The Gift of Family Meals
What is a gift you can give that will last a life time? Give your family the gift of eating meals together. It may sound simple, but family meals don’t just happen by accident. Everyone is running in different directions with activities, work, friends and community involvement. When I ask the families I work with about how often they eat meals together, they all say it is important, but they find it challenging to do it consistently. Hectic lives make it essential that you plan to eat together. Start small, maybe one or two meals a week. Schedule it when everyone will be home and plan the meal out so you’re not struggling with what to throw together at the last minute.
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Ignore any grumbling you may get from resistant family members. If meal times are pleasant, they will enjoy the time spent together.
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Filling the silence at the dinner table won’t take long. Don’t be afraid of asking a few questions to get the family talking started.
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Keep conversations positive. Avoid using family mealtime to discuss stressful topics that might lead to an argument.
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Share the responsibility of making dinner. Give everyone a role to play in making dinner happen–even young children can be involved in simple food prep or setting the table.
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It doesn’t have to be fancy or hot to be nutritious. Try to make it balanced by having at least 3-4 food groups in the meal. Use the MyPlate image to get an idea of how to balance the meal.
Why does it matter if we eat together or not? Well, it makes better and healthier families. The benefits are long lasting too. Families that eat together have better communication, better nutrition, kids have better performance in school and better relationships with their peers to name a few.
On the nutrition side of things, the research shows that it leads to better nutrition in the long term. Adolescents that eat more family meals together eat more fruits, more orange and dark-green vegetables and less soda when they are young adults. They end up developing good habits that last into adulthood.
Making family meals a reality isn’t always easy, so here are a few of my favorite resources to get you going:
Shopping, Cooking and Meal Planning
