Snacktime can be one of the biggest hassles in a Mom's day. It's usually a busy time (late afternoon when you're trying to figure out dinner or finish up the day's to-do list), the kids are cranky, and the last thing you want to do is stop and actually make something. Before you resort to "fresh" from-the-package, nutritionally void snack foods, take a look at these five snack options. All of them can be made ahead of time, when you're already in the kitchen cooking; and all of them get a positive response from hungry kids and health-conscious Moms.

As a parent of three active, energetic young children, I have one automatic outlet that saves my sanity: open a door and send them outside. In spring, we splash in puddles and make mudpies. In summer, we turn on the sprinkler or hide out in the shade of the woods. In fall, we hike our trails and rake leaves. I can be totally involved or just nearby, but they can run, jump, yell, and get that energy out without destroying our house.

Then comes winter.

I love cold weather; fall is my favorite season, and the idea of winter coming just behind only makes it better. But I still hate the loss of the beautiful view out of my kitchen window; after the red and orange and gold of fall, I'm left with brown. The huge expanse of trees across the road is just a huge expanse of brown, and the grass in my front yard fades to a dingy yellow. Even the pine trees get a little puny looking.

A new ten-year study from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University shows that children who eat meals with their families frequently (five times per week or more) are half as likely to try marijuana or smoke cigarettes as their friends who rarely get to sit down and dine with the fam.

Holiday traditions are important to us; they hold us together, remind us of who we are, and give us a way to pass our own memories down from one generation to the next. But sometimes these benefits can get offset by the craziness of trying to do it all: trying to squeeze in so many special moments that we spend money and time we don't have on activities, events and gifts that don't matter. You don't want to waste precious time with your family on traditions that leave you with more guilt than gain. But you also want to have those special moments to look back on. Can a girl have it all? Green, simple, sane and meaningful time with family in the rush of a culture seeped in what seems like endless traditions? Why yes, a girl can have it all. Here's what she needs to do.

It's past Thanksgiving, which means it's open season for marketers, managers and your mother-in-law to tell you what you should be doing, buying, getting, giving, spending, baking, making and wrapping for the perfect family holiday. In order to preserve some of that holiday spirit for your whole family, here are a few ways to keep your sanity in check in the coming weeks.

THIS GIVEAWAY ENDED NOVEMBER 30, 2010.

Babies are bound to happen.  Despite their uber-cuteness, they're kind of like little demanding tyrants: feeding all the time, multiple outfit changes throughout the day and then there's all the napping and constant entertainment they require. Are you prepared? Of course you're not. But that's ok, Organic Authority and Essentia Mattresses are here to help.

(My son has been obsessed with coconuts lately, so I have been filling them with green smoothies and it works, he loves it and drinks a ton of it - ha - make it fun and they will drink/eat it.)

So I figure it's about time to write more about how and what to feed your children so that they are getting optimal nutrition and so that they will actually SWALLOW the healthy stuff. In a perfect world kids would devour green salads, but as we well know that's never the case. I'm not sure if it's a texture thing or what but those greens always seem to get pulled out of the mouth no matter how well you think you're hiding them.

Good news: Going green does not mean spending a lot of green. In fact, you may end up saving money. Think it's too complicated because you have kids and not enough time to figure it out? Even better if you have kids! It's your chance to empower them to reduce their footprint--and improve their future--on the one and only planet available.