We’ve talked a lot here about all of the benefits of cooking with kids. From building fine motor skills to providing support for picky eaters, inviting little ones into the kitchen to help you whip up a snack or a simple dinner can be one of the best ways to support healthy development in your child.
Fall is one of my favorite times to cook…soup in the slow cooker, pumpkin flavored everything, and, my boys’ favorite…APPLES!
Today, we’ll show you the world’s easiest apple dip. The perfect way to make your way through those bags of apples that come home from school field trips to the farm!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
One 5oz container of vanilla Greek yogurt (we used Oikos brand)
Store bought caramel dip (we used Marzetti’s brand)
Natural peanut butter (we like Smucker’s creamy – but you could definitely make this with crunchy peanut butter – it would be delicious!)
Optional: Cinnamon
WHAT TO DO:
Have your child help scoop all of the greek yogurt into a small mixing bowl. Great bilateral coordination work going on here – one hand has to hold the yogurt container while the other hand scoops.
Help your child scoop out about 1 ½ tablespoons of the peanut butter into the same bowl as the yogurt (you can use slightly more or less depending on your taste) .
Then, add 1 ½ tablespoons of the caramel dip (again, you can judge how much you want to use based on your child’s taste).
Now it’s time for the hand strengthening and heavy work…sorry, that’s the OT in me talking. I meant, now it’s time for the stirring! :) You’ll want to have your child use a fork for this to make sure to smooth out all of the lumps.
The consistency should be pretty thick and they’ll have to stir for quite awhile to make sure everything is all mixed together.
Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top and serve with apple slices!
SKILL AREAS ADDRESSED: Fine motor skills, strength, proprioception, sensory integration, bilateral coordination
Let us know if you try this recipe with your kiddos this fall! We’d love to hear how they liked it! Try this recipe along with our apple themed sensory motor lesson plan!
