Easter is such a fun time for the entire family. I absolutely love getting my kids in the kitchen with me. I have the perfect Easter cupcake that the kids will love to help put together. I use a bag of candy coated chocolate eggs on top of the cupcakes that lay on top of a bed of chocolate shavings.

Enjoy this beautiful Easter weekend with your family!!

Welcome Home Wonderful

Are your kids trained as well as mine? The minute they walk in the door from school, the backpacks are dropped, the shoes kicked off, and hungry mouths beg, "what can we have for snack?" Most days I try to conjure something clever and ever-so-slightly healthy. We'll pull out cheese and crackers, pop a piece of whole-wheat cinnamon toast on a plate, scoop peanut butter into the center of a hollowed out apple. But, something those stand-by's aren't enough. After all, the kids have been in school all day and they need to snuggle their little bodies up by their mama and get cooking in the kitchen. (Okay, whatevs. Their mama needs to sneak in some serious snuggle time with them. But who's keeping track of which way this all works? Not me. I'm just glad for the time with my cute kids).

On those days when we have 20 minutes to spare and spend together, this is a perfect recipe to stir up. The recipe is so simple, even my tiniest helpers can lend a hand. It's super speedy to make and bake. And, it's the sort of recipe that leaves the kids begging, begging, begging for more! more! more! In short, it's ridiculously quick, easy, and delish. Just the sort of snack that welcomes your kiddos home with a big, warm hug.

Get Your Kids in the Kitchen

One of my favorite parts about this recipe is how many little tasks there are for kids to help with. Whether you're baking with a 2-year-old or 10-year-old, here's how you can get them involved in the afterschool snack making:

• One and Two Year Olds. Invite your teeny tots to sprinkle the cheese into the bowl, and stir the batter to mix the recipe all together.
• Three and Four Year Olds.Preschoolers will love pouring in pre-measured cups of flour, milk, and baking powder.
• Five and Six Year Olds. Kindergarten-aged kiddos will be splendid at cracking the egg. Just make sure you invite them to crack it into a small bowl before adding it to the batter! That way, any bits of shell can be fished out.
• Seven to Ten Year Olds.Invite your grade-schoolers to practice their fractions by measuring out the specific amounts of each ingredient needed.

After a long day of school a quick afternoon snack is always a must have in my house. It gives the little ones some extra energy to tackle their homework and a little outside playtime before dinner is served. The faster the snacks can get on the table the happier you and your little ones will be. My goal when it comes to snacks is to make it quick. Here are some of my favorite quick and easy snack ideas that will make everyone happy.

Black Eyed Pea Salsa

Let's Take a Dip

Kids love anything they can dip! Here are some ideas for them to have fun while dipping and eating something healthy and delicious.

1.) A baggie full of carrot and celery sticks, cucumber and bell pepper slices, sugar snap peas and cherry tomatoes will disappear like magic if there's a bowl of dip to go with them. Make a dip using low fat ingredients. Like hummus, low-fat ranch dressing, bean dip or salsa.

2.) Baked tortilla chips and whole wheat crackers or pita triangles are perfect, nutritious and kid-pleasing accompaniments for dips, too. These can be served with guacomole, black-eyed pea salsa, or hummus.

3.) Sliced fruit takes on a whole new appeal as well when it's accompanied by a sweet, creamy dip. Good fruit dips to include along side the fruit are: flavored yogurt, applesauce, low fat cream cheese sweetened with honey or brown sugar, peanut butter or almond butter.

Mini Pizza Pockets

Be Constructive

Let kids construct their own snacks. You'll keep them occupied and they might be more likely to sample whatever nutritious foods they're working with.

Here are just a few ideas"

1.) Fruit Kabobs: Stick melon balls, berries, pineapple chunks, and cubed peaches, pears or apples onto frilled toothpicks.

2.) Mini Sandwiches: Use crackers or cut-up bread--or give the kids a few slices of bread, lunch meat, and cheese, and a couple of miniature cookie cutters to make tiny, fun-shaped sandwiches.

