Written by Ally Paige

Lara Bang, from Hazlet, Saskatchewan, is one of 26 winners in the national Kid Food Nation recipe contest with her recipe for ‘Perfect Pumpkin Muffins’. 

The young girl says she first started baking at the age of three years old with her mom and brother. 

Lara goes on to explain that she heard about the recipe contest in a commercial. 

“I saw it on TV, like them advertising it and I was like okay, let's just try it,” she said. 

Created through the partnership of President’s Choice Children’s Charity, and BGC Canada (formerly Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada), the contest, asks children aged seven to thirteen across the country to submit healthy and original recipes that highlight their Canadian pride or heritage. 

Lara said that she chose a family recipe to compete in the contest.  

“We grew pumpkins in our garden and then baked one in the oven for some pies,” Lara stated in her profile for the recipe contest. “I was craving pumpkin muffins that day. The fun part is that I got to tweak the recipe and make it healthier. They taste so good. 

Pumpkin MuffinLara's 'Perfect Pumpkin Muffins' (Photo courtesy of BGC Canada)

Offering some insight into the competition, Lara said she submitted her recipe online. 

“You have to go online and then on the Y- TV website and then you would click the kid Food Nation one,” she explained. “And then you have to put information about yourself like how old you are like, what's your email address and stuff. And then you'd also put down your recipe and then they would like make the recipe and then see who is the best.” 

The winners for the fifth year of the contest, were presented with a handful of prizes that included a virtual cooking class hosted by Chef Marysol Foucault and Y-TV hosts Spencer & Tyra.  

Winners Recipe ContestThe 26 winners in their virtual cooking lesson. (Photo courtesy of BGC Canada)

Each winner also received a prize pack that included a tablet, culinary tools, a winner certificate, a custom Kid Food Nation chef jacket and apron, and a copy of the Kid Food Nation cookbook, Volume 5. 

Adding to the prize, this year winners also received a $5,000 grant from PC Children’s Charity for an in-class food growing system, plus tools and supplies for the winners and their classmates to cultivate their own kitchen gardens at home. 

Lara said that she was over the moon when she found out that she was one of the winners. 

“I found out, like they emailed my mom, and I was like so excited, I'm like, YES!” stated the young baker. 

Lara added that she is going to continue to bake and try out new recipes. 

You can find Lara's recipe here!