snacks Archives | Cool Mom Picks

The coolest lunch box accessories, water bottles, and other goodies to make school lunch more fun | Back to School Shopping Guide

by Liz Gumbinner | Back to School Shopping, School Gear

Each year, in our annual back to school shopping guide, we always love tracking down those cool lunch box accessories, water bottles, bentos, and other fun goodies that help make opening that same old lunch box every day a little more special. Only last year… we...

Easy ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the kids, without leaving the house

by Christina Refford | Party Ideas

With so much uncertainty around us right now, I understand that many of us may be feeling pretty determined to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the kids as normally as possible. . .especially since we now have SO MUCH TIME TOGETHER with them. And, luckily, there...

12 summer essentials you’ll always find in our handbags, for travel or every day

by Cool Mom Staff | Food + Recipes, Tips + Tricks

Whether we moms are hitting the road for vacation, or just shuttling the kids back and forth to camp every day, we’ve always got a list of essentials in our handbags that we can’t live without. It’s part of our summer ritual: switch the black leather...

What’s in your bag? 16 items I never leave home without.

by Kristen Chase | Fashion

Over the years, I’ve carried many bags, and collected a whole lot of things in them. Helicopter toy? Check! Hand sanitizer? Always. 40 broken crayons? Got ’em. Ah, parenting. But, save the rare date nights when I’m carrying a small clutch, there are...

Great ideas for sweet after-school treats that go easy on the sugar. (Sorry cookies!)

by Stacie Billis | Food + Recipes

When my kids were younger, after-school snacks served largely as a reward for making it through the school day. Now that they are a bit older, what they eat after school and before their after-school activities provides necessary fuel to keep them going strong through...

Boost your beginner eater’s diet with these 10 best superfoods for babies and toddlers.

by Stacie Billis | Baby, Food + Recipes

We here on the CMP team have a lot of collective parenting experience under our belts — or, uh, stretchy waist bands — and one thing that we all agree on is that starting solids is one of the most exciting and overwhelming developmental stages....

Eliminating food dyes from your kids snacks? Start with these 3.

by Cool Mom Staff | Food + Recipes, Tips + Tricks

When it comes to treats and candy for our kids, we’ve always take a pretty common sense “everything in moderation” approach around here. Hey, we love candy! What’s a trip to the movie theater, a birthday party, or a special occasion lunchbox...

An unexpected way to turn snack time into together time — even with older kids.

by Stacie Billis | Tips + Tricks

My kids are wiped when they get home from school. They always seem to need a snack to recharge and a bit of time to zone out before gearing up for the rest of their day, whether it be for basketball practice, homework, or just running around for some free play time....

Yummy and totally easy Valentine’s Day treats for the classroom that there’s still time to make. Because procrastinators give love too!

by Stacie Billis | Food + Recipes

‘Tis the weekend to make those classroom valentines if you haven’t already (ahem, like me and my boys). But no worries: Sometimes being a procrastinator works in your favor. For example, edible gifts shouldn’t be made more than a couple of days ahead...

9 outrageous snack recipes kids will love with one very special secret ingredient.

by Stacie Billis | Food + Recipes

I have a confession: I’m a recovering cereal addict. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and have on occasion—and, would eat it at every snack time if I could. As would my kids. In fact, cereal is one my of our secret ingredients when making a few of...

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Picks in 2006 to help make life cooler, more meaningful, and more fun for parents of all kinds.

Trivia: It was called Cool Mom Sh*t for the first two days. (Yeah, we rethought that.)

We had no idea our site would grow to become a major lifestyle network, that we'd end up sharing our finds with the TODAY Show and Martha Stewart, that we'd be able to make a real difference for so many small businesses and women-run companies, or that we'd end up with an incredible community of the coolest readers on the planet. (If we do say so ourselves).

We still love what we do every single day. And we're so glad you're here.