Watermelon, Popsicles, frozen treats — sweet, fruity foods are perfect for Summer. We've found a variety of sweet eats to carry you through the season, whether you want a deliciously indulgent breakfast or a healthy afternoon snack. From chocolate-filled French toast to sugar-dusted peaches, these seven fruity foods are sure to satisfy your family's sweet tooth.
If you're a regular follower of LilSugar's food coverage, then you already know what huge fans we are of family-friendly foodie blog Dinner: A Love Story. We've been anticipating the launch of author Jenny Rosenstrach's cookbook of the same name since first learning that it was in the works, and hooray . . . it's finally here!
Not only is the cookbook chock-full of delicious, nutritious, and actually doable meals that your kids will want to eat, but Jenny's personal anecdotes on the work-life balance, motherhood, the importance of the family dinner, and more make it an entertaining and relatable read as well.
We caught up with Jenny earlier this week and are thrilled to share some of the highlights of our interview here . . . along with a most delicious recipe for Peanut Butter Noodles, a DALS favorite.
While the Internet has replaced previous generations' reliance on recipe boxes and cookbooks, every now and again, a tome like Katie Workman's The Mom 100 Cookbook comes along, and we know it's sure to become a kitchen staple. Katie, a mother of two and the founding editor in chief of Cookstr.com, provides solutions that every parent can put to good use — from on-the-go breakfast ideas to dinner-party classics, with a smattering of kid-friendly tips and advice throughout.
While you'll have to go out and buy the book for full access, we're sharing three of our favorite recipes for family-friendly dinners here. Hit the kitchen and enjoy!
Are your kids the type who love clunking around with pots and pans, getting elbow deep in flour, and filling up the cookie jar with the fruits of their own labor? Check out these 13 pantry finds for you and your little bakers — they're sure to enhance the outcome of your sweet treats and to make kitchen time that much more fun.
Cooking with your kids can teach them all kinds of lessons, from timing and measuring skills to cutting and cooking techniques, and it gives them a greater appreciation for the food that is served at the table. As an added bonus, kids are usually more willing to try new and healthier foods if they are part of the cooking process. These seven websites inspire kids of all ages to cook with mom or dad, so check them out, try a recipe together, and let us know which site is your family's favorite resource.
Muffin Tin Chef came to be when author Matt Kadey was working on a magazine assignment that required him to generate a range of recipes using muffin tins. The only stipulation? No muffins! His research led him to develop 101 recipes to take the at-home chef from morning through dessert, and Kadey discovered that muffin tin meals are a fun and easy way for kids to eat. "Preparing muffin-size items takes advantage of a child's preference for easy-to-grab, hand-to-mouth eating. Personal-size treats such as pizza or mac and cheese are sure to be a hit at the dinner table and in the lunchroom."
Check out even more great muffin tin recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert!
Feel free to play with your food! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but active tots aren't always willing to spend time eating it. Before lobbing another round pancake on their plate, take a look at these flapjacks created by a dad of two over at Jim's Pancakes. Using a pancake recipe, food coloring, and a squeeze bottle, he's managed to turn the traditional breakfast favorite into works of art. The picturesque meals may take a lil more effort than a waffle thrown in the toaster or a granola bar on the run, but for a special occasion — like Tuesday's National Pancake Day — or a lazy weekend, this may be all your tyke needs to stay seated at the table.
Photos courtesy of Jim's Pancakes
It's no coincidence that dinnertime falls during the witching hour. While trying to make my kids a healthy dinner, I usually find one tot rifling through the pantry and another racing cars under my feet, until I turn on the TV in hopes of distracting them for 10 minutes so I can simply open the hot oven door without worrying that any lil hands will end up in there.
If this scene sounds familiar at all, then you — like me — are ready for a mealtime makeover. I spoke with kiddie-chef extraordinaire Catherine McCord, founder of Weelicious and mother of two, for some simple, proven tips for getting the kids out from underfoot and up helping to make weekday mealtime run smoothly. Check out her tips!
Source: Weelicious
Ever wonder what somebody who lives in a pineapple under the sea actually eats? The answer may surprise you! SpongeBob and his Bikini Bottom friends have rather imaginative culinary tastes that range from the sweet — like fruit-filled hot dog buns — to the savory — like cheese-filled mushroom caps. The folks over at Nickelodeon have put together 50 SpongeBob-inspired recipes designed to get kids involved in the kitchen. More edible projects than complex recipes, SpongeBob's Kitchen Mission Cookbook ($12) introduces tots to cooking terms while indicating the recipes' difficulty levels so parents know when to involve their kids. In true SpongeBob fashion, the book is filled with wacky banter between the show's characters, all in the name of foodie fun. Check out three creative recipes straight from the book!
Editor's note: The following is a guest post written by Soleil Moon Frye, Target's Mommy Ambassador, author of Happy Chaos, and mom to Poet, 6, and Jagger, 3. This week Soleil shares her tips on bringing her kids into the kitchen.
I've been known to eat dessert first. While my food philosophies may be unorthodox at times, my efforts to make eating fun and exciting for my girls have produced rather impressive palates for two little ones. They love Japanese food, Indian food, veggies, you name it.
One of my tried-and-true strategies for raising well-rounded eaters is to have my kids make some of their own choices in the kitchen. Letting them have a hand in the process gives them a sense of control and empowerment — and trust me, my girls are way more willing to eat a salad that they helped make!
Here are some fun ideas for playing with ingredients in the kitchen:
