Family meal time is my favorite part of the day! Every night, we all sit down to dinner and talk, laugh, and even act goofy sometimes. Although our days can get pretty hectic and we’re sometimes scattered to the winds, family meal time for us is a time to reconnect and unwind.
During each family dinner, we all take a few moments to share what the worst and best parts of our day was. Our meal times are usually pretty fun and can get downright goofy at times.
I hope my children look back on family meal time as a positive experience and keep up the tradition when they have families of their own. I count my lucky stars every night that we’re able to sit down together as a family. I know that not every family is able to.
It’s really a shame that family meal time is becoming a thing of the past. Eating together as a family allows parents to better monitor what their children are eating and encourage than to eat a healthier diet. Family meal time is also a great time to pause from your hectic life and connect with your spouse and children.
Don’t think you have time for family meal time? Why not try to make time?
Here are a few tips to help you get started…
Schedule Family Meal Time
If your family is scattered to the winds because of conflicting schedules, you may need to pencil in family meal time. Sometimes it’s necessary to schedule family meal time like you would schedule any other meeting or obligation.
But Be Flexible
Conflicting schedules can really make it difficult to have a scheduled family meal time at the same time every night. Instead of trying to fight your family’s schedule, work with it. For instance, some days it may be better to make breakfast your family meal rather than dinner.
Prep Ahead of Time
You’ll save a great deal of time whipping up family meals if most of the prep work is already done. Take a couple of hours each week to plan your meals, chop vegetables, and even precook some items. You might also want to consider making several freezer meals ahead of time for those super busy nights. That way you can spend more time with your family and less time in the kitchen. Oh, and you won’t be too tired and stressed to actually enjoy family meal time.
Cook as a Family
Make cooking fun and save a little time by cooking meals together as a family. Nearly everyone in the family, from young children to adults, can usually help in some way. Children especially love to help cook, and it’s a great way to get them to explore new healthy foods.
K.I.S.S.
Keep it simple sweetheart! The whole point of family meal time is to sit down and enjoy healthy meals as a family, not to create amazing culinary masterpieces every night. Focus more on your time together than becoming the next Julia Childs. Although experimentation in the kitchen can be fun, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with simple meals for family meal time.
