Instead of reaching for the chips and sweets, spoil your little ones (and yourself) with a mix of fresh fruit and these fun, sweet dips.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 10 min

INGREDIENTS
Fresh fruit of your choice
For the vanilla-yoghurt dip
1 cup milk
1 cup plain yoghurt
1 sachet vanilla pudding
¼ cup chocolate chips
For the creamy nut-butter dip
1 cup plain cream cheese
½ cup nut butter
¼ cup honey
For the cookie-dough dip
300 ml milk
1 cup plain cream cheese
1 sachet vanilla pudding
¼ cup chocolate chips

METHOD
Serve the fruit with these dips:
For the vanilla-yoghurt dip
1. Mix together the milk and yoghurt. Add the pudding and whisk until smooth.
2. Fold in the chocolate chips.
For the creamy nut-butter dip
1. Whisk together all ingredients.
For the cookie-dough dip
1. Whisk together milk, cream cheese and pudding.
2. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Recipe & styling: Amerae Vercueil
Photography: Juliette Bisset // HMimages.co.za

Little ones still not 100% convinced? They won’t be able to resist these emoji-inspired fruit snacks!

The post Serve your fresh fruit with these fun dips appeared first on MyKitchen.

Not only are these emoji-inspired fruit snacks quick and easy, they’re also healthy and so much fun to make with the kids!

MAKES 10 // COOKING TIME 5 min

INGREDIENTS
1 pineapple, peeled and cut into 1 cm slices
3 plums, sliced

METHOD
1. For half the pineapple rings, use a small heart cutter to cut out eyes and a small moon cutter to cut out mouths.
2. Peel the skin off the plum slices and set aside. Cut hearts from the plum slices and press them into the pineapple slices.
3. For the remaining pineapple slices, use a small round cutter to cut out mouths. Use the plum skins to make surprised eyes in the shape of Xs.
4. Wrap your emoji fruits in baking paper to keep fresh.

Recipe & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za

For a dessert-type treat, you can whip up these butterscotch popcorn balls with the kids too!

The post Emoji-inspired fruit snacks for the little ones appeared first on MyKitchen.

You don’t have to break the bank to make nutritious treats. These rye toast bites with fried olives and beetroot dip make perfect canapés.

SERVES 4–6 // COOKING TIME 1 hour 20 min

INGREDIENTS
For the rye toast bites
4 slices dark rye bread
¼ cup butter, melted
For the beetroot dip
2 large beetroots
4 garlic cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ lemon, juiced
⅓  cup yoghurt
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
For the fried olives
½ cup flour
2 eggs, well beaten
½ cup breadcrumbs (half regular, half panko)
200 g pitted green olives
Oil, for deep-frying
Handful fresh parsley, plus to garnish

METHOD
For the rye toast bites
1. Preheat oven to 100ºC.
2. Using a knife or a round cookie cutter, cut the bread into small rounds. Brush with melted butter.
3. Bake for 10–15 minutes until crisp.
For the beetroot dip
1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.
2. Wrap each beetroot in foil, adding 1 tsp water per beetroot before sealing closed.
3. Roast for 40–60 minutes, until the beetroot is tender. Wrap garlic in foil and add it during the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Cook until soft.
4. Leave the beetroot to cool completely before peeling off the skins.
5. Roughly chop the beetroot and place in a food processor along with the remaining ingredients. Blitz until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
For the fried olives
1. Set up a breading station. Place the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs into three bowls.
2. Dry the olives on paper towel. One by one, roll them in flour, followed by egg, and finally the breadcrumbs.
3. Heat oil to medium heat and fry the olives until golden.
4. To serve, pipe dollops of beetroot dip on to the toast, and top with fried olives. Garnish with parsley.

Recipe & styling: Amerae Vercueil
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za

On a bit of a rye-high? Serve these rye and honey-crusted veggies with sriracha mayo alongside your other appetisers.

The post Rye toast bites with fried olives and beetroot dip appeared first on MyKitchen.

Before or after a tough work-out, when you’re feeling peckish at work or simply craving something sweet, these delicious chocolately nut-butter protein bites are your go-to snacks!

MAKES 16 // COOKING TIME 40 min

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp cacao powder, sifted
100 g whey protein powder
6 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter
¼ cup raw honey
2 tbsp chia seeds
Sea salt flakes, to sprinkle

METHOD
1. In a bowl, mix together the cacao, whey powder, peanut butter, honey and chia seeds. Place in the fridge and allow the mixture to firm up for about 30 minutes.
2. On a clean surface, roll out the mixture to 1½ cm thickness. Portion into 2 × 2 cm squares.
3. Sprinkle each square with a pinch of salt. Store in the fridge.

Recipe & styling: Luisa Farelo
Photography: Kendall-Leigh Nash // HMimages.co.za

The post Healthy chocolatey nut-butter protein bites appeared first on MyKitchen.

A scrumptious treat of fruit, nuts, sugar and chocolate, florentines are commonly made round like a biscuit. But we decided that turning them into bars a great idea and you can wrap them in baking paper and pop them in your lunchbox for a snack as well!

MAKES 36 squares // COOKING TIME 30 mins

INGREDIENTS
200g dark chocolate, melted
60g glacé cherries, chopped
2 cups cornflakes, crushed
¾ cup sultanas
¾ cup condensed milk
½ cup mixed nuts, chopped

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a 26 cm square baking tray.
2. Spread the melted chocolate in an even layer over the baking tray. Refrigerate until set.
3. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Pour the mixture over the layer of chocolate. Bake for 15–20 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 10–15 minutes. Slice into squares and pack into gift boxes.

The post Florentines appeared first on MyKitchen.