Episode 32 - Family dinner reboot

Registered nutritionist Liz Weiss shares tips and tricks for creating healthy and enjoyable family meals.

SHARE

Family Dinner Reboot

Episode 32

Start the New Year right with a plan for family dinners. Registered dietician nutritionist Liz Weiss joins us to discuss tips and tricks for creating healthy and enjoyable family meals. Liz is the author of the books several cookbooks including No Whine with Dinner and the playful new coloring e-book series, Color, Cook, Eat! She is also the host of the cooking podcast, Liz's Healthy Table.

​Importance of Family Dinner

• Research shows regular family dinner boost physical and mental health of children
• Positive benefits for children include
  • Consume healthier diet
  • healthier body weight
  • Eating disorder chances go down
  • Grades Improve
  • Role modeling good behavior
  • Positive, fun conversations boost vocabulary 
  •  Are more willing to try new foods
• Family meal times conversations have been found to be even more critical than books for vocabulary development

Successful Family Dinners

• Keep dinner conversation positive
• You want the dinner table a place where kids want to be
• Dynamic is different in every family
• Breakfast or dessert could be the meal you have together because you are all there in the morning or late evening
• Could just be a special Sunday dinner each week
• Food is tasty and nutritious and everyone is happy to be together
• Television and devices should be off

Obstacles to Family Dinners

• Conflcting Schedules
• Distractions with technology
• No plans for dinner
• Different food preferences
• Picky eaters

Getting Started with Family Dinners

• Have a well stocked pantry for last minute meals 
• Use a meal planner 
• Have a shopping list (Liz has aisle by aisle guide)
• Can freeze ingredients
• Can preslice ingredients

Staples for the Pantry

• Vegetable or chicken broth 
• Canned beans
• Frozen peas or carrots
• Alphabet pasta
• Canned tuna or salmon
• Frozen Raviolii
• Pasta sauce
• Greens in the fridge like baby spinach
• Always want to have vegetables ready can be frozen or canned

Time Saving Tips

• Take pressure off
• It is okay to have convenience food, but round them off
• If you are serving frozen pizza, what can you add ex. Salad, steam broccoli with olive oil and parmesan
• Compare labels for things like fish sticks
• Could have frozen corn or peas with olive oil as side dish to mix convenience with fresh

Meal Ideas

• Tacos
  • Sauté lean ground meat, turkey or meat free crumbles
  • add other ingredients such as black beans, corn, cilantro
  • Salsa 
  • Shredded cheese
  • Tortilla or taco shell
  • Then can put out additional toppers
• Cheese Omelette
• Breakfast for dinner can be hit with children
• Build your own pizza and put different toppers out to add

Picky Eaters

• Serve food family starter
• Children get excited to scoop out their own food
• Cooking with your children 
• Some children it takes longer
• Can use “No thank you bite” 
• Incorporate play - 3 pennies - each child has to use a penny on saying something positive
• Make your own smoothie challenge

Links
Liz's Healthy Table Website
Liz' Healthy Table Podcast
Super Healthy Kids
Baby Steps Dietician
Real Mom Nutritionwww.realmomnutrition.com
​​
​

---