{"id":10779,"date":"2022-09-07T19:08:55","date_gmt":"2022-09-07T23:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/?p=10779"},"modified":"2022-09-07T19:08:55","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T23:08:55","slug":"september-is-national-family-meals-month-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/2022\/09\/07\/september-is-national-family-meals-month-3\/","title":{"rendered":"September is National Family Meals Month\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When I was a child, I \u00a0thought the calendar year started with September. It was all about the beginning of the school year, the changing season and the faster pace.\u00a0Regardless of whether you have children at home, schedules become full and we tend to get back to a more structured lifestyle. In fact, we need structure to deal with committee meetings, after-school events and deadlines at work. One of the “structures” we put in place is dinner together. Even when I was a single young adult, the act of preparing dinner, setting a place at my table and enjoying my dinner seemed to bring balance to my day.\"\"\u00a0It makes sense that September is National Family Meals Month\u2122, created\u00a0to encourage and educate Americans about the rewards of cooking at home and gathering at the family dinner table.
\nGrowing up, eating dinner together was sacrosanct. Nonnegotiable. We also rarely ate out, either at a restaurant or\u00a0<gasp<\/em>!> a fast-food joint, and we never ate in front of the TV.\"\"\u00a0 Dinner was a time for us to share about our day, learn what was happening in the world, analyze yesterday\u2019s field hockey game.<\/p>\n

As a parent, I work hard to ensure that we maintain this structure despite the growing number of evening activities. Of course, not every supper is idyllic, but it’s\u00a0an opportunity to learn how to resolve conflict, what matters to one other, and negotiating skills.<\/p>\n

Join us in “Raising a Mitt” and committing to make one more meal each week at home!<\/em><\/h5>\n

Nine reasons to make family meals at home:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. People who home-cook meals eat healthier, and consume about 130 fewer calories daily, compared to people who cook less or not at all.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Benefits of sharing three or more family mealtimes per week include reducing the odds for being overweight (12%), eating unhealthy foods (20%), and disordered eating (35%), and increasing the odds for eating healthy foods (24%).<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Adults and children who eat at home more regularly are less likely to suffer from obesity.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Children who grow up sharing family meals are more likely to exhibit pro-social behavior as adults, such as sharing, fairness and respect.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Teens who eat dinner with their parents regularly develop better relationships with them, do better in school, and are less likely to use drugs, drink or smoke.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Studies have shown that from the earliest days of history, shared meals have been essential for family bonding and child development.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Cooking and eating together can teach children about food sustainability, nutrition and cost of living.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Children (and adults) are reminded of good manners. Please, thank you, and waiting until everyone is served are a few of the important courtesies that will be important\u00a0the rest of their lives.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Practicing the art of conversation. In a time of increasing dependence on technology for communication, put down devices and talk with each other. Learning to listen well is as important as learning to respectfully challenge others’ ideas. Laugh together over funny events of the day.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Raise your mitt and commit to making one more meal each week at home.<\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/h2>\n

    Check out these fast and easy tasty recipes perfect for any night of the week:<\/h3>\n

    Search in your\u00a0DinnerTime Recipe Box<\/a>\u00a0to find your favorite dishes easy to make at home.<\/h5>\n
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    Easy Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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    Mediterranean Veggie Saute<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
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    Sloppy Joe Meatball Subs<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    \n

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    The kids will love to help make these.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Fast and delicious side dish, perfect for any meal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Save $ with your own sub shop at home!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When I was a child, I \u00a0thought the calendar year started with September. It was all about the beginning of the school year, the changing season and the faster pace.\u00a0Regardless of whether you have children at home, schedules become full… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10779"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10779"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12185,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10779\/revisions\/12185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}