Recently, I’ve been consumed with the notion of apples and honey.  It’s probably because we are in the throes of the Jewish High Holy Days and – since I’m probably the worst Jew ever – the only way I acknowledge any religious holiday is through food.  And, well, apples and honey is one of the traditional snacks that Jews eat during this time of year.

Don’t ask me why.  I don’t know the answer.

In any case, I’ve been adding more apples and honey to my kid’s diets, you know, just because. It certainly isn’t accompanied by a song or a lesson.  My kids just assume that the start of the school year brings new and fun snacks:

• Like slicing up apples real thin and letting them dunk them into some honey.
• Or a honey tasting “party” where we sampled different types of honey (those fantastic flavored honey sticks at the farmer’s market helped flush out this activity).
• And horizontally cut apple slices smeared with peanut butter and drizzled with a little honey.

Apples – in general – make a great after school snack since they have so much fiber, water and universal appeal.  They keep even my bottomless-pit kids full for at least a couple of hours.  I find that my girls prefer them cut up rather than whole (I think their loose teeth are getting in the way of a good satisfying bite) and cut apples lend themselves nicely to dunking and spreading.

The best part … apples are starting to come into season here in SoCal.  You may not be able to find them at the farmer’s market quite yet, but organic apples have been plentiful at the supermarket.

So why not jump on the apples and honey band wagon and make your own applesauce, cook down some apple butter or bake an apple pie.  Or what about this caramel cheesecake apple dip??

Or, if you’re in the mood for something even sweeter, try making a honey cake or boil up a batch of honeycomb candy (which has zero honey, but is super-fun to make).

If time does not permit, and you just need to get dinner done, and on the table and ensure that the kids will eat it, try a batch of my Honey Bunches of Oats Chicken Strips.  Created out of necessity (I promised the girls chicken strips and then realized that there were no bread crumbs, old bread, panko or corn flakes in the house … mental head slap), I blitzed my husband’s morning treat and improvised.

These are SUPER EASY to make.  Fairly sweet.  And are a fun way to bring a little sweetness into any crazy evening.

Oh, and if you’re like me, they can be a fun little way to remind everyone that it is actually the Jewish New Year and that honey is – for some reason – a small part of the traditional celebration.

{deena}

 

 

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN – how kids can help out:

• Measuring ingredients
• Cracking eggs
• Controlling the Cuisinart
• Coating & Dredging the Chicken Tenders