Mealtime is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen family ties and pass on cultural traditions! A Harvard study found that eating family dinners together most or all days of the week was associated with eating more healthfully! Families generally consumed higher amounts of important nutrients such as calcium, fiber, iron, vitamins B6, B12, C and E, and consumed less overall fat, compared to families who “never” or “only sometimes” eat meals together.

Encourage your kids to help prep meals, set the table and help with the dishes.

Small children can do the following:

• Snap the green beans, snap peas, or break the florets from broccoli and cauliflower.
• Sprinkle herbs or other seasoning onto vegetables
• Wash fruits and veggies before prepping or cooking
• Tear lettuce leaves for salads and sandwiches
• Mash the potatoes!

What to Prepare?

Family meals don’t have to be complicated, think soups and sandwiches, soups can be prepared on the weekends and heated throughout the week, they are easy to freeze too! Pack a variety of veggies into soup to create a powerfully nutritious meal.

Sandwiches take minutes to prepare and typically a kid favorite – they’re transportable too so if you need to hit the field, you can easily wrap a sandwich to-go!

No matter how simple or complex the meal, the important thing is to enjoy each others company and listen to each member of your family over a delicious meal.

I love the combination of something sweet and salty, in this meal I have paired a sweet butternut squash soup with the salty and savory cured ham and egg cheese sandwich.