Dinner Tonight

Dinner Tonight

Healthy Cooking for a Healthy Texas

Family Mealtime Challenge

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This month, we’re encouraging families to come together for dinner and create lasting memories. Join us for a series of fun and easy challenges designed to strengthen family bonds and make mealtime a meaningful experience. Here’s what we’ve got planned:

Did you take the Challenge? Please take this (short) post challenge survey to tell us how it went! https://poll.app.do/family-mealtime-challenge-2024-post-test

Week 1: Family Dinner Week: Commit to having dinner together as a family at least 4 times a week. If 4 times a week sounds too challenging, try adding one extra mealtime more than your typical week. Let’s make mealtime a priority! 🍲 Adding additional family meals may take some additional planning, check out our list of slow cooker recipes or air fryer recipes to make dinner easier.

Week 2: Tech-Free Table Challenge: Make dinner a screen-free zone. Put away the phones, TVs, and tablets and focus on each other. 📵 Tech Free week is a great time to discuss Table Manners! Table Manners are an important skill for kids to learn, read more about table manners here and start creating a positive mealtime experience!

Week 3: Dinner Conversation Starters: Engage your kids with fun conversation topics. Ask your kids about their day, favorite hobbies, or dreams for the future! Let’s make every meal a time to connect. 💬 Learn more about why family mealtime is important and how it can benefit your family and children.

Week 4: Kid Cooks Week: Whether they help with the chopping or the cooking, get them involved in the kitchen. Let them help plan and prepare one meal this week! 👩‍🍳 Check out our list of Kid Friendly recipes to gather some inspiration for your kiddos!

Week 5: Clean-Up Crew: Make post-dinner cleanup a team effort. Assign tasks and work together to tidy up after dinner. 🧽

Join the fun, share your progress, and let’s make September all about family mealtime! Tag Dinner Tonight on Facebook and Instagram to share your experiences and use the hashtag #familymealtimechallenge ! 

Be Sneaky with Vegetables

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Getting picky eaters to eat vegetables can be a challenge some times! Here are our tips on being sneaky with vegetables.

We all know we need to be eating more veggies. Some of us love them and eat them at every meal. And then there are those of us who can’t stomach the thought of chomping on something green that looks like a tree. And no, we’re not talking about four-year-olds — we mean adults, too!

If you’re the primary cook in your family, and pasta sauce and French fries are the only veggies going down at your home, you may want to get a bit sneakier. We’ve come up with some pretty cool ways to help you add vegetables into meals without anyone knowing. You get to be creative and it doesn’t take much work. Saving time and eating healthy — sounds like a winning combination!

Get shredded!

Grab a box grater or the grating attachment on your food processor to shred zucchini, beets, carrots or parsnips to add to all sorts of recipes. Add a vegetable serving to your favorite whole grain muffins and quick breads by mixing shredded zucchini into your batter before baking. You can also sauté shredded carrots, summer squash or butternut squash for about five minutes before adding them to pasta sauce for a quick, veggie-filled meal. Even your pickiest of eaters may not notice!

Get mushy!

Replace half the ground meat in recipes like burgers, meatloaf and meatballs with cooked chopped mushrooms. Finely chop your choice of mushrooms using a knife or a food processor, then sauté in a little olive oil until soft – about three minutes or so. Once the mushrooms are cool, gently mix them with your lean ground chicken, turkey or beef. Cook thoroughly and follow the recipe as is. Voila! Another veggie-ful meal for the family.

Get Cheesy!

Cooked and pureed orange vegetables like butternut squash, sweet potatoes and carrots can be blended, unnoticed, into cheesy dishes we all love like macaroni and cheese, lasagna, or baked enchiladas. You end up using less cheese, which cuts some of the saturated fat and sodium. You can also add the sweeter-tasting veggies to a blender with some low-sodium broth and puree them into a smooth soup that most kiddos (and adults) will love.

Be smooth!

Grab that blender and put it to work! When you’re making your favorite fruit smoothie, add in a frozen banana and some spinach, carrots, squash or just about any vegetable (cooked is easier to blend, FYI). The frozen banana makes for a sweet, thick, and creamy smoothie and it adds a strong banana flavor that helps hide the flavor of the veggies. Want a more colorful smoothie? Try adding beet, avocado or sweet potato to change the tint. You’ll be surprised at how bright – and healthy — your breakfast will be!

See original article here. 

Tricks for sneaking some extra veggies and fruits into your kids (or your) diet!

  • Add grated vegetables such as carrots or squash to casseroles or soups.
  • Add fresh fruit to cereal or oatmeal.
  • Add diced vegetables such as bell peppers, mushrooms or spinach to eggs for a breakfast frittata.
  • Kids love pizza so pile it high with veggies such as tomatoes, peppers, spinach and chopped broccoli.
  • Try a fruit smoothie for breakfast.
  • Create healthy breakfast muffins with zucchini or carrots.
  • Experiment with veggie noodles by using a spiralizer to create these fun an nutritious noodles!
  • Make your mac & cheese gourmet by adding broccoli.
  • Spinach, tomato, or avocado can make a nutritious addition to the traditional grilled cheese sandwich.
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Benefits of Family Mealtime

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Learn more about how eating meals as a family is beneficial for your children. Our Family Mealtime initiative encourages eating healthy meals as a family.

