Author and mom offers 5 simple tips to get dinner on the table
The challenge working parents face in maintaining work-life balance is often compared to a juggling act. Finding time together, especially on weeknights when family schedules tend to be hectic, is no small task.
But finding time together, particularly at the dinner table, can pay a host of dividends. According to the Family Dinner Project, studies have linked regular family dinners with higher grade-point averages and self-esteem in children, as well as lower rates of obesity and eating disorders in both children and adolescents.
Cook, writer, activist and mother of two Katie Workman knows full well how difficult it can be to make nightly dinners together part of a family’s routine. But Workman, whose latest book, “Dinner Solved!” (Workman Publishing), provides 100 family-friendly recipes and variations to ensure that everyone at the table is happy, relishes the opportunity to help others make family dinners a fun part of their nightly routines.
“Many of us put so much pressure on ourselves when it comes to family meals,” says Workman. “But when we ease up on that pressure, dinner actually seems to happen more often, and the meals are a lot more fun.”
To help even the busiest moms and dads find time for family dinners, Workman offers the following tips so parents can produce weeknight meals the whole family can enjoy.
Don’t make yourself crazy trying to master a recipe with an endless ingredient list on a Wednesday night. Weeknight meals don’t have to be perfect or exotic. Even the simplest recipes can make for delicious meals.
Skip those time-consuming, last-minute trips to the grocery store for missing ingredients by replacing them with something similar that you already have on hand.
Pairing weeknight meals with the perfect wine can elevate midweek meatballs to something more memorable.
Whenever possible, reduce the stress of weeknight meals by doing some of your meal prep long before dinnertime. Chop veggies for the week on Sunday nights or take a few minutes each morning to gather ingredients for that night’s meal.
Make weeknight meals more fun by involving the whole family. Parents can let the kids peel carrots or measure rice or perform other age-appropriate activities.
Nightly family dinners help families build stronger bonds, and weeknight meals need not be lavish undertakings.