Getting the kids together in the kitchen to make a fun meal or snack is a great way for the family to bond. Try these:

• Cookie cutters can cut cookies and more: Use them to cut sandwiches, fruit, cheese and vegetables into fun shapes. Go wild!

• Ice cream cones scoop bread: Ice cream cones make a great bread alternative: scoop tuna or egg salad into a cone and top with sesame seeds or shredded carrots. Or make a cone-sized cottage cheese sundae by topping it off with chopped nuts, grated cheese and pineapple chunks.

• Throw the dishes out - or at least leave them on the shelf tonight. Serve up individual portions in muffin tins, ice cube trays, egg cartons, cupcake baking cups, party hats, to-go containers - even a pocket from an old shirt (lined with tin foil first).

• Breakfast picnic: Set the alarm earlier than normal, then get your child to help put cereal plastic containers and pack a covered container of milk into a backpack. Grab some fresh fruit and head out to the park, backyard or onto the living room floor for a sunrise picnic. You can also enjoy a full moon dinner picnic.

• Morning parfait: Help your child alternate layers of whole grain cereal (try it stoneground vs. plain whole grain) with layers of whole fruit in a parfait glass or clear plastic cup.

• Make batter for pancakes or muffins from whole grain flour and spoon it into plastic sandwich bags. Close the top. Cut a hole in one corner of the bottom so the batter can be squeezed through it. Now, let the kids go on a cookie sheet or griddle by "drawing" designs, initials, words etc. with the batter. Bake or fry as usual.

• Pour plain or vanilla yogurt (not the "ice cream" type) into a bowl. Chunk up a variety of fruit and serve with toothpicks for dipping.

• Sandwich shapes: Draw an outline of an animal on waxed paper and use as a template to cut sandwiches to shape. Put the cutout drawing over your unsliced sandwich and use a knife to cut the shapes out of the bread.

• Cars and lions: Put together a platter of zucchini, cucumbers, bananas, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, radishes, chunks of fruit along with plenty of toothpicks. Then challenge your little ones to create a replica of their favorite animals or playthings from the vegetables. Eating the creations comes next.

Parenting tip from the trenches:

• Preparing food with your children is a terrific opportunity to teach them about nutrition since a finicky eater is more likely to eat what he or she helps prepare.