The nine months you spent with a bun in the oven were the beginning (and end) of your baking career. Doodle Bread, a jazzier alternative to regular loaves, is just what you knead to get back on track.

Available online at doodlebread.com, $39.

Making messes can be fun. Cleaning them up? Not so much. The CaliBowl has an inverted lip, so you can easily mold drippy foods like applesauce and cereal into more manageable mouthfuls — so less food lands on the floor.

Available online at calibowl.com, $8-$20.

Tame wild children with Fabkins: paper-free, pint-size napkins that encourage civilized behavior and environmental awareness.

Available online at fabkins.com, $7.50-$20.

Before discovering the Curious Chef knives, our little helper was limited to mixing and pouring. Under your supervision, these nylon blades with safe, serrated edges allow him to slice everything from apples to bread — but not his little fingers.

Available online at spoonsisters.com, $10.

Named Doug, Janet, Claire, and Perry, The Middletons are not your typical family of four.

Available online at poketo.com, $40.

With Taste Buds pint-size cooking tools, kids will want to help out in the kitchen.

Available online at tastebudscook.com, $5-$200.

Make dinnertime easier to swallow with Jane Jenni tableware. The colorful plates and cups have basic words and vintage-inspired images of balls, bears, monkeys, spinning tops, and more, which teach children new expressions and visual puns.

Available online at janejennishop.com, $7-$8.50.

If you’re looking for more time with your kids and less time in the kitchen, look no further than the Time for Dinner cookbook, written by three former editors of the now-defunct and much-missed Cookie magazine.

Available online at chroniclebooks.com, $25.

Want to make snacks from scratch without the mess? Kids Central Kitchen, a health-conscious company that uses all-natural ingredients and whole grains, has mixes for brownies, pancakes, cookies, and more. So it’s as if the treats are made from scratch — just with fewer measuring cups and spoons to wash.

Available online at kidscentralkitchen.com, $4-$15.

Sign up for the Yummyfun Kooking Club and every month a dossier will arrive in the mail with a bunch of wacky and wild concoctions for you and the kiddos to make together.

Sign up online at yummyfun.com, $28 per year.

The best things in life are free — free of lead, BPA, phthalates, and toxic inks, that is. Earth-friendly dishware company Smiling Planet crafts recycled plastic plates, bowls, and more without harmful chemicals.

Available online at smilingplanet.net, $14-$36.

The Peko Peko: Family-Friendly Japanese Recipes cookbook was put together by a group of food bloggers, writers, and photographers in support of the country’s recovery, with $11.45 — everything but printing costs — of each sale going to the GlobalGiving Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.

Available online at blurb.com, $30.

Baking with your daughter calls for adorable matching aprons from Funktion. Garishly girly, the patterned creations serve up colorful, ruffled combinations that are sweet enough for you and your little sugar pie.

Available online at funktionhome.com, $32-$46.