The school holidays are a good time to encourage the kids into the kitchen to cook food they love.
The kids will love measuring, mixing and baking their own treats. It may make a mess but it will be lots of fun for them, and you, and there will be a tasty treat at the end of it to share.
On the go snacks
These scrum-my bars are powered with healthy ingredients to give good energy. And keeping with the rugby theme (it is the season after all), these Tight-5 cheese scones will keep everyone on their game.
Cranberry, chocolate and pumpkin seed cookies have the winning energy combination of dried fruit, seeds and chocolate for slow release energy for an active day.
Sweet sweet treats
It is hard to say no to these super sweet treats. All in moderation, of course.
Angela Casley's lolly cake takes no explaining, it's simple, sweet and delicious.
Making marshmallow is a super fun activity, turn it into chocolate fish, marshmallow puffs and marshmallow icey-slicey.
And to round out this sugar fest, fudge and rocky road.
Drinks
The best way to get kids to drink a green smoothie is to include a good dose of fruit to make it naturally sweet and get them to help in the making. Here are three kid-friendly organic smoothies to get started.
Raspberry fizzis a delicious and colourful drink that's great for parties, as is a banana and strawberry milkshake, made with fresh fruit, milk (use nut-based milks for a dairy-free alternative) and honey for a refreshing and nutritious alternative to store-bought shakes.
Cookie time
Kids of all ages love cookies and herea re two that all cooks should know - Anzac biscuits and Afghans.
Chocolate chunk brownies bicuits are best eaten warm to get oozing chocolate, the little ones will love these cute Milo bears and these picnic brownies are Edmond's classic peanut brownie recipe with a few extra add-ins from the cupboard.
For the chocolate lovers
Snack time, tea time or at a party, these recipes deliver on chocolate.
Raspberry chocolate brownie is a delicious twist to the all-time favourite chocolate brownie - use fresh or frozen raspberries. Chocolate scones give a double choc hit with chocolatey bits throughout the rich chocolate scone.
Chocolate and coconut crispy slice has added texture and a coconut rough flavour with the use of dessicated coconut.
A rich chocolate treat for a crowd is this cranberry and chocolate fudge slice with coconut, dried cranberries and biscuits for added crunch factor.
Healthy options
It doesn't have to be all sugar and chocolate at treat time. With the added benefit of being gluten- and dairy-free, these are ideal for kids with special diets.
Nadia Lim's orange, date, coconut seed and honey balls use natural sugars from dates and honey to satisfy the sweet tooth.
Mikki Williden's coconut almond squares contains no refined sugar, although a little melted chocolate on top makes it extra delicious.
And cashew butter chocolate truffles are made with nutritious ingredients (cashew butter, cacao powder, coconut oil, natural sweetener), they're energy-boosting treats that taste too good to be true.
Play dates
Childhood memories of playdates and sleepovers are the best kind. Make them extra delicious with fun foods that the kids will love to feast on.
Caramel popcorn is a favourite treat whether it is nibbled at snack time or movie night.
As are potato chips - these are oven-baked (better than fried) and can be seasoned with a flavoured rub or herbs, or kept simple with a little sea salt.
And here are dinner ideas on how to feed a crowd of hungry kids:
Cool stuff
When the sunshine is out, get the kids into these cool treats.
Icey-slicey with brown sugar wafers as as fun to make as they are to eat.
Refreshing berry yoghurt ice-blocks is a healthy treat that delivers good flavours and plenty of nutrients and fibre from the fruit.
Crunchie bar ice cream will be a real hit with big chunks of Crunchie bar goodness, or get creative with other favourite chocolate bars.
Recipe collections
All recipes in this feature can be found in these collections: