Photo by Jana Morgan

“When I pick my kids up from school, they’re always hungry!” laughs Sarah Burns, professional blogger of The ‘Ohana Mama. “There’s usually an activity to rush off to, but a few days a week we go straight home and can make a proper snack.”

Making bagel pizzas are the standing favorite with her kids, Cameron, 9, and Leah, 6, mostly because they can do everything themselves (and the gooey cheese doesn’t hurt, either!) They love how hands on it is.

Cooking together is something the family is doing more of.

“Leah loves to be in the kitchen with me, helping to cut vegetables, stirring bowls, she loves to get her hand dirty,” says Sarah. “They’re my sous chefs.”

“My kids, like many kids, don’t really like vegetables. I find when the kids participate in preparing and cooking their own food it helps with making it a positive experience and they usually end up eating some vegetables.”

Sarah Burns started The ‘Ohana Mama (theohanamama.com) in 2008 to focus on family life in the islands. Her “parenting dispatches from Maui” happen while scrambling to and from swimming, gymnastics, or simply shell hunting at the beach.