When's the last time you sat down at home for a family dinner?
Last night?
Good job…you get the June Clever award!
Last week?
Hmmm…there's room to improvement.
Thanks to our over-scheduled lives, the family dinner has taken a back seat. Drive-thru dinners have become the norm as parents shuffle kids from tee-ball practice to piano lessons to scouts.
Sure, the drive-thru is convenient, but it's not the best choice for quality family time or nutrition.
Some of our favorite family memories revolve around meals like homemade carrot cake for birthdays, make your own pizza night, Sunday dinner at Grandma's, breakfast for dinner and dad always burning something on the grill.
There's been a lot of talk lately about the importance of family meal time. According to CNN, the benefits include stronger family relationships and healthier eating because you control the portions and ingredients.
Let's make an effort to serve a family dinner at home at least 5 nights a week.
Let's start making memories.
Let's start making the family dinner a priority.
Need a little help? Try these tips to simplify your family dinner.
- Plan ahead…yes, that means look at your calendar, plan meals and go grocery shopping.
- A family meal doesn't have to mean a gourmet meal. Keep it simple.
- If it's a crazy-busy night, opt for a crock pot meal that will be ready and waiting when you get home.
- Learn to love your freezer and get in the habit of making extra to freeze for another night.
- Put together a collection of super-easy and super-quick recipes that you can refer to week after week.
Ready to get started? The folks at Ragú® have already put together a quick and easy recipe collection for you that includes No Boiling Lasagna, Fettucine Carbonara and Upside Down Deep Dish Pizza. Want more recipes to tempt your tastebuds? Visit Ragú's Facebook page.
By the way, there are 11 tomatoes in every jar of Ragú® Old World Style Traditional Suace…what a great way to sneak in extra veggies!
What will you cook for dinner tonight?
