What is your favorite time of the day with your family? If you’re like me, it is dinnertime. I look forward to dinner together as a time to catch up on everyone’s day, laugh and reinforce our values.
As a working mom, it is important for me to coordinate my schedule along with my husband’s work, plus his volunteer activities with the local Little League board and manager of our youngest boy’s team. With two boys each playing soccer and baseball plus religious education and boy scouts, time in the evenings is at a premium.
Meals are still a priority, although I’m reconsidering two sports in a season. (Sometimes you learn from lapses in judgment.) It has challenged me to get creative with how to pledge to make meal times a priority.
For us, the most important part of the week is planning ahead for the days we can have a “regular dinner hour.” Often one of my children is assigned to cook for one of these “RDH” days. I let them pick the recipe and try to make sure all five food groups are included. On other days they help by setting the table, pouring the water and milk, and putting salad dressing and other condiments on the table.
Then there are the “crazy busy” days when activities are during prime dinner hours. For the “CB” days I follow one of two strategies. One is to serve a hearty afterschool snack to allow for a late dinner. Apples with cheese or popcorn, grapes and milk or last night’s leftovers work well. Active children can be hungry after a big workout and a post-sports dinner allows me to serve a nutrient-rich meal rather than sweet snacks. An unexpected benefit of later meals is that they are very relaxing and positive because we are not rushing off to an activity.
On other “CB” days I serve an afternoon snack that is really an early dinner. I can pull Black Bean, Corn and Zucchini enchiladas hot out of the oven or Lickety Split Lasagna Soup from the crock pot they are delighted to indulge. Preparing a recipe that includes most food groups makes it easy to round out the meal with a glass of milk or a bowl of fruit.
Sometimes no matter how hard I try there is no time for a family dinner. Since I’ve pledged to have a family meal most days of the week , I know that family meals can include breakfast and lunch. On those days when dinner together won’t work I make dinner for the kids and for my husband and make a point of sitting and eating with them. Yes, that can mean three dinner times for me but it also means three one-on-one conversations with the three most important men in my life.
This post was originally written for MealsMatter.org. You can view this post and others by visiting their blog.
Written By: Trina Robertson, RD
California Dietetic Association - Orange District 