Blog Posts by Yahoo! Contributor Network

Use pumpkin in muffins for a kid-friendly recipe.My daughter loves helping me in the kitchen. Unfortunately, not every meal I make is conducive to a tiny budding chef. When I'm looking for fun fall recipes for my children and I to do together, there are several tried and true favorites that my family adores.

Seasonal cereal treats

My daughters adore marshmallow and crispy rice cereal treats. Fall is the perfect time to add some color to this yearlong treat. Consider dipping half of a cereal treat in orange, yellow, or green candy coating (available at your local craft store) or melted milk chocolate. Add edible eyes and a chocolate drizzle mouth to add some spook to these seasonal creatures. Or, stick with basic fall colors for a simple Thanksgiving treat the kids can help create without too much fuss.

Homemade applesauce

Ever since my daughters made applesauce at preschool several years ago they've been on me to make applesauce at home. Fall is the perfect time of year for this family-friendly fall recipe. Start with a

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Make baking fun and healthy.














It's a well-known fact that most kids love helping in the kitchen, and with the bonding and educational experiences it brings, baking is a welcome tradition in many families. If it were up to my son, though, the only things we'd bake in our kitchen would be chocolate chip cookies and brownies. And though I completely understand (and share) his sweet tooth, it's my role as a mom to teach him healthy eating - and cooking - habits. Here are seven tips for healthy baking with your children:

1. Bake with vegetables - There's a mystique to vegetables, in that anything becomes edible when it's in a baked product. When baking with your children, add grated or pureed vegetables that your children may not otherwise eat, such as zucchini, spinach, squash or carrots. Not only will this broaden their palate and familiarize the tastes of healthy foods, but children will learn that vegetables can actually taste really delicious.

2. Substitute your oil - Cut out some of the fat in your baking by

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Racing the clock each morningUsually when I hear discussions of crazy morning routines, it sounds like the kids are behind the chaos. If only they would get up when the alarm goes off, or eat their cereal and stop asking for pancakes!

Here's my confession. In my house, I am the major culprit behind the morning crazies.

Yes, my 5-year old will dawdle. Time is a meaningless term for her. My husband is the early bird, ensuring my daughter gets up and has a decent breakfast. Me? I struggle to rise because I'm a night owl. In my first half hour, I make lunches and gather school supplies in a barely muttering, zombie-like state. In the next half hour, I'm already running behind, I need to shower and dress (to my credit, I do both quickly), so I let my daughter watch Sesame Street or Curious George. She becomes hypnotized and distracted, holding the clothes she is supposed to be putting on.

The clock ticks down. I get stressed as I supervise her painstakingly-slow tooth brushing and hair combing. Maddeningly, the more

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First, you'll need to empty the whole closet!

If you're like me, there's a door in your house you ignore whenever possible. When necessary, you yank it open, try not to look too carefully at what's inside, grab what you need and close the door before you get any ideas. Better to face facts: it's time to do another linen closet clean-up.

It doesn't have to be a horrible or haphazard experience. With a few steps, you'll get it out of the way and free up time to watch that game with the family (or play one, for that matter).

First, empty out the entire closet.

Don't try to organize it shelf-by-shelf, because you can't actually see what you've got until it's all displayed in front of you. Volunteer the dining room table for this duty so you've got a nice big area to spread it all out.

Sort it out.

Grab a box and load it up with anything that's faded, torn or in any other way not entirely usable. Cut it into rags or fold it and set it aside for donations. No matter how worn, old blankets and towels will be eagerly

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Make sure your trick-or-treaters get a healthy dinner before heading out.Kids look forward to Halloween all year long. From the time they get home from school they start begging to put on their costumes and swear they're not hungry. Trying to get them to sit down long enough to eat a healthy and nutritious dinner can be next to impossible. Sending them out to trick-or-treat for candy with an empty stomach, however, is probably not an option.

Serving them a nutritious finger food entrée helps get their mind off the distraction of Halloween. You can even have them grab one to go as you're walking out the door. Here are some great ideas for quick and healthy Halloween dinners that will get your kids' attention and fill them up.

Chicken and Broccoli Roll-Ups - These simple kid-pleasers are easy to make and pack a lot of nutrition in every bite. Use low fat chicken lunch meat from your deli counter, and cook your broccoli in advance. Spread some shredded cheese atop a slice of chicken and then sprinkle on some of the cooked, chopped broccoli. Roll them up

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Keep your kitchen effortlessly clean with these easy tips.

If your kitchen is one of the biggest problem areas in your home, you'll need a cleaning strategy that won't eat hours out of your day! This high-traffic area that can accumulate a lot of dirt, debris, and germs over the course of a single day. Keeping those floors and countertops sparkly clean might feel like an impossible mission, but there are some simple, low-maintenance ways to keep the entire area pristine, organized, and free of germs.

Here are eight cleaning shortcuts to help you get that kitchen in great shape, fast:

1. Steam-clean the microwave. One of the easiest ways to clean the microwave is to put about three or four wet paper towels inside and heat them on high for about five minutes. The steam from the towels will make it much easier to loosen up grime and food particles. Just wipe the inside down with a kitchen cleaner and you'll be good to go.

2. Disinfect the garbage disposal. This is one of my favorite tricks for keeping the garbage disposal clean and

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Make sure to disinfect your kids' hands after school.

From the moment your child leaves your front step, to the moment they return, their hands touch an innumerable amount of objects. Bus seats, door handles, coat racks, desks, playground equipment, shared school supplies, library books, lunch trays, drinking fountains, musical instruments, computer keyboards -- and don't forget about the restroom. If the possibilities of winning the lottery were as good as contracting germs in a school, let's just say we'd all be filthy rich. So what can you do about it? How can you protect your child (and family) from these nasty predators before they invade your home?

As a teacher, I have learned a few tricks along the way that help keep me and my students healthy. Here's what you can do when they get home.

1. Throw away or clean water bottles each day. This may seem simple and common sense, but eco-friendly people often just refill their bottles and continue to use them. I'm all for saving money and the environment, but some of my students Read More »from 5 Ways to De-Germ Your Child After School

Spread out bathroom time to avoid morning struggles.

"Stop banging on the door! I'll be out in a minute!" I can't believe that my oldest daughter is only eight years old and I've already heard these words uttered in my home. The kids have gotten pretty good about sharing their toys and books. We haven't, however, managed to share those bathrooms with quite as much ease. So, how do we manage our family bathroom time?

Spread out.

We're lucky enough to have two and a half bathrooms in our house, but that doesn't mean that we aren't juggling showers, teeth, hair, and time in front of the mirror, especially with a family of five (four of whom are girls). We've found that spreading out in the mornings helps us be more efficient. The kids brush their teeth and do their hair downstairs in the half bathroom. My husband gets ready for work in the master bath. I share with my husband or get ready in the kids' bathroom. This way everyone is able to get out the door on time and we aren't all on top of each other.

Take it out of the

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