3.) Pizza: Who can resist pizza? Pizza can be a perfectly healthy snack. Use half an English muffin, a whole pita, or a tortilla as a pizza crust. Let them smear on a bit of bottled tomato sauce, add a light sprinkle of low-fat mozzarella cheese, and then top with chopped vegetables and maybe a bit of lean meat. Heat for a few minutes in the toaster oven or microwave, then cut into triangles for extra kid-appeal. You can also use already prepared pizza dough and make homemade Pizza Pockets.

Oatmeal Cranberry Dark Chocolate Cookies

Healthy Substitutions

Even traditional desserts can become healthy, well-balanced snacks.

1.) Make cookies and muffins with applesauce in place of some of the fat, and add oats, dried fruit, nuts and whole wheat flour. One of my families favorite cookies are Oatmeal Cranberry Dark Chocolate Cookies. They are packed with oats, whole grains, dried fruit, and sweetened using apple butter.

2.) Achieve the cool, creamy deliciousness of ice cream with low fat frozen yogurt, or pudding made with nonfat milk and frozen into pops.

3.) Top a big, fluffy slice of angel food cake with fresh fruit to add vitamins and fiber, or cut it into cubes for dipping into fruit-flavored yogurt for an extra dose of calcium.

Snack Zone

Another idea when it comes to afternoon snack time is setting up a "snack zone". When hungry kids burst through the front door after school, they grab whatever is easy and available. So it's best to have a few things prepared in advance. Designate one shelf of the refrigerator and/or pantry as the "snack shelf," with the understanding that anything that's on that shelf is okay to eat without having to ask permission first. Then, stock the shelf with several choices--a little healthy variety to hold the kids' interest and keep you from worrying about them overloading on junk.

Chewy Granola Bars

Extracurricular activities keep some kids at school throughout the afternoon. Fruit, vegetable sticks, crackers, cheese, homemade chewy granola bars, healthy cookies, and muffins, and peanut butter sandwiches are all high-energy foods that hold up well in a locker until your hungry kid is ready for a homemade pick-me-up.

Happy Snacking Everyone! I hope these snack ideas come in handy for everyone.

Would love to hear your quick and easy ideas for afternoon snacks too. Let me know your go-to snack for the kids when they get home from school.

Have your kids ever come home from school and begged you for ice cream before dinner? Especially with the warmer days approaching ice cream becomes an irresistible treat in the middle of the afternoon. But, you don't want your kids filling up on ice cream every day, even though it's hard not giving in to their cute pleading faces. When my son asks for "tooties, pease" (cookies, please) any time of day I have a hard time resisting because he says it so sweetly and it is just so darn cute! But, I reign in my willpower and usually give in with the sweetness of fruit instead.

Luckily for me my son loves fruit on it's own. But, that doesn't mean that I don't want to give him an extra special treat just because. That's where this 5 Minute Chunky Monkey Ice Cream comes in. With only three ingredients I think this can classify as the simplest ice cream ever. Although technically it's not ice cream since it contains no milk products (Great for those kiddos who are lactose intolerant!). The hardest part is remembering to pop some peeled bananas in the freezer because they are the base of the ice cream.

It is amazing what happens to a banana once it is frozen and pureed. It becomes, remarkably, a lot like ice cream. Your kids will feel like they're getting an extra special treat in the middle of the day, but really they'll be eating fruit. Even when I'm eating this I have to remind myself that it's not ice cream. The texture of the banana as it "melts" in your mouth is not unlike the silky texture of custard. Ever since I ate the Chunky Monkey Supreme version below I have been craving it for dessert after dinner. If it has me fooled into wanting bananas for dessert I'm sure it will be a hit with your kids as well.

I love getting creative when it comes to after school snacks. It seems like the second the kids run through the door, take off their shoes and toss their backpacks down, they are rummaging through the cupboards to find a snack.

It can get tough sometimes to think of new snacks for the kiddos. I have created this fun popcorn that all of the kids are going to just love. It's a spin on the very popular peanut butter and jelly combination.....this time in popcorn form.

I've tossed freshly popped popcorn with a warm peanut butter mix and serve it with a side of warm jelly for dipping. Watch the kids faces when you treat them with this fun after school snack. Lots of smiles for sure!