If you hold strong opinions about abortion, breastfeeding in public, gay marriage, gun control, politics, religion, the cartoon Caillou, vaccinations, free range parenting, dress codes for girls, organic foods, non organic foods, semi organic foods, or mommy wars at the playground, you might not want to read the rest of this post. But you probably need to.

A Bear In The Zoo Lunch

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post partnering with Smarty Pants Vitamins. I received compensation but all opinions expressed are solely my own.

You can't have much more fun than spending the day at the zoo. The animals, rides, and treats all work together to create such happy experiences. It's definitely one of our family's favorite places to visit. In fact, I can't think of many children who don't have a favorite animal or a fond memory from the zoo. One of my kids' favorite animals to visit at our local zoo are the sun bears. They are fascinating and fun to watch. 

To celebrate that back to school time is almost here I thought I would make my kids a zoo lunch that includes a bear sandwich and balloons! 

The really fun thing is what the balloons are made of. You thought they were fruit snacks didn't you? They are

This Experience Was a Highlight of My Daughter's Summer!

Summertime. Some parents love the unstructured time off while other parents can't wait for school to start again. This summer, we looked for a happy medium. My daughter has loved cooking for quite some time now and we thought it would be well worth it to enroll her in some classes. So where do you go to have your kids learn how to cook? Thankfully we Paulding & Company's COOK! Culinary Programs for kids in the San Francisco Bay Area. They were kind enough to let us experience their program for a week, and it was a highlight of my daughter's summer.

The classes themselves take place in Emeryville California. Celebrities such as Clint Eastwood and Matt Damon have visited this kitchen. Not to mention Top Chef San Francisco was filmed there. The outside of the building looks like a normal office building, but once you enter their actual space, a large commercial kitchen opens up before you. You can also rent out the kitchen for cooking events and parties such as birthdays and rehearsal dinners. 

The week we attended Cook! the focus was on learning how to make a DIY complete meal from start to finish each day. However, there are a variety of different types of classes. You can learn to make pastries, chocolates, sushi, bento, cupcakes, pizza, and much more

Each class holds up to 15 kids but you also have the program head, the chefs, and the interns. The students ranged in age from 9 years old to 15 years old. This week there was

5 Cooking Shows That Rock For Adults AND Kids

Sometimes we don't give kids enough credit. We sit them down in front of the television or iPad and turn on cartoons or traditional "kid shows." There's nothing really wrong with that but what if there was something that kids and parents could watch together? What if there were some shows that entertain both them and us? Recently my daughter was the one who found some of these types of shows on Netflix. She loves cooking so these shows are right in her wheelhouse, but even my 5 year old son enjoys many of these. So if you are looking for an alternative to all of those other kid shows, or just are sick of whiny cartoon characters (you know the baldheaded kid I'm talking about), sit down, grab a cold drink, put your arm around your children, and fire up on of these cooking shows on Netflix.

Cupcake Wars

This might be my kids' favorite cooking show. It pits teams from different cupcake shops against each other for Cupcake Champion. It seems weird to even write that, but it's entertaining and the bakers come up with amazing and artistic ideas. From sweet to savory, the themes they are tasked to work with make for some crazy creations. 

Red, White, and Blue Honey Fruit Pizza

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post partnering with National Honey Board. I received compensation but all opinions expressed are solely my own.

Let's be honest. Pizza is amazing for breakfast, lunch, break time, family dinner, solo dinner, late night snack, or dessert. Yes, that's right, I said dessert. Never had pizza for dessert? Let's fix that right here and now. I have partnered with  National Honey Board to present you with my recipe for Red, White, and Blue Honey Fruit Pizza. I actually made this on the BBQ because it is so easy to grill a pizza. Since you can easily barbeque it, this pizza is perfect for National Grilling Month this July. 

Your party guests will be amazed at your creativity in this out of the box idea that you had. You can go ahead and claim it as your own, I don't mind, you take the glory. The great thing is that by using honey it balances the dish complementing and enhancing the flavors of the fresh fruit with a touch of sweetness. Make sure and share this on social media for National Grilling Month! Also don't forget to check out honey.com for more great recipes that will delight you and your family.

Ingredients
Serves six people

1/2 Cup honey

How to Make Minions Frozen Banana Pops

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post partnering with Fandango Family. I received compensation, but all opinions expressed are solely my own.

I'm not sure there is a much more anticipated family movie this summer than Minions. There is no way to escape the Minions since, over the last few years, they have taken the world by storm. It's for good reason because these little creatures are hilarious! In fact, one of my most popular lunch recipes ever is my Despicable Me Minions lunch. 

I decided that I had to make an easy treat for kids to celebrate the new movie coming out. I came up with these fun frozen banana pops. Not only that, but I am so excited about the movie that I am giving away a $100 Fandango gift card to a lucky Lunchbox Dad reader!

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW, READ THE RECIPE, AND THEN SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM TO ENTER TO WIN A $100 FANDANGO GIFT CARD FROM FANDANGO FAMILY!

These frozen banana pops are really tasty and your kids will be begging for more! Thankfully, I had the chance to see an advanced screening of the Minions movie, with my San Francisco Dads Group, in order to get inspired for this recipe. The movie was absolutely hilarious of course. I was also able to hear more about the great work the Family First Foundation is doing form their spokesmen, NFL stars Marshawn Lynch and Joshua Johnson. The guys were great and Fandango Family put on a terrific event. Below are a few pictures from our time at the theatre.

I am so excited about these Minions Frozen Banana Pops that I put together a very short tutorial video so you can watch precisely how to make them. Watch the 2 minute video first, and then the detailed instructions below will help you blow away your friends and family with this fun treat.

Ingredients
1 Banana (makes two pops)

A Meltdown, A Few Miles, and Many Boxes of Kind Bars

Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad and KIND for this promotion.

This is a busy world we live in. In my family, we are always running from one thing to another hardly ever slowing down enough to enjoy the journey together. I have an 8 year old, 5 year old, and a 1 1/2 year old so our lives are barely ever boring. My kids and I decided to spend the last two weeks trying to see what it would be like to spend more time enjoying this journey together and less time focused on the destination. 


To help accomplish this, we decided to join a cause started by Kind Snacks called #KindMiles Matter. For every mile we walked/biked/swam together as a family Kind Snacks would donate one box of bars to the charity or school of our choice. We told our kids that we