Now that school is over, my kids and I are busy going on adventures – berry picking, afternoons at the pool, and trips to the park.  We are always toting a cooler filled with snacks and we found a new favorite – Peanut Butter and Jelly Snack Bars at #minimalistbaker.  Oooh, these are SO good.  The crust itself is a delicious treat.  Then put all the goodies on top and you have something amazing.

Brain Boost

We are not a big peanut household, so we use almond butter and almonds in the recipe instead of the peanut butter and peanuts.  Eating almonds can also lead to increased memory retention as found by this study from Pakistan. In addition, eating berries (such as the strawberries in the recipe or blueberries) has also been shown to create an increase of blood flow to the brain leading to better memory and attention.   These foods will help fuel brains, as well as bellies. 

Math While You Bake

If your children are younger, this recipe will help them learn the difference between tablespoons and teaspoons (and how to read the abbreviations in a recipe).  If your children are older, challenge them to cook the whole recipe using just ¼ tsp. and ¼ cup.  They will get a lot of practice with conversions and fractions!

These are so good that you might choose to double the recipe so that it will last for a few days.  If you do, you will get into some more interesting math.  The recipe calls for ¾ cup of jam.  What is 2 x ¾?  Kids always struggle with that one so more practice is a good thing.  Then the recipe calls for 2 TBSP coconut sugar, 2 TBSP peanut butter and 2 TBSP salted peanuts.  When you double 2 TBSP what do you get?  You could measure out 4 TBSP but there is a shortcut that you can use.  Have your child figure out what measuring cup is equivalent to 4 TBSP. 

Make some Peanut Butter and Jelly Snack Bars together to take on your next outdoor adventure and help your child’s brain stay strong for their next academic adventure as well.