This is a sponsored post in partnership with fightbac.org. All opinions are my own. 

If you have older kids like I do, they not only want more sophisticated lunches, but they also want to help in the kitchen. I think this is fantastic because not only do I have the opportunity to get creative in making fun lunches for a middle schooler, but sometimes I even get her to help! Those times when we cook, bake, or make creative food together are also times when I get to talk to her about safety in the kitchen. 

There are the obvious food safety rules like washing your hands before you start touching anything. But the ones that get her are things like making her wash her hands again after she touches her phone (yuck). Food safety doesn't have to be complicated, but it is important, so that is why I thought it was time to put together a fun recipe, like my Flower Garden Food Art Lunch, with some tips from www.fightbac.org to help reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses. 

In fact, fightbac.org has a fantastic campaign going on right now called #TheStoryofYourDinner to help educate families on the importance of food safety. For example, did you know that children under 7-years-old are at a higher risk of serious food poisoning? Make sure to head to the fightbac website for more tips after you read my instructions for making this fun school lunch for your kids!

How to Make a Sloth School Lunch Recipe For Your Kids!

 This is a sponsored post in partnership with Quaker Chewy bars. All opinions are my own.

Now that the school year is in full swing, I thought I would try a new food art recipe. I wanted to create a design that my kids would love, but that I had never made before. I spotted these new Quaker Chewy Dipps Sloth-Tastic bars and I had my inspiration! Can you believe that I have never made a sloth school lunch before? I figured it was time to change that. This sloth sandwich lunch is great for a lunch at school, at home, or even an after school snack!

Ever since these new Quaker Dipps Sloth-Tastic bars came in the door my kids have been begging to have them again and again. They love them! These granola bars are made with 100% whole grains and other delicious ingredients, dipped and drizzled with vanilla cream. Don't get me wrong they taste pretty darn good but as a parent what I love is that Quaker is partnering with AdoptAClassroom.org. 

Just visit QuakerBacktoSchool.com and enter the UPC code on participating Quaker products from now until 9/30/20. The school of your choice could be one of three daily winners of a $1,000 credit to AdoptAClassroom to help purchase classroom school supplies. For more information, including participating Quaker products and official rules, visit QuakerBacktoSchool.com. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit is one entry per day/email address.

How to Make a Nike Air Force 1 Shoes Food Art Bento Lunch Recipe!

This lunch is for all the sneakerhaed dads and kids out there! It's back to school time and is also my daughter's birthday this week. She is growing up and in 8th grade (what?!) so her lunches have become more simple, yet sophisticated, and focus on different things. This summer she REALLY wanted Nike Air Force 1's. If you aren't familiar with these shoes they are a classic and always seem to be in style. I thought it would be fun to get matching pairs for her and I, and surprise her with them!

How to Make a Back-to-School Food Board!

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Duda Farms. All opinions are my own. 

It's back-to-school and while this doesn't look like any previous year, there are things we can do to celebrate our kids and help them usher in this new (and different) school year. It's no secret that my family loves food boards, but we have never made one for school, until now! This is perfect for after school when your kids get home, for lunch if they are learning from home, or even as a fun family dinner to talk about what everyone learned during the week. We ate this board for dinner and my whole family devoured it!

The brilliant thing about a food board is that you can mix together different types of food to make everyone happy! For this back-to-school food board I used veggies, such as Dandy Radishes for the pencils, hearts, and stars, fruit for the flowers, meat, cheese, dips, and even alphabet cookies for a dessert. 

The Top Back-to-School Gear For Virtual, Traditional, Blended, or Homeschool Learning!

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Dick's Sporting Goods. All opinions are my own.

Getting ready for this school year has been one of the most complicated back-to-school times that I can remember. No matter if you are getting one, three, or six kids prepared to start the school year, we are all trying to figure out the best choice for our families. For most of us the choice is virtual, traditional, blended, or homeschool. After we decide the best way for our children to be educated, the next choice is the best supplies for them!

You have to make the first choice but I'm here to help you with the second choice. We did much of our back-to-school shopping this past weekend, both in store and online, so we could bring you some of the top items we found for this school year! Thankfully you can find all of this gear at Dick's Sporting Goods, either at your local store, online, or even ordering online and using curbside touchless pickup.

How to Make an Apple Owl Lunch For Your Kids!

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Chelan Fresh. All opinions are my own.

When it comes to school, so much is up in the air right now. Will it be completely online? Will it be in person in the classroom? One thing is not uncertain, our kids are going to need lunch! Well if it was up to them they would want breakfast, snack, second snack, lunch, the sequel to lunch, dinner (but not the dinner you made), and then dessert. This is why I love having meal plans in my back pocket that can work for any meal, like this owl food art idea, and also why I love Rockit (™) apples!

Kid-Friendly Recipe Ideas to Make With Your Family!

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Arm & Hammer. All opinions are my own.

I have had so much fun baking with your family this week at Arm & Hammer Summer Camp! I hope you have enjoyed it as well and that your kids have learned how much joy they can find in baking, science, and crafting with Baking Soda. But guess what? The week isn't over yet! We still have a few recipes to make and since camp is available on-demand, remember that you can watch the videos whenever you want. This also means that parents, if you haven't joined us this week yet, you still can. Just head over to the YouTube channel to jump right in to camp!

One of the best parts of these recipes is that it has helped me bond even more with my daughter. When we were working on these recipes, we had the opportunity to bake side-by-side and it’s an experience that I hope you and your kids get to enjoy as well. In fact, my family has been doing the science and crafting activities too!

Because I believe so much in this virtual summer camp, I wanted to offer you an easy way to access the downloadable recipe activities and watch the videos. Don't forget that this camp may look, feel, and sound like it is for your kids, but it is designed for you parents! During each session we intentionally build in time where your kids are busy baking and you get a few moments to relax and enjoy a little "you time."

Check below for all the links you will need to make more memories with your kids and summer camp strong!