cooking with kids

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:

What's not to like about apples and honey? The two main ingredients of Rosh Hashanah just happen to be sweet enough to land on kids' lists of favorite foods — lucky us! Combine those flavors into a cupcake, and then mama will really make the kids happy. While the lil ones may not have fun preparing brisket and soup for the holiday dinner, this easy, kid-friendly Honey Apple Cupcake recipe from The Shiksa in the Kitchen is a perfect way to get tots involved in the meal (just be sure not to feed them to babies less than a year old — most doctors don't allow them to eat honey). While the cupcakes are baking, they can help cut out the included printables that add some festive flair to the dessert!

Keep reading to see the recipe for these yummy (and easy!) cupcakes.

Tear off a piece of sweetness! Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown tonight, and the holiday is rich in symbolism and tradition. The standard Friday night challah (or egg bread) is braided into a circle to celebrate the cyclical nature of the calendar while apples (also round) and honey are eaten to usher in a sweet new year.

While mom (or grandma) may do the bulk of the holiday cooking, inviting lil ones in to the meal prep process is easy and fun for the whole family. This round apple challah is filled with plenty of kid-friendly ingredients (apples and sugar) and needs a lot a kneading – a task practically calling for tiny hands!

See the recipe and step-by-step directions when you read more

Bring out the apron – the Garner-Affleck household is cooking! Jennifer Garner joined some local Hollywood minichefs to whip up some healthy treats at the launch of the Frigidaire Kids' Cooking Academy yesterday, and we were there! The actress, and mom of our readers' choice for the most stylish tot of the year, is working with Chef Mary Sue Milliken to inspire families to cook more nutritiously. Each time a parent signs up to receive the duo's daily kid-friendly cooking tips through the Academy, Frigidaire will donate $1 toward Save the Children's campaign to bring healthy food to underprivileged children.

We spoke with Violet and Seraphina's mama about encouraging healthy eating at home, the best parenting advice she ever received, and her upcoming Valentine's Day plans. Check it out below!