Teaching Kids To Make Healthy Fare
Dancers take center stage at the Filipino Fiesta. Amanda C. Gregg photo
I used to think that oatmeal or anything else healthy, for that matter didn’t belong in cookies. That was before I jumped onto the raw food bandwagon, a culinary category that includes some of the most to-die-for, easy-todigest chocolate in the world. That said, I’d like to give a nod to Rose Warken Ceballos, who made an effort to redefine “treat” when teaching a cooking and baking class for youths last month. Ceballos, who led a class at Kalaheo Neighborhood Center as part of the county’s Winter Fun Program, created a recipe for the occasion, Healthy Banana Cookies. Ceballos turned substitution into an art form, using apple bananas instead of sugar, steel-cut oats instead of flour and applesauce instead of vegetable oil. The class consisted of two age groups: 5-7 and 8-11, made up of plenty of keiki eager to show off their culinary prowess.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the youngsters become famous pastry chefs some day,” Ceballos says. Part of the Department of Parks and Recreation, the county’s Winter Fun Program aims to provide youths with the opportunity to have fun in a safe environment during their winter break. Other activities offered in the program are arts and crafts, dancing, board games, exercise and outdoor games. Special thanks to Kaua’i County for providing Ceballos’ recipe:
ROSE’S HEALTHY BANANA COOKIES
* 6 to 7 ripe apple bananas (instead of sugar)
* 6 cups steel-cut oats/Quaker Oats are totally fine to use (instead of flour)
* 2 to 3 cups applesauce (instead of vegetable oil)
* 1 to 2 tablespoons cinnamon
* 3 to 4 cups dried cranberries
* 2 to 3 cups dark chocolate
* 1 cup fresh grated carrots
Theresa Koki earned prevention specialist certification. Photo from Mary Daubert
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in the rest of ingredients. Mix well and allow cookies to sit for a couple of minutes while placing aluminum foil on the cookie sheet. Drop by teaspoonfuls or roll into semi-flat balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly brown …
Speaking of productive, positive youth activities, Happy and Kats Tamanaha will host a youth lei-making workshop at 10 a.m. Feb. 11 at Kaua’i Museum, in an effort for more inclusiveness at the next annual May Day Lei Contest. The duo inspired the museum to introduce a keiki category as part of this year’s May Day Lei Contest, and will visit from Oahu to share their skill. Happy is a renowned lei maker, who has hosted lei-making workshops at Honolulu Academy of Arts and won top honors at the Honolulu May Day Lei Contest, Kaua’i Museum’s annual May Day Lei Contest, and Aloha Airlines May Day Lei Contest, where her lei was selected to be painted on Aloha Airlines planes. Kats, who will assist Happy, spearheaded the Happy Lei Fundraising campaign to raise money for Kaua’i Museum. The workshop is for keiki ages 5 to 18 interested in learning how to make kui, haku, humupapa, kipu’u or wili lei. There is a $5 fee per family for the workshop, and a parent or guardian must accompany keiki under age 12. Materials will be provided. Space is limited to 30 students. The annual May Day Lei Contest is Saturday, May 5, when participants will enter their lei in one of two age categories: Group A (ages 5-11) and Group B (ages 12-18). Prizes will be awarded to the first-, secondand third-place finishers in each category. Participants must bring their own materials the day of competition and make their lei on site, where they will be given a two-hour time limit. Only natural plant materials will be accepted (limited to flowers, leaves, stems, roots and fruits). Neck lei must be 30 inches long and hat lei must be between 22 and 24 inches long. Any lei containing mokihana, maile or an endangered plant will be disqualified. Attendees must fill out an application, available at the museum, to attend the workshop. Email education@kauaimuseum.o rg for more information or call 245-6931 and ask for Lopaka …
Speaking of Kaua’i Museum, it was so lovely to see the turnout at the recent Filipino Fiesta Saturday, Jan. 7, which highlighted some of the most pleasant dance, food and people with whom to spend an afternoon (see this week’s Pa’ina page). Kudos to Kasibulan Filipino Dance Company and St. Raphael Filipino Catholic Club for a successful event …
Congratulations to Theresa Koki, who recently earned a prevention specialist certification, becoming the island’s first certified prevention specialist. Koki and 38 other professionals received their CPS certificates last month from the state Department of Health Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division, becoming the first group of certified prevention specialists in the state since the program was established in July 2011. Readers may recognize Koki’s name, as she has been advocating for an adolescent treatment center onisland and heading up the County’s Anti-Drug Office as well as the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Prevention, Enforcement and Treatment for the past five years. Koki had to meet certain education and experience criteria. The requirements included 2,000 hours of alcohol, tobacco and other drugprevention work with at least 10 hours of direct supervision and 10 hours of practical experience. She’s helped roll out the Kaua’i Community Drug Response Plan that takes the island into 2013. She also developed a curriculum for the Pi’ina Hoku Youth Leadership Program and serves on the Kaua’i Suicide Task Force. Well done, Theresa! …
Those wanting to give their two cents toward the County’s Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance have a few days left. The CZO regulates land use and development on Kaua’i, and is being updated by the county planning department with the assistance of consulting firm Helber, Hastert and Fee, according to a prepared statement.
Comments from the public can be emailed to czoupdate@kauai.gov or sent via postal service to: Planning Department, 4444 Rice St., Suite A473, Lihu’e, HI, 96766. The deadline to provide comments on Phase One of the CZO draft update is Jan. 20. Among recently codified amendments are Transient Vacation Rental Ordinances Nos. 864, 876 and 904, Open District Ordinance No. 896, and Additional Dwelling Unit Ordinances Nos. 843 and 886.
Go to kauai.gov/planning/CZOUpdate for the first phase of the draft update, or call the county’s planning department at 241-4050 for more information …
