Creating large-sized moments with bite-sized snacking during pandemic

Creating large-sized moments with bite-sized snacking during pandemic

The very presence of my family, my son, daughter-in-law, and grandsons who were visiting India made my moments in the pandemic worthwhile. Call it providence or my good fortune, they got stuck here during the lockdown. They were here with me for four and a half months; the most time I have ever spent with my half Mexican family. I had fun Creating large-sized moments with bite-sized snacking during pandemic

My grandsons are the apples of my eye and they are always ready to try out something interesting, and mostly around snacking. I am passionate about cooking and they volunteered to be my Sous-chefs. All of 6 and 3 years, Arian and Amir are a joy to have around the kitchen. They love good food, especially anything to snack on. We were not buying food from outside, so we made all sorts of things from scratch at home. I discovered that both of them are quite creative chefs too!

It turned out, snacking like 81% of Indians (as reported by Mondelēz International’s Second Annual State of Snacking™ Report,) became one of the few indulgences that we as a family had.During the pandemic people have turned to buying comfort snacks that bring back their best memories.  For 8 out of 10 people, snack times is the time of harmony, calm and relaxation. For my grandsons and me food was the best way to connect. And we made snacks together.

Creating large-sized moments with bite-sized snacking during pandemic

While discovering bite-sized snacks in India we had so much fun exploring the different options we had. The snacks of course needed to be appealing and easy to make as both wanted to help in the process. We made a fruit basket, potato fries, roasted lotus seeds, all kinds of fritters, pancakes, muffins, cookies, and more. And since these were bite-sized indulgences, the grandma in me could allow them to indulge guilt-free, much like my fellow 46% Indians.

One of the indulgences throughout the pandemic in our home was Cadbury Chocobakes Cookies. While the kids love their cookies, we adults snacked on a few on the side too. And since they came in small packages, I agree with the 43% of people that it helped us avoid food wastage.

During the lockdown, my Sous Chefs cooked up a storm in the kitchen

So here’s a little recipe that is Arian and Amir approved, which you can try too at home! It’s called Oreo lava delight.

Creating large-sized moments with bite-sized snacking during pandemic

INGREDIENTS

1. Two grandsons (:P)
2. Oreo cookies
3. Milk
4. Cadbury Cocoa Powder and Cadbury Dairy Milk

METHOD

1. Let the kids have fun separating Oreo cookies from the cream and crushing them. The cream went into their tummies of course.
2. Add a little milk and Cadbury Cocoa Powder Mix to the crushed cookies. If there is some mess on the platform, I’d suggest you whip out a camera!
3. Scoop a bit of the mixture into a microwave-safe mug.
4. We added some pieces of Cadbury Dairy Milk in the center for the lava before pouring in the rest of the Oreo and Cocoa Powder batter.
5. One minute in the microwave and your Oreo lava delight is done!
6. For the super-duper chocolate lovers, you can also add a dusting of Cadbury Cocoa Powder on top before digging into these mug cakes.

These mug cakes were enjoyed by not just the kids but all of us. It was like a blast of chocolate inside our mouths! For more recipes around Oreo, especially for the summertime, you can check this too. I cannot tell you how many Oreo cookies went missing while the kids made this recipe!

Indian homes always have a stock of cookies. The day starts with chai and cookies and usually ends with milk and cookies or in our case, some of that amazing Oreo lava delight.

Stressful times can be overcome within the circle of family and comfort foods that are fun to make and delicious to eat. Food when shared with family and friends helps create an aura of wellbeing and security. My bite-sized foods made my large-sized memories of the pandemic worthwhile.