Why Family Meals Matter

Maureen Bligh, Andrea Garen and Ashley Rosales, Registered Dietitians. Click here for original article from the Dairy Council of California.

When was the last time you sat down for a meal with your family? Was it last night, last week or last month? For some families, eating together is reserved for special events and holidays, like birthdays or Thanksgiving. These special occasion meals allow families to connect with each other, strengthen family ties and pass on family cultural traditions.

But family meals don’t have to be reserved for special occasions. Family meals can happen any time of day, any day of the week! If the words “I’m too busy” pop into your mind, you’re not alone. You probably even hear this from other parents and peers.

But family meals can fit into even the busiest of schedules and they offer a host of benefits for children and adults alike!

Children who eat with their families are better nourished, have lower rates of obesity and better vocabularies1,2,3. These factors can have a positive impact on classroom behavior and academic performance1,2,3. And when it comes to improving the health of our children, family meals are a great way to instill healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime4.

Research into family meals and their benefits is becoming more in depth, with some interesting findings:

  • Dining as a family can create an environment for parents to lead by example for their children. Children who eat with their families consume more fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy foods compared to those who eat fewer family meals5. Parents will be thrilled to learn that young adults who were raised eating regular family meals consume more vegetables4 (there is hope yet for teenagers!)
  • Adults also report that eating as a family is a positive portion of their day6. Mealtime creates a feeling of togetherness and family cohesion. The concept of family meals does not exclude single-parent homes or couples without children. The routine associated with meals can provide a protective value for some of the risks associated with single-parent homes. For couples, the routine of sitting down together carves out time for each other and creates work schedule boundaries creating a balance between work and personal life.
  • There is an association between family meal frequency and lower rates of obesity4. However, while the meals are more nutritious (especially when prepared and eaten at home) they are not necessarily lower in calorie. Family meals consumed while distracted (watching television, taking phone calls, reading the mail) may actually increase food consumption7.

 

But the benefits of family meals go beyond nutrition and family unity. Family meals are also an opportunity to promote child development2. Regular family meals teach children many things that will enrich their lives beyond the immediate health benefits of eating nutritious food.

  1. Memories Taking the time to sit together at mealtime helps create positive memories for yourself and your family.
  2. Enjoyment The first and most important place where children learn positive attitudes about food is in the home. Eating meals together starts a lasting and positive relationship with food.
  3. Self Esteem Mealtime conversation brings the family together and promotes positive self-esteem in children.
  4. Life skills Children learn best by doing, not watching, so get them involved! You can teach children how to cook balanced meals for themselves by including them in meal planning and preparation.
  5. Traditions Mealtime is an ideal time to strengthen family ties and pass on family cultural traditions. Whether you are celebrating a holiday or just eating an everyday meal, things you do in your home will be passed down to your children and grandchildren.
  6. Curiosity Kids are more likely to try new foods when they are involved in meal preparation. They have a natural curiosity about food so be sure to offer new foods at mealtime (but never force them to try them.)
  7. Relaxation Family meals are the perfect time to connect with each other and share your stories of the day. Shared time and positive experiences with your children is great way connect and relax together after a hectic day of work, school and errands.
  8. Responsibility Research has shown that cooking with kids and assigning tasks surrounding mealtime, promotes independence and a sense of responsibility in the kitchen – and in life.
  9. Communication Having conversations at mealtime increases your children’s vocabulary. Encourage them to speak by asking about the best part of their day and probe more about what made the best part so great.
  10. Love Children watch and imitate adults, and look to them to learn proper behavior for everything from saying please and thank you to learning about fitness and nutrition. Mealtime is the ideal time to remind your children every day that they are important and loved.

Isn’t it time to make family meals a habit in your home?

1. Harrison ME, Norris ML, Obeid N, Fu M, et al. Systematic review off the effects of family meal frequency on psychosocial outcomes in youth. Canadian Family Physician. 2015 Feb;61(2):e96-e106.
2.  Utter J, Denny S, Robinson E, Fleming T, Ameratunga S, Grant S. Family meals and the well-being of adolescents. J Paediatr Child Health. 2013 Nov;49(11):906-11.
3. Snow CE., Beals DE. Mealtime talk that supports literacy development. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2006;(111):51-66.
4. Fulkerson JA, Larson N, Horning M, Neumark-Sztainer D. A review of associations between family or shared meal frequency and dietary and weight status outcomes across the lifespan. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2014 Jan;46(1):2-19.
5. Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, Story M, Croll J, Perry C. Family meal patterns: associations with sociodemographic characteristics and improved dietary intake among adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003; 103(3):317-322.
6. Videon T, Manning C. Influences on adolescent eating patterns: The importance of family meals. J Adolesc Health. 2003; 32(5):365-373.
7. Bickham DS, Blood EA, Walls CE, Shrier LA, Rich M. Characteristics of screen media use associated with higher BMI in young adolescents. Pediatrics. 2013. May;131(5):935-41.
8. https://www.fcconline.org/the-importance-of-family-mealtime/
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