Here are a few new ideas to brighten up everyone’s morning:

Get the whole family to cook.

Getting everyone in the family to help out in the kitchen is easy, especially on weekends, and they’ll love feeling more involved. The next time you make breakfast, ask your kids to help you. Enjoy connecting as a family and building memories you will all cherish for years to come.

Set up a pancake bar.

Make a weekend breakfast extra special by setting up a short-order pancake station in your kitchen. Offer different flavors of pancake mix, set out chocolate chips, sliced fruit or any other ingredients to create special pancakes that appeal to your family. Don’t forget to top each pancake with a pat of butter or a dollop of whipped cream and, of course, warm syrup. If you use a microwavable syrup bottle, like Hungry Jack, you can microwave the whole bottle and pour hot syrup straight onto your pancakes with no mess.

Host a breakfast lottery.

Do your kids complain about having to eat the same thing every day? Surprise them with a special breakfast lottery. Have ingredients on hand for several breakfast entrees, like pancakes, waffles, or crepes. Put the names of each breakfast item in a hat and make whichever one you draw. This makes for an entertaining and suspenseful breakfast.

Try a new recipe.

Mini pancake kabobs

When it comes to breakfast kabobs, the possibilities are endless. Mini pancake kabobs are a lively twist on a classic breakfast. All you need for this recipe, courtesy of I Heart Naptime Blog, is a pancake mix, like Hungry Jack Complete Buttermilk Pancake and Waffle Mix, syrup, kabob skewers and your favorite pancake toppings. Cook small, cookie-sized pancakes on a griddle.  Then, stack them on skewers with toppings like fruit and peanut butter. Top each kabob off with a drizzle of warm syrup.

Lemon ricotta pancakes, courtesy of Lauren’s Latest blog

Yield: Six 4-inch pancakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pancake mix, such as Hungry Jack Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
• zest of 2 small lemons
• powdered sugar, for garnish
• Hungry Jack syrup

Directions:

In a medium sized bowl, stir pancake mix, water, ricotta cheese and lemon zest together until mostly smooth with a few small lumps. Fry on a lightly greased nonstick skillet until golden brown. Serve with powdered sugar and warm syrup.

Start your day with a satisfying breakfast while enjoying the company of your loved ones. Get creative and try some of these ideas for a whole new take on the first meal of the day.

*BPT

The post Start your day with fun: 4 fresh takes on breakfast appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

Whether your favorite holiday arrives in spring, summer, winter or fall, seasonal treats can sweeten your enjoyment of the season. No one wants to miss the coveted special flavors and offerings that appear on store shelves for short stints and are quickly cleared out by that clever “seasonal snack stockpiler” who is always one step ahead of you. So here’s your guide to the top treats to watch for this spring, and throughout the year.

Spring

It might still be too chilly to feel like spring in some areas of the country, but St. Patrick’s Day undoubtedly marks the start of the springtime snacking season. Milkshake lovers will kick things off with mint-green milkshakes, and quickly turn their attention to Easter candies and snacks.

Chocolate and marshmallow sweets are the traditional stars of Easter baskets across the country – for both the young, and the young at heart. It is no surprise that 71 percent of parents who celebrate Easter admit to sneaking snacks from their kids’ baskets, according to the Cheetos survey.

Of course, everyone is familiar with jelly beans, peanut butter eggs, chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks, but the majority of consumers say they desire more variety beyond just candy. This year, there’s a new must-try alternative to satisfy the search for something beyond the candy animal monotony. Cheetos Sweetos, the cinnamon-sugar version of everyone’s favorite cheddar cheese snacks is reappearing in stores — and Easter baskets — this spring, but only for a limited time. Launched in 2015, Sweetos snacks are the perfect, and delicious, twist on Easter snacking.

Summer

Frozen treats are the highlight of summer, but not just the ice cream quarts you find year-round in the freezer cases at your local grocer. Summer means the ice cream truck will be rolling through neighborhood streets, sounding that familiar melodic “come and get it” tune and serving up frozen favorites that you just can’t find anywhere else —  or at any other time of year.

You can’t go wrong with the missile-shaped, multi-colored ice pops that beckon from beside a myriad of fruit-flavored cream pops, or reliable favorites like ice cream sandwiches and chocolate-topped cones. And don’t forget snow cones — the refreshing shaved ice in perfect spheres mounted on a paper funnel and topped with your favorite sweet flavoring!

Fall

Of course everyone knows fall is pumpkin season — and you should take every chance to enjoy all things pumpkin-flavored this time of year, from coffee and ice cream to bread, cake and pie.

However, autumn also heralds state fair season across the country — and the arrival of a variety of innovative sweet treats that can only be enjoyed among the unique surroundings of fair rides, tickets and games. Funnel cakes are a state fair staple, and what could be better when the weather gets nippy than enjoying lightly sweetened, deep-fried dough dusted heavily with confectioner’s sugar? Depending on where you live in the country and which fair you attend, you can find over-the-top sweets and snacks such as deep-fried ice cream, fried candy bars and even pretzel-encrusted brownies deep-fried on a stick.

Winter

Of course, winter holidays are the pinnacle of seasonal snacking. From the final weeks of pumpkin season to the eggnog, candy canes and baked goods associated with holiday moments from Thanksgiving through New Year’s, winter serves up a buffet of food and snacks that are available at no other time of year.

Winter’s arrival means anticipated delicacies like gingerbread-flavored everything, bite-sized candy favorites that marry mint and chocolate in holiday shapes, and of course the much-maligned and equally beloved fruit cake all hit store shelves just in time to make the holiday party circuit!

Whatever your preference — savory, salty or sweet — make sure to enjoy these snacking staples throughout the year. But remember that seasonal treats come and go quickly, so be ready to grab a bag of Sweetos snacks, remember to listen for the ice cream truck’s playful tune, try your state’s delicacies and fill stockings with enough gingerbread cookies or mint-themed chocolate drops to last through the end of the year!

*BPT

The post Don’t miss these must-have snacks that define each season of the year appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.