{"id":5605,"date":"2019-09-25T18:35:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T22:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dinnertime.com\/content\/?p=5605"},"modified":"2019-09-25T18:35:37","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T22:35:37","slug":"nourish-your-family-one-meal-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/2019\/09\/25\/nourish-your-family-one-meal-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Nourish Your Family, One Meal At a Time."},"content":{"rendered":"<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">In the whole world, with whom would you most like to have dinner ? Watch this video to the end and be pleasantly surprised!<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kuNDg0ErzdU\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/h4>\n<p>This is a great video that shows how much family meals shared together matter. As a child, the things I learned at the family dinner table were not apparent to me. The skills and emotional connections we developed were the real bonus to eating dinner together. We learned how to set the table, how to wait for everyone to be served before we started and to wait to clear until everyone was finished. We learned that we should put the fork down between bites and not to speak with our mouths full. We learned how to say grace before the meal (giving us early public speaking training!)<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not saying every dinner was smooth and the atmosphere was always pleasant. In fact, there was many a \u201cdiscussion\u201d about everything from politics to how we were getting along with our friends. And naturally, we kids squabbled and picked on each other until we had to apologize! (Early resolution training!) What I do remember, and know as a parent, is there is great value in gathering at the family dinner table as often as possible.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-5609 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/family-banner-300x117.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/family-banner-300x117.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/family-banner-1024x399.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/family-banner-768x299.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/family-banner.jpg 1290w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Check out these facts:<\/h2>\n<h3>Family meals foster emotional balance<\/h3>\n<p>~<em>The more times you eat together as a family each week, the more your family connection increases, which means increased<strong>\u00a0self-esteem, sense of well-being, and positive social behaviors<\/strong>. This relates to the adults as well as children.\u00a0 Plus, (who would have guessed), over 70% of teenagers say they value catching up at dinner with family members.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Family meals make the grade<\/h3>\n<p>~<em>\u00a0From elementary school to high school, kids who eat meals with their families\u00a0<strong>earn better test scores<\/strong> and <strong>do better in school<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Family meals fend off risky behaviors<\/h3>\n<p>~<em>Three meals a week together results in your child being\u00a0<strong>2x less likely to drink<\/strong>, <strong>3x less likely to use marijuana<\/strong> and <strong>4x less likely to smoke cigarettes<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Family meals fuel better nutrition<\/h3>\n<p>~<em>Eating together as a family\u00a0<strong>increases over-all consumption of healthy foods<\/strong>. This includes fruits and veggies, fiber, calcium-rich foods and vitamins.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Knowing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fmi.org\/family-meals-month\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">benefits of family meals<\/a>\u00a0helps &#8211; but\u00a0<em><strong>how<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>do\u00a0we\u00a0achieve this goal of regular, expected family meals that work in our crazy schedule of meetings, back-to-school nights, sports practices, etc.?<\/p>\n<h2>DinnerTime makes it easier:<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><b>Efficiency:<\/b>\u00a0By planning with DinnerTime, I save time and money. I don&#8217;t have to run to the grocery store as often, tend not to buy unnecessary items and don&#8217;t waste food.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Consistency:<\/strong>\u00a0We have a plan! Often everyone gets involved with the planning and even helping to cook the meals. I appreciate the peace of mind that comes from knowing the plan for each night.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Flexibility:\u00a0<\/strong>If something changes in our schedule, no problem, I just move the meal to another night.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>On a personal note, I love that I&#8217;m teaching my kids the value of using what is available in my personal toolbox to achieve my goals. It&#8217;s a high-five for the parents when your kids ask if everyone can eat together tonight!<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">We challenge you to make one more meal at home a week.<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-3429 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/family-mealtime.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"611\" height=\"436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/family-mealtime.jpg 1199w, https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/family-mealtime-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/family-mealtime-1024x731.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/family-mealtime-768x548.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 611px) 100vw, 611px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Look what I found in my DinnerTime Recipe Box search!<\/h3>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\">Search in your\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dinnertime.com\/plan\/recipe-box\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DinnerTime Recipe Box<\/a>\u00a0to find your favorite dishes, easy to make at home.<\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Remember to rate recipes and &#8220;favorite&#8221; them to your recipe box.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-4\">\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dinnertime.com\/recipes\/5236\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Quick Shrimp Curry<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-4\">\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dinnertime.com\/recipes\/4124\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ginger Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-4\">\n<h5 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dinnertime.com\/recipes\/5768\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grilled Chicken Salad with Balsamic-Honey Vinaigrette<\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-4\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dinnertime.com\/recipes\/5236\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3450 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/shrimp-curry-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"256\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/shrimp-curry-2.jpg 256w, https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/shrimp-curry-2-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">A low calorie flavorful dish.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-4\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dinnertime.com\/recipes\/4124\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3451 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/ginger-beef-stir-fry.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"256\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/ginger-beef-stir-fry.jpg 256w, https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/ginger-beef-stir-fry-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">A fragrant and delicious meal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-4\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dinnertime.com\/recipes\/5768\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3452 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Salad_w_chicken.thumb_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"256\" height=\"256\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Salad_w_chicken.thumb_.jpg 256w, https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Salad_w_chicken.thumb_-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">A perfect meal for leftover chicken.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the whole world, with whom would you most like to have dinner ? Watch this video to the end and be pleasantly surprised! This is a great video that shows how much family meals shared together matter. As a&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/2019\/09\/25\/nourish-your-family-one-meal-at-a-time\/\" class=\"read-more\">Read&nbsp;More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5605"}],"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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}