, emmental, food, food blogger, healthy, jaymmy, kids food, kids in the kitchen, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, mini chef, qatar, quick, recipe, spaghetti

“Mini chef in the kitchen” 2- Jus de lapin (carrot-banana-mandarin smoothie)

Posted on April 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

In the “mini chef in the kitchen” series, today we are preparing a healthy fruit smoothie to beat the heat.

Giving the juice a creative name, attracts your kids attention and stimulates their curiosity. There is no way they won’t try it especially if they are picky eaters like my son.

“jus de lapin” or rabbit juice because it contains carrots and has a bright orange color!

You will need

1 large carrot
1 big banana
juice of 3 mandarines
half cup ice (optional)
1 tsp honey (optional)

Mix all and blend for 2-3 minutes until smooth and frothy.

My son is not fan of sweet taste, i didn’t add the honey since the mandarin were not very sour.

If the fruits are already cold or some frozen, you can skip adding ice. I put two colorful ice sticks for fun and to keep it chilled.

This activity provides your kids with plenty of opportunities to learn. Click on benefits of cooking with your kids to know more about it.

To add more fun and encourage Nady to have the whole smoothie i prepared moustache cut out and insert it in the straw. Click here for the printable file.

There are endless options for smoothies, use the favorite fruits of your kids, or even introduce some other veggies like celery, spinach or cucumber and make the green giant.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Tagged banana, benefits, blog, carrots, cooking with kids, fine motor skills, food blogger, how to do, jaymmy, kids food, kids in the kitchen, lebanon, mandarin, marmite et ponpon, qatar, sensory activity, smoothie, way to play

Reasons to cook with your kids – “Mini chef in the kitchen” 1- Nutella mini tarts recipe

Posted on April 29, 2015 | 4 comments

How many times you let your kids out of the kitchen, having no time to let them be involved, or just being tired and drained out of energy, or simply not in the mood. However i am sure there were many other times you really enjoyed cooking or baking together with so much fun.

No doubt, cooking with kids takes more time and effort, but for the many learning experiences you can embrace while your kids are in the kitchen, i encourage you to do it more often. Trust me the benefits to their development justify the extra efforts.

Reasons to cook with your kids:

Literacy (building vocabulary): cooking with kids gives you the opportunity to introduce new words. You will be talking about the ingredients which gives them food knowledge. They will be observing and talking about the process as well (like creaming, whisking,…). It’s good to mention the new words several times and put them in a sentence they will understand and repeat after you. And when you read for them the recipe (if they can’t read yet) they will learn also that there is a method and instructions to follow. When am with with my son i enjoy mostly the open conversation we have all the time of cooking.

Brain development by exploring their senses: sensory experience is essential for the brain development. Cooking engage all the senses of your kids; seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting (especially smelling and tasting). My son is the curious type he likes to taste everything!

Motor skills: Developing fine and gross motor skills is as important as the sensory experience. They will be training their tiny muscles (fingers, hands, arms and even all body) by stirring, whisking, beating, kneading….. I love watching my son doing all this, i see a small proud man using his beautiful hands magically 🙂

Math and logic: By counting and using the measuring cups or spoons to follow the accurate recipe.

Self esteem: you will experience the look of confidence and pride on your kid’s face when he sees the outcome and especially when he offers it to others. When i bake with my son, he keeps on telling what he did to everyone he sees, and insists on offering some of “his creations” saying : “Nady did this!” waiting for the rewards for his efforts.

All these benefits go without neglecting the amount of fun we have and the quality time together which is sacred for me.

The most important thing though is you don’t force the learning to happen, it should flow naturally. The golden rule is to enjoy the time with your kids in the kitchen.

If you like to cook with your kids but you are struggling to find simple recipes to do, follow me this week. I will be writing a series of posts with easy recipes to enjoy cooking with your mini chefs!

Today we baked mini Nutella tarts. You will need:

250g flour (sifted)
125g cold butter diced
3-4 tbsp water
nutella chocolate

Let your kid sieve the flour into a mixing bowl and add the butter cubes.

Rub the flour and butter to become like sand. Add the water one tbsp after the other and watch your genius kneading.

We placed the dough for 15 mins in the fridge before working it. Meanwhile we cleaned the mess around us.

Sprinkle little flour on your working surface and roll out the dough.

and cut circles to fit in the muffin tray.

Nady cut also hearts and stars to decorate the top of each tart.

Put almost one tbsp of the chocolate into the middle of each tart.

Let your kid choose any shape to decorate the top of the tart.

Preheat oven to 200°C and bake for 15 mns or until top is golden brown.

Meanwhile arrange again the mess you did, teaching your kids to be clean and tidy, which is an important and fun part of cooking as well.

Let it cool before your little chef taste the reward of his efforts.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

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Posted in dessert, kids food, way to play

Tagged beirut, benefits of cooking with kids, blog, Brain development, chocolate, cooking, cooking with kids, easy recipe, food blogger, jaymmy, kids food, little chefs, marmite et ponpon, nutella, qatar, sensory experience, simple recipes, tart

Snowman breakfast

Posted on December 18, 2014 | Leave a comment

Christmas fever is spreading throughout our house all times! No doubt, we wake up so excited thinking of Christmas; Nady starts by a “bonjour sapin”(good morning to the Christmas tree), he checks all the decorations especially the ones he participated in doing, then he goes to the advent calendar to check his daily treat. Today i wanted to surprise him with a christmassy breakfast: Snowman on a plate!

It’s so exciting to start the day with this beautiful breakfast, it takes 10 minutes to do this snowman, and it grants a whole day of joy and excitement on your kid’s face. Just priceless!

So easy to do, follow the step by step scheme.

You will need: 2 slices of bread, spreading cheese, carrots for the buttons and nose, cucumber for the hat and mouth, olive for the eyes, and lettuce for the scarf.

And to make it more realistic, i added it dots of labneh to create the snow!

If you get the chance to prepare this breakfast with your kids, trust me it will be as fun for you as for them. Enjoy!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!