Do you dread or love dinner time? I used to find myself panicking before even sitting at the table, obsessing over whether and how much my kids ate and spending my time coercing them to eat what I'd cooked. Then one day I decided to relax, enjoy my dinner and my family's company. I can sit and enjoy my meal even if the others don't want to, why should they ruin my dinner?  And they quickly learnt! From then on I have had a much more enjoyable time (and so have they) and I was able to get more adventurous with my cooking (and my kids are getting more adventurous in their eating too). I encourage them to try but I no longer criticise myself if their eating is less than perfect. It's a journey, they'll learn in time. 

Creating a happy family meal time is easier than you think. Here's how:

Firstly you need to eat with your kids at the table and turn the TV off. Creating a nice supportive environment where you can role model healthy eating is one of the biggest predictors of children's diet. At least one parent should sit and eat with the kids at least once a day. If you currently feed the kids dinner early and eat later with your partner, it's time to change (harsh, I know but you can still enjoy your partner's company while they eat). And if you currently cook different meals for the different dinner sittings, now is the time to give yourself a break and cook one meal (you can combine food kids love with new foods to make it less scary for the kids). 

Secondly set some family table rules. Teach your kids to sit at the table and chat, preferably even once they have finished (this may improve with age but start to encourage it). Involve them in the setting the table (they can choose some nice plates, maybe some napkins) and the cleaning up. Most importantly teach them the food politeness rule. 

Lastly create a loving and calm environment which encourages kids to try new foods and ultimately enjoy healthy foods. They can learn that healthy food is fun and enjoyable, not about being gruffly told to "eat your veggies".  Stop the nagging and start talking about your day and the food. Forget bribing but remember marketing. Use descriptive words like crunchy, sweet, colourful and fresh. Encourage kids to not just taste and food but see it and smell it as well. Sell healthy foods to your kids by explaining fish is brain food for tomorrow's test, that green foods help you jump high and veggies of the traffic light make you a faster swimming. 

I often have nights where one of my kids tells me they are not going to eat. We ask them to just sit and wait at the table. Ask them about their day. Talk about how delicious the meal is. Usually within a couple of minutes, they start eating and I smile to myself. 

How do you create a fun family meal time? 

After a lovely couple of weeks off, it's time to get back to work. While holidaying at the beach, I read some nutrition books and spent a bit of time in the kitchen. I realise that this year is going to be a big one. With more work for me and growing kids I want to make a plan to make my life easier for the year ahead.

I'm writing down a tip sheet for myself and a meal planning plan! I thought I would share my plans with you all. My main aim is to increase variety. My kids are very good about eating the healthy food they are used to, so now I want to challenge them further. They are great at trying a tiny bite of anything and now I would like them to eat more of certain foods (namely fish and their non favourite veggies).

Here is my plan:

Breakfast (we currently have choice of porridge, eggs, multigain weat bix, milk and mulitgrain toast): ADD some fruit and/or veg (maybe in smoothies) and/or nuts and seeds (on porridge).

Lunches: AIM increase variety.
Not sandwiches everyday. Rotate with whole grain crackers or wraps. Fillings to be different from previous day. Aiming for 1-2 days  a week (1 school and 1 weekend) of non-typical  lunches (ie. frittata, sushi, leftovers) 

Dinner:

I would like to try a new recipe once a fortnight
Serve soup or veggie entree every second day (to increase veggies)
Use the freezer

Weekly meal plan guide (all meals below plus veggies and a little grains)
1 x red meat (include kangaroo)
1 x chicken
1 x fish
1 x egg or legume (chick pea, red kidney beans, lentils)
1 x tofu
1 x fish or legume
1 x red meat or chicken

Red meat meal ideas: bolognase sauce, porcupine meat balls, cutlets, stew, fajitas
Chicken meal ideas: roast, schnitzel, stew, Moroccan, soup, gozleme, pie, pizza
Fish meal ideas: coconut curry, pasta bake, crumbed, patties, in foil , with salsa
Tofu ideas: with satay sauce, stir ifry, burgers, sausages
Egg and legume ideas: lentil sauce, lentil burgers, frittata, omelet, baked beans (I want to try make my own), egg and baked beans on toast

I'm also aiming for happy family mealtimes and reducing snack sizes. More on that next blog....

What are your food plans or goals for the year? Your plans may be very different to mine and that's great.  But thinking and planning your eating, is one of the secrets to success. Being organised really helps my family to eat well without too much stress.

Do you have any great recipes for me to try?