Coconut Ice

Age: 8+

What You’ll Need:

  • 4 tablesppons cream cheese
  • 3 cups of icing sugar
  • 1/2 cup of coconut
  • 2 teaspoons milk
  • 2 drops of vanilla essense
  • 2 drops of red food coloring

Method: Grease a square tin. Beat cream cheese until smooth, add icing sugar and milk continuing to beat slowly. Beat in the vanilla and coconut – the mixture will become very stiff. Place half the mixture in the greased tin, mix the red food coloring in with the remaining mixture. Spread the pink half of the mixture over the top of the white half.

Chill the coconut ice in the fridge until firm and then cut into small squares.

Rainbow Cake

Age: 2+

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 packet vanilla cake mix
  • Food colouring (3 colours)

Method:

This is a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon with your toddler. Take one packet of vanilla cake mix and prepare as per the instructions. Divide the mixture into 3 bowls. Add a few drops of different coloured food colouring to each bowl and let your toddler mix the colours in.

When your toddler has finished mixing. Let them spoon the mixture in any sequence they like into a greased cake tin. They’ll be delighted by the muddle of colours they are creating.

Bake the cake as per the packet instructions.

Lolly Cake

Ages: 5+

What You’ll Need:

  • 100g of melted butter
  • 1 packet of malt biscuits
  • 1/2 a tin of condensed milk
  • 1 pack of fruit puffs, marshmellows or eskimos – cut up into bits
  • Dried coconut

Method:

Crush biscuits very finely. Chop up the lollies. Combine with half a tin condensed milk and mix well. Roll the mixture into a log and roll it in the coconut.

Place it in the fridge and cut into slices when hard.

Fruity Kebabs

Ages: 4+ (Some assistance required)

What You’ll Need:

  • Bamboo skewers
  • 1 cup of strawberries
  • 1 cup of thickly sliced banana
  • A handful of grapes
  • 1 cup of cubes apple pieces

Method:

Take a 6 in. (15 cm) long skewers and thread fruit onto them.

Serve kebabs with fresh yoghurt on the side.

 

Summer Muesli

Ages: 2+

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 cup dried apples
  • 1/2 cup of dried coconut
  • 1 cup dried apricots
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup of dried mango
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • Honey (optional)

Cut dried apples, apricots, mangos and cranberries into small pieces. Place chopped fruit into a large bowl. Combine with remaining ingredients. Mix gently.

Serve with yoghurt and a teaspoon of honey.

For Toddlers:
Help from a grown up required to chop fruit and measure ingredients. Your toddler will enjoy placing the ingredients in the bowl and combining the museli.

Island Paradise Smoothie

Ages: 2+

What you’ll need:

  • 1 mango
  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup of pineapple juice
  • ½ cup of coconut milk (unsweetened)
  • ½ cup of plain sweetened yoghurt
  • ½ cup of ice

Method:
Peel and chop fruit into cubes. Place all ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth. Pour into tall glasses and serve.

For Toddlers:
Help from a grown up required to prepare ingredients. Toddler can place ingredients in the blender and blend.

Bugs On A Log

Ages: 2+

What you’ll need:

  • Some dried fruit – Raisins, Currants, Sultanas or diced dried apricots
  • Celery
  • Peanut Butter

Method:
Cut washed celery into 5 inch segments. Fill the celery cavity by spooning in peanut butter. Place dried fruit on top of the peanut butter.

For Toddlers:
Help from a grown up required – washing and cutting the celery into segments, demonstrating how to spread the peanut butter and place the dried fruit. It’s a little messy but good fun for children 2 and up.

Fruit Smoothie

Ages: 2+

What you’ll need:

  • 1 cup frozen mixed berries
  • 2 bananas
  • 1 cup of soy milk
  • 1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream

Method:
Peel and chop banana into cubes. Place all ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth. Pour into tall glasses and serve.

For Toddlers:
Help from a grown up required to prepare ingredients. Toddler can place ingredients in the blender and blend.