The weather is getting nicer and the kids will be out of school for break before we know it.

So, I thought we open this discussion: How do you keep the kids busy and interested in the kitchen during vacation? 

Do your kids work in the garden with you? Are they more involved in the meal preparation? Share your stories, ideas, and recipes on how to make this summer memorable for kids. 

Sincerely, Cate

PS: Here are some kid friendly recipes for this summer! Here are a few more kid inspired ideas. 

Well we always make sugar cookies and use vanilla frosting to decorate them! We also start to plant and get the garden together! The kids really love to see the food start and then feel so proud when the vegetables that they plant go on to the table!

One memory I have for summers in the kitchen is making homemade frozen pops!

My mom, my sister and I would all different kinds of flavors. You could but any kind of juice or make a smoothie flavor (my favorite was Banana!) I just called her for the recipe:

She said the recipe was: 

3-4 Ripe Bananas

1 package of Vanilla or Banana Pudding

And the amount of milk that is required for the box of pudding.

Put all the things in blender and mix. Pour and freeze! My childhood friends still talk about this recipe.

Now there are plenty of different container choices.

These are cute: http://www.pillsburystore.com/p-118886-2740-popsicles_SiliconeZone-Freezer-Pop-Mold-Bright-Blue-2-oz.aspx?Ntt=popsicles&Ntx=mode%20matchall&Nty=1&Ntk=All 

I’ve heard that little dixie cups work just as well.

If you don’t have time to mix and pour… you can freeze your Yoplait Yogurts and eat them with a spoon (Plus you can always clean them afterwards and use them again!

Looking for frozen pops for you though? This book cake up… with recipes like Sweet Martini Pop… 

Summer is it sometimes too hot to cook so we eat alot of cold suppers, like salads), and we grow our own fresh sprouts to put on them. Growing sprouts is something that kids can do easily. Alfalfa and clover are quite mild in flavor and go well on salads of picky eaters

You can get alot of information at http://www.sproutpeople.com and also find sprouting tools for purchase there as well.

To be frugal, we use a clean glass jar (like mayo comes in) and then use a clean nylon stocking with a rubber band for the lid.