So far, we've shown you our favorite farm-themed cakes, R2D2 cakes, and even Very Hungry Caterpillar cakes. Now it's time for castles! Whether your kid is into the knight or princess aspect, the contest submissions below are sure to inspire.


Want more? Click through the slideshows of our favorite submissions from the first week and the second week, and check back here every few days for even more.

And remember, you still have time to send us your own cake photo. The deadline is midnight September 15, and the winner will receive a KitchenAid mixer from Amazon.com, plus $125 worth of baking goodies from Wilton.

Half the trouble of cooking dinner each night is the planning--how do I make things healthy while pleasing the kids? How do I make sure we aren't eating chicken every. single. night? How can I streamline my trip to the grocery store so it doesn't take two freaking hours and I don't arrive home realizing I forgot the bread crumbs? To take the pain out of the process, recently discovered Superwoman's Secret offers a comprehensive menu-planning service, sending weekly newsletters with five yummy weeknight dinners and an accompanying grocery list that does the thinking for you.

E-mail editor@cookiemag.com with "Superwoman's Secret"  in the subject line for a sample newsletter.

As you gear up for the yearlong grind, remember: The cafeteria is your friend. Read the calendar that comes home in the backpack, and send the kids with cash when the menu looks decent. "I pack lunch every day except Friday," says Catherine Saillard of Brooklyn's iCi restaurant. "That's pizza day at school, so they can eat like the other children without my banging my head against a wall, thinking they are eating nothing but synthetic fries and drinking hormone-filled chocolate milk." If you're not happy with the food in your child's cafeteria, check out Farmtoschool.org, an organization that aims to educate kids about "real" food, improve nutrition, and connect schools with local farms. Rubin's website, Betterschoolfood.org, details which programs work best in cafeterias across the country and offers articles and resources for upgrading school food.

This purveyor of summery sweets has many parents up in arms, says the New York Times.

The Antinori family of Florence prides itself on 600 years of wine making and a love of Italian ingredients. Check out their quick dinner idea that takes advantage of the peaking tomato season.

Dampen day-old bread cubes with a little cold water, squeeze them well, and crumble them into a bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Mix the damp bread with diced tomatoes, sliced onion, and basil. Dress with vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Serve immediately, or, if you have the time, let it sit for a few hours to allow the flavors to combine.

The UK's Independent has named their ten favorite cookbooks for kids, including our beloved Gastrokid.

Your son likes the gorp with the walnuts but not coconut. Your daughter likes the gorp with the coconut but not walnuts. (And they both like any gorp made with M&Ms.) Customize the perfect one-size-fits-all batch of gorp at the beginning of the school week, and pop a serving into lunch boxes each day. Below, our personal-favorite combo.

Makes four cups:
 
1 cup coconut, shredded
1/2 cup pistachios, shelled
1 cup granola
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dark-chocolate chunks

Yes, it's true. The most popular character we've seen in cake form so far is none other than that little droid from Star Wars. And we're impressed! That guy doesn't seem like he'd be supereasy to make.

Below are some of our favorite takes on R2D2. (Also check out these farms and very hungry caterpillars from previous posts. And see slideshows of selected entries from Week 1 and Week 2!)


Send us your own cake photo. Remember, the winner will receive a KitchenAid mixer from Amazon.com plus $125 worth of baking goodies from Wilton. And come back here every other day for another batch.

Last year, on the first day of school, I found myself sitting around a preschool-size table with other parents trying to come up with a healthy-snack list. It was an awkward dance, all of us trying to feel out how the others felt about snacking and nutrition. Who was junk food laissez-faire? Who was the nutrition fascist? (Okay, that was me.) By the end of the year, our vaguely worded list had been forgotten and the kids' teacher was feeding them candy-flavored Popsicles.

I wish I had known about Better School Food's Healthy Snack List. The list is divided by category (fruits, grains, power combos) and begins with some general guidelines. Remember to smile when you whip this out of your handbag and say, "Hey, I thought this might be helpful!"

Released today, My Lunch Box (Chronicle) offers 50 recipes for creative brown-bag stuffers your kid will love, including ideas for sweets, sides, and main dishes.