If you weren't already totally freaked out about the food supply given all the recent recalls and studies coming out about bacteria in our meat and veggies, here's a new curve ball moms in particular are going to have to contend with ... The dairy industry, feeling the pressure of the war on obesity and feeling threatened by many schools' ban on high-cal chocolate milk, has decided to begin making more low-calorie, "milk-like" beverages with artificial sweeteners. They think replacing sugar in flavored milk with aspartame (aka Equal) or sucralose (aka Splenda, which was discovered when scientists were working with DDT) will help them compete with diet sodas. Good times!

But wait, it gets freakier ... 

I don't know about you, but we love pizza at our place. We love pizza from the pizza joint around the corner, and we love making our own pizza at home. But for the ultimate pizza-inspired snack, there's pizza roll-ups made with crescent rolls. They're kind of like hot pockets without all the creepy, mysterious ingredients. Calzones without the insane calorie count. Best of all, they're fun and easy enough for kids to make with you. Here's a recipe for making your own crescent pizza roll-ups.

Kraft Macaroni 'n' Cheese has been a dinner staple for moms for as long as we can remember. Kids absolutely adore it. Heck, parents adore it. It's a classic, iconic comfort food. I've literally had friends say that if their mac doesn't have that orange yellow-y signature color of Kraft's cheese, then it's just not the same. Still, it's that food coloring that's causing quite an uproar among some concerned consumers.

Two North Carolina food bloggers -- Lisa Leake and Vani Hari -- felt similarly warm and fuzzy about the product until they learned that the U.S. version contains the additives Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. In turn, they created an online petition in hopes of garnering support to demand a change. Amazingly, so far, more than 155K people have signed the Change.org petition, requesting that Kraft to made the U.S. version of the mac additive-free, too.

Do you love baking with your kids? It can get messy and chaotic, but wow, the memories you're creating together! They're so worth it. You get delicious treats for the whole family -- and your kids get some valuable life lessons. Shh, don't tell them, but baking with your kids isn't just fun and tasty -- it's educational. Here's what they can learn.

Ramen! Everybody loves those packages of instant ramen noodles. Well, not everybody. I'm sure there's a few picky eaters out there who are blind to the myriad charms of ramen. But for the rest of us, there's just something irresistible about those squiggly little curly noodles in that briny broth.

Sure, you could heat up some water, toss in that flavor pack, and enjoy your ramen straight-up. But consider all the other places you can take that noodle package. Here are 11 tasty twists on instant ramen.

One of the things I look forward to most about winter is mashed potatoes. Big, soft mountains of warm potato comfort. They're like a cozy blanket for your mouth. Even better, my son loves them. Oh, the praise that is heaped upon me when I cook mashed potatoes! It totally makes up for those times when I cook Brussels sprouts (not popular).

I used to go through the trouble of peeling and cutting and boiling, and it's not really that much work. But then I figured out a mashed potato method that's way faster and easier. And it even tastes better! Here's my recipe.

If this CafeMom discussion about how to make a grilled cheese sandwich is any indication, there are as many ways to make that sandwich as there are ways to skin a cat. And that makes sense. We all have different ideas about what makes the "perfect" grilled cheese sandwich -- and what qualifies as a "good-enough" sandwich.

But I think most of us like ours golden and crispy on the outside, soft and melty on the inside, and not too greasy with butter. That's what I consider the ideal, anyway. So here's a few tips for what I think makes a darn-good, family-pleasing, classic grilled cheese sandwich.

Photo by Jessica Fuselier

It starts with Halloween and doesn't end until the New Year begins: the onslaught of sugar. I know it well, as I am as affected by it as my children are (if not more so). So, what's a mom to do when we live in a society that celebrates every good thing in life with a sweet treat? Should we fight it? Can we fight it?

I love the way mom, photographer, and sister of mine Jessica Fuselier captures her daughter (my adorable niece) when her holiday sugar intake is at full throttle. I can't imagine there are many mothers out there who can't relate. I'm just glad someone is talking about it and, for that matter, documenting both the sweetness and the absurdity of it all! It makes me feel that much less alone as the holiday season of sugar has got its choke hold on me and my kids until life settles down after Christmas and the New Year's resolutions kick in.