Family meals and good food

Eating is one of the great pleasures of life - flavorsome food, the gratification of hunger, the chance of fun company.

It is much more than a matter of nutrition and food intake.

People have always celebrated whatever it is that binds them together by eating together - sports teams, churches and religious groups, clubs, workmates, friends. We all do it instinctively and naturally.

Parents have a special responsibility. Not only are they responsible for their own health, they are also responsible for the health of their children and the development of healthy eating and lifestyle habits from childhood.

We may be a society be-devilled by eating disorders, obesity and obsessed with food - TV cooking programmes, cook books, recipes from all parts of the world, dining out at cafes and restaurants, faddish diets, and numberless takeaways eaten in front of our TV sets. Yet the big surprise we found in researching this is the importance of the family meal.
 

Make the family meal fun

  • Plan the menu ahead to save time during a busy week. Go with the seasons - crockpots and casseroles in winter, fresh salads in summer. Such planning also gives you a shopping list for targeted shopping.
  • Encourage and teach children to savour seasonal foods - the crunch of a crisp winter carrot, the juices of a ripe late summer plum.
  • Have favourite dishes that become a family tradition.
  • Share the tasks with the children - scrubbing potatoes, rolling pastry, peeling carrots, holding the electric egg beater; later they can set the table and do the dishes. It's a chance to talk about food and healthy eating
  • Let children prepare what they can - as they grow in skill and experience, let them assume greater responsibility.
  • At meal time, sit at a table, clear the clutter, turn off the cellphone and TV, and don't answer the telephone.
  • Eat outdoors during summer - have BBQ's and picnics.
  • Make sure the conversation is one the children can join in - forget the credit card debt and other 'adult' issues.
  • Take an interest in each other.
  • Make it a time of laughter, banter, attentive listening.
  • Do not use it as a time to scold, nag or discipline a child.
  • Do not force feed a child - if they don't want to finish everything on their plate, don't make a big issue of it.


What to serve for dinner tonight?

Deciding what to serve for dinner can become a real worry. But you don't have to rush out and buy lots of cookbooks.

It helps to spend a few minutes each weekend with the family deciding on a menu for the week ahead. Get everyone involved and do it before you do the weekend shopping. Use the week's menus to prepare the shopping list - you will be surprised at the savings you make.

Then have fun and make your own recipe book. Nothing fancy - just get a simple ring binder and a hole-punch and start collecting proven and easy-to-make recipes.

  • Start with the family favourites.
  • Watch the newspapers - go for the useful and easy-to-make ones rather than the exotic, complicated or unhealthy.
  • Swap good family-style recipes with friends.
  • Locate a few practical websites you can visit.
  • Try out one new recipe a week.
  • Get the family to rank the new recipe from one to five - save those which score a three or over.
  • Encourage the children to do the illustrations - drawings of ingredients or cut out images of the finished dish.


The food pyramid

The food pyramid is accepted internationally as the guide to the type and portions of food we should eat. It shows the proportions of the different food groups for healthy eating. Eat mostly from the bottom of the pyramid and least from the top.
 

How do your family's meals compare?

My Pyramid is a website that tailors the pyramid to the age, weight, gender, height and level of physical activity of each member of the family. Print off a pyramid for each family member.
 

Further Links


For information on recipes, kitchen tips, child nutrition and health try these websites:


If you are thinking of starting a veggie garden these sites are helpful:


These websites are useful on selecting the right foods and dealing with eating disorders: