Toddler Approved Chocolate Chip Oat Balls That Are Easy to Make
This gluten-free, dairy-free recipe is so easy that it can be almost hands-free for you. Let your toddler make these surprisingly tasty chocolate oat balls and help her to eat them.
I introduced this recipe to Emma a few weeks ago. I pre-measured ingredients and set up everything on her table while she was napping. She woke up from her nap and headed to the kitchen. Still half-asleep, she noticed the ingredients. She threw her hands in the air with excitement and started dancing. "It is worth the mess," I thought to myself.
This recipe was so successful that Emma demands to make it again in her own two-year-old toddler way. She opens the pantry and gets the bag with chocolate chips. She wants to eat them for lunch. "Emma, chocolate chips are for baking" is my usual response. "Emma, baking. Emma, baking," insists Emma. Ok, here we go.
Chocolate chip oat balls
Ingredients:
2 very ripe bananas
1 cup quick (rolled) oats (avoid old-fashioned oats - they don’t hold the mixture together)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chia seeds
a handful of chocolate chips (I like to use dark chocolate chips)
Instructions
Get your kitchen and yourself ready for having a little helper.
Pre-measure all ingredients ahead of time and have them at hand. (If you have an older child, you can skip this step).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place parchment paper on the baking sheet and set it aside.
Invite your child to peel the bananas and place them into a mixing bowl. Show her where the peels go. (We use a small metal bucket as a compost bin, but an empty bowl will do).
Ask the child to mash the bananas with her masher. (Aim for a smooth consistency).
Invite your child to add oats, cinnamon, and chia seeds into the bowl and mix everything.
Ask the child to pour chocolate chips into the bowl (see notes) and mix again. (If the mixture is too wet, add more oats).
Bring over the baking sheet with permanent paper.
Using a tablespoon, show your child how to scoop a ball from the mixture and place it on the baking sheet. (The balls don’t need to have a perfect shape, but they need to hold together).
Bake in the oven for 15-20 mins.
Let it cool and enjoy.
Notes:
Help your toddler as needed. Very young toddlers will need more help with mashing, mixing, and scooping the mixture.
Step 7 Adding chocolate chips - this step proved to be tricky for my toddler. She didn't like the idea of giving up her chocolate chips, to say the least. When we made the same recipe next time, I gave her another little bowl with a few chocolate chips for eating, and it worked much better.
15 minutes of baking time is usually enough.
Are you going to try these chocolate chip oat balls?
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