Carrot Chips

I have heard many times that kids best enjoy food that they have prepared themselves. Once again, I could get on my high horse about what we are doing for their life long eating habits if we only let them prepare sweets, but instead I'll tell you about carrot "chips"!

BB helps me with almost every meal. If I sneak off into the kitchen to try and get on with something myself (I often do!) he soon catches up with me and pulls a chair across chanting "I help!" Most of his cooking experience is therefore helping with veg prep. He does jobs like putting the peel in the chook bucket or compost, coating the veg in oil and putting them in the baking tray if we are roasting,  or in the saucepan if we are boiling or steaming.

Ingredients

3 large carrots
1 tbsp ghee (or oil of your choice)

Method

With carrot chips, I peel the carrots and BB puts the peel away in the appropriate tub.

If using ghee you will need to melt it. Don't heat it too much or you will burn your toddler's hands. I do ours in the microwave for 60 seconds, but be aware that most microwaves are more powerful than mine!

While he is still carefully picking up all the bits of peel, I then cut the carrots into chip shape, which for a largish carrot means cutting it into two, equal length pieces, and then cutting each of those into four length ways.

BB then adds the carrots to the oil and mixes them around with his hands until they are all coated.

Yay - look how messy my hands are now!

 Then he puts them in a baking tray and spreads them out

I then put them in the oven at about 190ºC for around 20 mins. (until cooked - i.e. the carrot is soft and the outside is starting to crisp slightly, but is not burnt)

They come out looking like this.

And here is the evidence that he will willingly put carrots into his mouth, and eat them!

Hooray!