Family Dinner Menu – It Does More Than Just Feed Your Family
Susnane – aka The Hillbilly Housewife here again with another blog post. Over the past few days we’ve talked about how meal planning saves time and money, the different types of meal planning you can do as well as some time-saving grocery shopping tips. What we haven’t really talked about is the fact that planning and making these meals does so much more than just feed your family.
Sure, that’s an important part of it, but the dinner table is also where our families reconnect.
Make it a point to sit down at least once during your busy day to share a meal with your loved ones and encourage conversation. Find out what’s happened to each family member during the day.
Sitting down for a family dinner has shown to reduce obesity (which makes sense considering you’re eating a wholesome homecooked meal instead of fat and caloray-ladden fast food), but it does so much more. A study from Columbia University has shown that “teens from families that almost never eat dinner together are 72 percent more likely to use illegal drugs, cigarettes and alcohol than the average teen”.
Teenage daughters are also less likely to engage in unsafe sex and become pregnant when they have close family ties like those built and strenghened at the family dinner table.
Keep this in mind the next time you feel to tired to cook and of course make dinner faster, easier and less expensive with Christine’s wonderful Meal Planning Service.
We’ll talk about this in more detail in tomorrow’s post, but get your kids (no matter what age) involved in meal planning, dinner preparation and cleanup after. Remember you don’t have to do it all alone. Dinner is a family affair and that includes making it and doing the dishes after.
Warmly,
Susanne Myers – The Hillbilly Housewife
http://www.HillbillyHousewife.com
P.S. Leave a comment and share how dinner has helped you and your family reconnect. Remember Christine and I will put all commenters in a drawing and give away a subscription to her Meal Planning Service and one to the Hillbilly Housewife Club. Please comment away.
October 1st, 2009 at 1:31 pm
It has done so much! It saves us money, because meals from scratch are much less expensive. It has helped us be healthier and lose weight, because we don’t eat processed junk. We laugh together more. We have fun stories and conversations. We’ve talked about everything from astronomy to theology. It has made our family closer. It has piqued our childrens’ interest in cooking.
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:05 pm
We have made it a priority to sit down for supper together everynight (with a few exceptions). It has been a huge blessing! We pray together before we eat. We share tidbits from our day. We encourage each other and have “dinner meetings” to discuss ways we could work together as a team a little bit better. I look forward to this time together every day. We have seven children from high school down to preschool age and sometimes it can be a challenge to make it happen, but worth it all!
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Since family now is just my husband and myself, I’ve found that sitting at the table determines where we actually eat food. It has helped us to eat in a much more healthy way. We have reconnected as a couple and share our work days with one another and actually listen! It enables us to eat slower, think about what and how much we’re eating, and most of all enjoy the food and the company of each other.
There are times we get out the good china for just the two of us, even a chili dog looks good on china plates!
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:30 pm
My kids are grown but we used to always sit down to eat together. Some of their friends thought it was unusual. They liked to come to our house though.
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Dinner at the table used to be every night, but with teenage boys with activities and lots of homework it’s not easy. We do our best with about 4 nights a week, but that is definitely the time we connect! We talk about days events, coming events and laughter is always the main goal : ) I can’t imagine not having my family close together at the end of the day!
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:13 pm
I talk a lot to my kids about why what we are eating, what we are eating when we are eating. Anyone can eat cheap if they want to, but eating cheap and healthy is another matter, My kids know I care about them because I tell them about each kind of food and what the benefit to them is. They used to kid me about it but now they pass this info on to others. I remember the day one of my daughters was commenting to a friend about this at a dinner at their home, “Oh no, I am being to sound just like my mother”! They know homemade food in a balanced meal, (not processed) is the healthest and guess what….. the most frugal pennywise! All three daughters appreciate good healthy meals and we talk often about this. Like ” Mom, I need to eat more protein”.
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:33 pm
My husband’s been working long hours and we really used to enjoy cooking together… we’re missing our time together in the kitchen a lot.
I have, however, been going to my daughter’s house and cooking for the family quite a bit lately, so that’s been very good for me and my daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. I guess I show love with food! Good healthy food!
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Both my husband & I grew up in families that ate meals together. As a mom, I enjoy cooking meals that my kids and husband enjoy. Sitting together during meal times gives us an opportunity to talk with the kids and laugh together.
October 3rd, 2009 at 8:59 am
Menu planning use to be something I ALWAYS did. The last couple of months I have let it go and I am going nuts. I have been sitting here thinking all morning what I am going to make for dinner. If I wait the day of to figure it out I almost panic even it it is 8 in the morning. I can’t think straight because I worry it is going to be like the times you result in take out. I have to get back on track.
October 3rd, 2009 at 8:32 pm
I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like not to have nightly dinner with my family……and the benefits of having done so over all these years are practically too numerous to try & mention! Suffice to say, I do believe that we know each other better, enjoy each other a great deal, & that our children have learned the give & take of good conversation. I pray that they will, someday, make the effort to share this same ritual with their families.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:51 am
We eat much better meals when we eat together instead of snacking. It just requires a little planning.
October 5th, 2009 at 7:12 am
With only a few exceptions, our family always sits down together for the last meal of the day. Even if it means that dinner is later than usual. Being frugal is a “way of life.” It takes commitment to plan ahead and prepare a well-balanced meal, especially from scratch. I keep a list of the recipes that the family likes and try to go through the entire list before starting again. I add new recipes in as often as I can. We currently have about 45 favorites, so I have about 2 months worth of meals planned ahead. This is my way not fixing the same thing too often. It’s also easy to stock the pantry when you know what you’ll need for meals so far in advance. So a bargain price a product means I can potentially buy 6 and have enough for a whole year. Of course, there is the weekly homemade pizza night.
October 5th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I grew up in a house that hardly ever had us all home to eat dinner at the same time. That is different in our house. My husband misses 2 dinners a week with us do to his job being out of state. I plan my menu for 16 days at a time. I won’t shop until after Wednesday, when our grocery store has it’s specials posted. I use coupons. I make snacks instead of buy them and I am starting to use my bread machine more. I have a huge notebook with our favorite meals and keep rotating them. I also pick at least 2 new recipes a month to try. I have a huge garden and freeze green beans, berries and make about 20 qts. of spaghetti sauce and salsa. I also have a handy go to meal in the freezer at all times. You never know when something will pop up. This has saved a about $100 a month on our grocery bill. We eat out once a month, if that. Most of my children’s friends eat out every night or do not have a family sit down meal at all. They grab and run. I have 3 extra kids several nights a week. Very few leftovers. At first I wasn’t happy about losing my leftovers, but I have learned some valuable lessons from these kids. They just want a family to talk to and food that isn’t from a drive-thru. One kid stops in on his way home from the gym just to see what’s for dinner. I love cooking and the time I have with my family. I will miss this when the kids are out on their own!!!
October 6th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
It’s nice to see that many other families are eating meals together. It seems that for the most part that is a gift lost to many families these days. I enjoy sitting down to dinner together as a couple and cherish the time we are able to spend together each night. We will definitely be continuing this tradition as we add children to our family. It’s a good time to connect with each other, discuss the events of the day and plan for what is coming up.