Nutrition experts have unveiled a new initiative called 12 Before 12 – 12 food skills that kids must know before they turn age 12, which has also been turned into a cookbook. See here.

Sanitarium has partnered with nutrition experts, Themis Chryssidis and Masterchef fan favourite Callum Hann from Sprout Cooking School, to create these kid-friendly recipes to help get the kids more involved in the kitchen and learn essential skills that support life-long health and wellbeing.

Weetbix, Peanut Butter & Date Slice

This sweet slice is full of flavour and fibre, making it the perfect snack to keep you powering through to your next meal.

Makes: 24 small squares
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
4 Weet-Bix, crushed
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup almonds, roughly chopped
½ cup Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
½ cup honey
½ cup Sanitarium Smooth Peanut Butter
125g margarine

Method:

1. Combine Weet-Bix, oats, coconut, almonds and dates in a large bowl.
2. Place honey, peanut butter and margarine in a small saucepan. Melt together over medium heat.
3. Pour honey mixture over dry ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined and coated. Transfer to a lined slice pan. Refrigerate until set. Cut into 24 squares.

Discussing the benefits of the recipes and skills, Themis Chryssidis from Sprout said: "Somewhere along the way, the healthy eating message has got so complex. We've become overly focussed on looking at food through the lens of nutrients or kilojoules - the micro detail of what we're eating - that we've lost sight of the bigger picture behaviours that make healthy eating intuitive. Food has become over-thought, and it's not doing us any good.

12 before 12's simpler message is: Eat mostly whole plant-based foods, drink mostly water, cook more at home – and for kids, find ways to sprinkle in some fun"