Shakespeare wrote, "A rose by any other name is [still] a rose" holds true for foods but not for children. To a child, celery sticks, cheese and raisins makes them utter the words parents hate to hear, "I don’t like it." Call the same snack "Ants on a Log" and kids can’t wait to gobble them up.

Tired of finicky eating habits or hearing the dreaded, "ugh, gross, yucky gross, sick", then try some of these weird treats and you’ll probably get an "awesome" every now and then.

Jelly Noodles make great snacks and table conversation at the same time. Place a portion of cooked wide egg noodles on everyone’s plate and let each person top their noodles with Cottage Cheese and jellies. Roll up like a jelly roll and eat with a fork. (Note: use only wide egg noodles, not regular pasta; after draining the noodles from the cooking water, dip in clean HOT water and drain so the noodles won’t stick together.) Off-the-wall but once tried, the children will ask for them again and again and don't be surprised if the adults like them too.

Cake becomes quite a different treat when baked inside a hollowed-out orange instead of a cake or cupcake pan. Scoopcakes takes a little work but is a fun presentation as well as a delicious dessert. Cut a two-inch diameter slice from the top of each orange, scoop out the fruit and pulp (save for a snack), carefully leaving the shell intact and clean. Fill each orange shell half-way full of cake batter (white or yellow works best for flavor) and replace the top on each orange. Place each orange in the center of a piece of aluminum foil and bring the corners together at the top, twisting to close. Place all the aluminum-wrapped oranges on a cookie sheet and bake at 350-degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes. Let oranges cool and serve in aluminum so children can peel away their very own surprise.

For breakfast, serve a Egg-Elly, an egg omelet filled with Velveeta cheese and apricot or strawberry jelly.

A nutritious easy-to-make dessert called Lumpy Goo is enjoyed by all-age children, but take great caution not to tell them what’s in it before they eat it, otherwise your garbage disposal will be in for a treat. Stir together prune baby food, Cool Whip and nuts, serve in colorful paper cups. Or spoon canned fruit cocktail into paper cups, place a popsicle stick in the middle, freeze and serve "Fruity-Ups".

Instead of grilled cheese sandwiches, serve grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and name it after one of your children. If your son’s name is Sam, call it "Sam-eeches"; your daughter named Kelly, it would be "Kelly-eeches".

Regular foods are more acceptable by kids when served differently. After-school snacks can be made more appealing by serving in colored cupcake papers or putting everything on one plate, such as a left-over chicken leg, a hard-boiled egg, a few mini candies, animal crackers, carrots, pickles, crackers and you will be a wonderful mom, dad or grandparent, trust me!

Generally, boys from five to fourteen like gross-sounding names, so don’t serve plain old tomato rice soup, serve "Blood Soup with Maggots". Girls, however, tend to like less-stomach-churning treats, so any sandwich cut with a heart cookie cutter becomes a "Sweetheart Sandwich".

Whether it be food or drink, give the snack a special name. Not only will you be creating fun treats, you’ll be creating wonderful childhood memories.

Let your imagination be your guide… become an un-grown-up, it’s fun!

Mary Ann Ross and Kimberly Lainson are a mother and daughter that have teamed up as business partners last year for different reasons. Mom had taken an early retirement and was bored, Kimberly wanted to stay home with her four children. So they did what they knew best… having fun with kids… and started an at-home business that expanded from one room in Mom’s house to a converted outbuilding on her rural property in Washington.