THESE siblings from Carrigaline, Aoife, Ciara, and Sean Galvin, are sharing some of their favourite recipes with readers of KidzZone today. Since school broke up they have been busy making all sorts of yummy snacks — raw chocolate bites, flapjacks, smoothies and more. 

They get their inspiration and support from mum, nutritional consultant Mary Carmody, who has been keeping adults and kids alike entertained with her cooking videos on YouTube and advice on Facebook. Here are the Galvin family’s favourite kid-friendly recipes... why not give them a try?

Aoife’s Favourite Raw Chocolate Snack

“A dairy-free tasty nutritious snack.”

Ingredients

140g cacao butter

4tbs cacao powder

80g raw almond butter (you can use any nut butter)

5tbs maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 pinches of ground Himalayan salt

For the filling:

60g walnut halves

110g nuts eg a mix of cashew nuts/hazelnuts/almonds

40g pitted dates/figs/apricots roughly chopped

60g dried raisins

20g goji berries

Method:

• Melt cacao butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and break up the butter if in a block.
• Chop the filling ingredients up — the nuts, dried fruit and goji berries all separately. I use the Nutribullet to do this quickly, but you can do this by hand also if you wish to have a crunchier snack. Some people use the food processor. It really depends on your taste.
• I start blending up the nuts and set them aside, then the chopped-up fruit and set this aside, and finally the goji berries and set them aside.
• Prepare a non-stick silicone 20cm tray and line it with parchment paper.
• When the cacao butter is melted, mix in the cacao powder, almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt and the all the blended filling ingredients (nuts and dried fruit etc) and mix everything up well together.
• Now place on a tray and transfer to fridge/freezer. This will set in an hour or two and will be firm to touch.
• Allow to come to room temperature before slicing into 1.5/2in squares. Store in an airtight container for up to three weeks in fridge/freezer.

Nutritional benefits:

Cacao powder: Cacao is a healthier alternative to cocoa powder, full of vitamins, minerals, magnesium, zinc, and iron.

Nuts: These contain lots of nutrients including magnesium, good fats for the body, and this snack is great for the immune system and keeping teenagers such as Aoife energised and healthy.

Sean’s Favourite Flapjacks

“These are so simple to make.”

Ingredients

150g butter

50g dark brown sugar

50g honey

330g oats

2 tbsp chia seeds

2 tbsp coconut flakes

Method:

• Melt butter slowly in a saucepan.
• Add in honey and brown sugar and mix it all up and turn off heat.
• Add in oats, chia seeds, and coconut flakes and mix well together to combine all ingredients.
• Put mixture into a lined baking tray (I use parchment paper) and bake in the oven at 180C for 25 minutes.
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting up and eating in 2in by 2in pieces (approximately). Flapjacks can be stored in a Tupperware container in the fridge for a few days — if they last that long!
• Note: You could add in some pumpkin seeds or dried fruit. Chang

e around the ingredients in the flapjacks to suit your own taste.

Ciara’s Summer Smoothie

Ingredients (Serves 2)

1 banana

½ cup of strawberries (use frozen when not in season)

½ cup of natural yogurt (Glenisk)

½ cup of oats

½ cup of water approx.

1 orange with skin removed

1 tsp peanut butter

Optional — a pinch of cinnamon

Method:

• Place everything into a blender (or Nutribullet). Blend for 20 to 30 seconds, pour into a glass and enjoy.

Nutritional benefits of the smoothie:

Bananas: Good source of energy. High in potassium, which helps regulate nerve function and blood pressure. Helps with digestive issues, also a good source of fibre, B vitamins, and other minerals.

Peanuts; They are a great source of healthy fats, protein, and fibre. They also contain magnesium, B vitamins for energy, and are a very nutritious food for children.

Yoghurt: Contains good bacteria to keep the gut healthy. You could also substitute with dairy-free yoghurt if needed.

Here are some recipes from our archives that Aoife sent us last year for KidzZone

Protein Balls

“These protein balls are so delicious and easy to make.

These are great for your lunch box as there are no nuts in them.”

Ingredients

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup pumpkin seeds

1½ cups oats

½ cup desiccated coconut

3 tbsps cacao powder

A pinch of salt

2 tbsp tahini (great source of calcium for bones and teeth)

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

3 tbsp maple syrup or honey

Method:

• Put the seeds, desiccated coconut, salt, oats, and cacao powder into a blender (or Nutribullet) and blend for 30 seconds.
• Pour the mixture into a medium bowl.
• Add the tahini, melted coconut oil, maple syrup or honey.
• Mix with a wooden spoon until combined.
• Using your hands, roll the mixture into golf ball-sized pieces.
• Store the mixture in the fridge overnight in a sealed container.
• Enjoy! They will keep for a week or two in the fridge — that’s if they don’t

get eaten before that time.

Banana Bread with Chocolate by Aoife

This is one of my favourite things to put in my lunchbox. It’s lovely with a bit of butter on it or on its own. It is really simple to make as well. You could slice it up and put it in the freezer and take it out when you want it.

Ingredients

2 bananas

1 egg

2½ tbsp maple syrup or honey

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

100g self-raising flour

100g self-raising wholemeal flour or normal wholemeal flour with 1¼ tsp of baking powder

50g dark chocolate chopped (or you could use chocolate chips)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 2lb loaf tin with parchment paper.
• Mash up the bananas in a bowl and set aside.
• Whisk the egg, maple syrup or honey, coconut oil, bananas, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until combined. Sift in the two flours and mix until combined.
• Stir the chocolate in.
• Pour into a tin and bake for 30 minutes.
• Leave to cool.

Berry Delicious Smoothie by Aoife

“I have this smoothie every morning along with my granola or porridge. It literally takes seconds. It is light as I use coconut milk but you can use cow’s milk as well.”

Ingredients

1 cup frozen berries

1½ cups coconut milk (you could also use cow’s milk or any other types of milk but I prefer coconut milk)

1 banana (optional)

Method:

• Place everything into a blender (I use the Nutribullet). Blend for 20 to 30 seconds Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Easy Granola by Aoife

“This is a very tasty recipe. I have chosen this recipe as it is easy, simple, and fun to make, perfect on a summer morning with a bit of vanilla yogurt and fresh berries.

As breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I find this recipe very filling as there is a lot of protein in the nuts and seeds. My younger brother and sister, aged six and nine, grind it up (in the Nutribullet) and call it “ground up granola” and it’s their favourite breakfast. They add milk to it, and it keeps them full for hours.”

Ingredients (Serves 12 approx)

400g oat flakes

50g flaked almonds

50g sunflower seeds

50g pumpkin seeds

50g desiccated coconut

A pinch of salt

90g coconut oil

90g honey or maple syrup

50g dried fruit (currents, raisins, chopped dates, dried apricots, chopped prunes)

50g flax seeds or linseeds

Method:

• Preheat oven to 160c.
• Mix all dry ingredients except the dried fruit, together in a large bowl. In a small pan melt the coconut oil. When cool add the honey or maple syrup. Pour the coconut oil and honey or maple syrup mixture into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
• Spread the mixture onto two large baking trays in an even layer.
• Place in oven. After 20 minutes toss the mixture around and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
• When granola is cooled, add the dried fruit and mix it around.

Tip: Instead of vanilla-flavoured yoghurts which can be high in sugar, add 1-2 drops of vanilla extract into organic plain yoghurt to serve with your granola.

Find Mary Carmody on www. marycarmodynutrition.ie; Facebook: MaryCarmodyNutrition; or YouTube: Mary Carmody Nutrition.