Family Friendly Meals
It's a double-edged sword: if you have a family to cook for, you're often too busy to cook. It can be challenging to find the time to eat even one meal together daily as a family, let alone find the time to prepare something that everyone will eat. It's worth the effort, though; a home-cooked meal is likely to be a healthier meal, and kids who eat with their families on a regular basis have better diets, are less likely to use alcohol or drugs and are more likely to be healthy adults. Even if it seems like a thankless task at times, making your meals family-friendly is worth the effort.
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Plan Ahead
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The older your children get, the harder it is to maintain a regular schedule. It helps if you plan your meals a week--or even a month--ahead of time. If you make out your menu plan with one eye on the calendar, you know when you'll need something make-ahead quick before the soccer game, when you'll have to eat early to accommodate Dad's meeting and when you can prepare a more complicated feast because you'll all be home together one evening. Planning ahead will also let you take advantage of sales and seasonal specialties.
Sneaky Veggies
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Home-cooked meals allow you to determine exactly what your family is eating and give you the opportunity to sneak in a few extra nutrients that they may not eat themselves. For example, if your children turn their noses up at vegetables, you can add pureed spinach to your meatballs, bake strips of sweet potato in lieu of French fries and slip mashed carrot into the meatloaf. Meanwhile, you're setting a good example by letting them see you eating and enjoying leafy greens.
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Fast Foods
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You don't have to sacrifice healthy for speedy on the days when you need a meal in a hurry. Keep a few staples on hand and you'll be ready to eat by the time the table is set. It takes less time to boil water for pasta than it does to call for pizza, and almost no time at all to heat a jar of your family's favorite sauce. Spread cream cheese or hummus on a whole-grain tortilla, top with thin-sliced turkey and a leaf of lettuce and roll up for a quick turkey wrap. Start a crock pot full of soup or stew in the morning; by the time your family is ready for dinner all you'll have to add is a basket of crusty rolls, and dinner is served.
Young Chefs
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Anyone is more likely to eat food that they have prepared themselves, and kids are no exception. Very young children can tear lettuce for salad or string fruit and vegetable chunks on barbecue skewers. A teen can do the barbecuing. Initially having "help" in the kitchen is more work for you, but persevere--your child will be learning kitchen safety, math and science concepts as well as spending quality time with you. With your supervision, before long he will be sauteing a stir-fry, flipping pancakes and mashing applesauce like a pro--and eating everything he cooks.
Kid-Friendly Foods
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You won't please every palate every time, and that's OK, too. There's a time to serve childhood favorites like chicken nuggets and tacos, but don't limit your menus to these things. Help your kids to develop their palates by introducing them often to new taste sensations. This may be more successful if you serve a new food with an old food and if you insist that they have a taste but not that they clean their plates. A little sneakiness will go a long way here, too; adding a bit of a favorite like bacon to a new food like green beans will make the green beans be regarded in a much more favorable light.
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References
- Photo Credit eating pasta image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
