Over the past year, we have been pinning and repinning some great activities, recipes and DIY’s for our Pinterest fans and we thought it would be a great idea to put them all together and showcase what you pinned as  Our Top 12 Pins of 2012!!

Pin #12: Healthy After School Snacks – “Little Noshy Food for Little Hands” via @Brifriend

 Great idea for keeping your little ones’ food separate for picking throughout the day. Not to mention the healthy snacks they won’t resist.

Pin #11: Healthy School Lunch Ideas – “Yummy Laptop Lunch Ideas” via @LaptopLunches

Simple, yummy & healthy lunches look delicious when they are packed in these colorful containers. Be sure to send your little one to school with this awesome bento-box-styled lunchbox.

Pin #10: Healthy Recipes for the Whole Family – “Creative Healthy Kids Meals” via @LivingGreenwithBaby

Fans love creative ways to get kids excited about eating foods they often push away.

 

Pin #9: Back to School – “17 Healthy breakfasts for your kids to start back-to-school off on the right foot” via @Delishcom

It is key to start off a kids day with a healthy & nutritious breakfast.  Check out what our fans love.

Pin #8:  Healthy After School Snacks – “Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins! 75 calories for each, great for the season!!”  via @taralynnmcnitt

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins were a big hit this year for our fans; check out the recipe from this blogger.

  

Pin #7: Healthy Recipes for the Whole Family – “Buffalo Chicken Bites…YES!” via @KuntalsKitchen

When you’re in need of something tasty for the kids or something quick for the adults during football season, try making these delicious, buffalo bites that are baked (not fried) to perfection. Happy Healthy Snacking!

Pin #6: Fun things to do with Kids – “Great idea for positive reinforcement” via @kreitzer

TRY THIS: Instead of focusing on the negative, focus on the positive with this activity for your kids. During the day add positive notes to this bowl and your child can see how great they are behaving.

Pin #5: Thanksgiving – “Fruit Gobbler” via @Spoonful

Have your kids create this fruit gobbler for your thanksgiving table and it will surely add something to talk about during your holiday meal.

Pin #4: Fun Things to do with Kids – “DIY Kids Name Stamp.  Easy as 1,2,3 #HappyStamping” via @noflashcards

 Add some personality to your kids crafts with this name stamp with their handwriting. Great to use when sending out holiday and thank you cards, too!

Pin #3: Fun Things to do with Kids – “10 Simple Ways To Make Your Child’s Day – love these ideas” via @childhoodbeckon

Check out these ways to brighten your child’s day.

Pin #2: Fun Foods Ideas – “Santa Hat Cookies, Great for a holiday game night!” via @Parents

 Everyone will love these santa hat cookies, especially the kiddos!

Pin #1: Holiday Celebration – “IT’S ON OUR CHRISTMAS LIST! Holiday Cake Pops Recipe” via @BHG

These cake pops will be the talk of the night.  Make these with your kids and give them out at the end of the night.  It will serve as a little personalized gift from your family to theirs.

What were some of your favorite ideas, recipes that you learned from Pinterest?  And, for more fun ideas, make sure to follow us on Pinterest at KidfreshFoods.

Happy Holidays and Happy 2013 from the Kidfresh Family!

You know those summer heat waves when temperatures are way too hot to slave over the stove?

Well, that shouldn’t mean you can’t still make something delicious, nutritious, and substantial for your family.

Meals like salads are ideal when the temperature starts to climb, but you may have a hard time to get your children eat your classic Chicken Cesar Salad.

Check out our kid-friendly Kidfresh Rainbow Rice Salad Recipe which will make your children eat a wide variety of colorful vegetables! Continue reading…

 

Sugar is an ingredient that has been the center of a lot of debate lately. For all the hype on both sides of the controversy, the truth may surprise you. Pediatricians and nutritionists agree: In modest amounts, sugar can have a healthful place in a child’s diet. But many kids get too much, too often. Worse, sugar-rich foods tend to be full of empty calories and often displace the nutritious foods children need.

Not only does this mean they miss out on key nutrients, this also puts them at risk for poor bone density, type 2 diabetes and obesity. A 12-ounce can of soda contains ten teaspoons of sugar (160 calories), and many sweetened fruit drinks have as much or more. That’s one reason the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a policy statement in January urging schools to stop offering sweetened drinks in cafeterias and vending machines.

And of course, sugary foods don’t exactly make your child’s pearly whites any whiter. Excess sugar in young children’s diets is thought to be the reason that 28 percent of two- to five-year-olds have cavities in their baby teeth. So how can you limit sugar in your kid’s life?

Continue reading…

If children’s nutrition is hard to tackle in your household, you’re not alone. As these quotes from our Kidfresh blogger moms testify, many parents worry about what their children eat — and don’t eat.

“As a Mom one thing I worry about most is nutrition. Little Miss Diva in Training is your typical toddler and is beyond picky. She LOVES fruits and will eat them all day long if I let her. But when it comes to veggies she is less than happy to consume what is put on her plate at meal times. I am constantly worrying if Miss Diva is eating a well balanced diet that she needs to grow.” Jamie, Love to Shop Mom. Continue reading…