Menu Planning

What’s for Dinner?
It is the question of the hour. It may bring anxiety to your mind or fear in your heart. Too many home managers look for answers in the supermarket at 5 p.m. Harried, harassed by hungry children, they rack their brains for an answer to the dinner-hour question. They buy things that look good and don’t have a plan. Too often the food goes to waste. Especially when kids are so hungry we stop to buy a taco on the way home.

Three meals a day. Seven dinners a week. From supermarket to pantry, refrigerator to table, sink to cupboard, the kitchen routine can get old, old, old.

No wonder we hide our heads like ostriches from the plain and simple fact; into each day, one dinner must fall.

Let me ask you, “What is the hardest part of the day?”
I would say, dinnertime. It is a balancing act.

Let me ask you also, “What is your most important time of the day?”
I hope it would be dinnertime, spending time with your family.

From a business point of view, a 1 hour investment that improves the quality of your family life.

A menu plan saves money: Reducing trips to the supermarket, reduces impulse spending. Using leftovers efficiently cuts food waste, while planned buying in bulk makes it easy to stockpile freezer meals at reduced prices.

A menu plan saves time. No dash to the neighbors for a missing ingredient, no frantic searches through the freezer for something, anything to thaw for dinner.

A menu plan improves nutrition. Without the daily dash to the supermarket, there’s time to prepare side dishes and salads to complement the main dish, increasing the family’s consumption of fruits and vegetables.


Dinner together improves family relations.

Last week on Studio 5 they shared these statistics: If families consistently have 5-7 meals together per week their children are
42% less likely to drink alcohol
59% less likely to smoke cigarettes
66% less likely to smoke marijuana
They do better in school

Easier to catch eating disorders- I’ve had friends catch bluemia and anorexia quickly. And overeating.

We all want closeness in our family relationships, but some of us have difficulty creating that environment at dinnertime. Eating is a necessary biological function, but it's also an important social function that we do with loved ones. The following are some things parents can do to make dinners a time when the family wants to come to the table.
1. Prepare the Physical Environment
Turn off the TV. More than half of families have TV on during dinner.
Ban interrupters: I-pods, cell phones, newspapers, magazine (so family can focus on each other)
Get bills, mail, etc. off table, along with any games, toys, or other potential distractions.
Turn off telephone answering machines
Face each other when eating: avoid snack bar dinners.
Have soft music playing
Light a candle - it's hypnotic for the anxious toddler (afterward, let him blow it out)
Close door to rest of house if needed. Create physical boundary
2. Involve the Family ahead of time
Pick a set mealtime but don't be rigid about it.
Ring a dinner bell 5 minutes before dinner is ready to start
Don't start until everyone is there. "Here we sit like frogs on a Lilly pad" is what we sang until the last kid showed up for dinner.
Begin with a prayer or statement of appreciation for what has been prepared.
Let each person choose a favorite dish or meal, at least once each week.
Involve the family in the shopping and food preparation and table setting
3. Expand our comfort zones
Let the kids invite a favorite friend over once a week (promotes better behavior in the child; allows parents to evaluate and encourage good friendships)
Once a week serve an ethnic or international meal or dish. Talk about the country and its people
Insist that family members try each new food or recipe. Don't require that they eat it all, however Make it mandatory that there be no negative comments about the cook, or the dish (i.e. "This is gross!") They can simply say, "I didn't care for it. Thank you." Shows respect.
4. Make it Fun & memorable
Take advantage of the holidays, birthdays, and every possible celebration. For example, make everything green for St. Pat's day, rotate table centerpieces, use balloons, make signs, etc.
Develop your own rituals. For example "tacos on Sunday night" or "roasts every Monday"
Don't be predictable: pick up plates and move outside; or go on a picnic; or eat backwards one night (right to left handedness; start with dessert).
5. Engage the Family during dinner
Talk about fun things; keep it light; do planning for holidays, birthdays, vacations
One person should guide the discussion, and set a positive tone
Ask each person to mention at least one exciting thing that happened to them today.

Here are also some tips on teaching your children what needs to be taught without being too strict:
First of all we teach by example
Have an ending time to the meal. "May I be excused?"
Avoid the LAP routine at dinner: Lecture, Argue, Pry (so they don't feel dinner is an interrogation session).
Meal time is not a time to complain or discipline children; in fact, parents should save their own disagreements for later so kids aren't feeling the trauma and drama.

TABLE TALK JAR
The Rewards?
Small enhancements or changes can have big benefits. Don't make a big deal of it, just implement them one by one.
Women are generally the ones who bear the most responsibility for ritualization so they may have to initiate.
As family learns to focus on family, dinnertime will again become special.
Busy families seem to find it a chore to make decisions about what to eat every night. This often leads to catch-as-catch-can grazing, ordering in or eating out. Yet studies show over and over the positive impact of eating family dinners together as often as possible.

One woman has taken this as her mission in life The foodnanny.com she answers all excuses like, “I can’t cook” “My family won’t come”
"Nothing makes us happier than the smells coming from the kitchen enticing us with our favorite foods,"
She also suggests on soccer, baseball… nights, have sandwiches right after school. Then have a light dinner when everyone gets home. Remember it isn’t just the food, it is being together as a family.
Menu planning has been a challenge for me. I’ve tried a lot and have had a hard time sticking to it. I have a lot of good recipes that my family likes. But, it is the organizing that is a challenge for me.
This is the plan that works best for me. It is flexible, so if I get bored I can easily change it.

Another way to get your family together and ask them what they would like to have for dinner. A good time to do this is before dinner.

Another way is to write down everything your family eats for a month. From restaurants, at home, take out…everything. Then plan the next month around these preferences.

Now if you are at a point in your life where there are 2 to cook for. Have fun. You can spend a little more on ingredients you didn’t use when raising a family. Try new recipes. Enjoy!

The foodnanny suggests giving each night a theme. This doesn’t make it a party, but it gives the menu some structure.

My challenge for myself is 5 dinners a week, at the table, with the family members who are home.

Spring Cannery Schedule for Lindon Wet Pack

The schedule is out for the wet pack cannery in Lindon, Utah. They will begin accepting forms on Monday, tomorrow 2/8/2010. I you would like a form, please call me and I'll email one to you today. The items being canned are; spaghetti sauce, raspberry and peach jam, salsa and pancake syrup. The slots fill up fast so if you are interested let me know ASAP.