Can you remember the last time you sat around the dinner table together as a family at home? I think it is something that is disappearing quickly. OR perhaps you are around the table but everyone has an electronic device out. Well, I have a challenge for you for the month of October that may help bring you back to the table.

October Is Eat Better, Eat Together Month

It’s the perfect time to start enjoying meals together if you’re not already. Eating together as a family allows children and adults to focus on eating and TALKING to each other. Yep, you guessed it. I am also going to challenge you to put the electronic devices away.

Why Is This Important?

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reports that children of families who regularly eat together are more likely to have a higher intake of the WHOLE REAL FOODS like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes to name a few.

It is also reported that children are less likely to have behavior problems or use drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol when they get older. Not only health-related but family mealtimes are the perfect opportunity for everyone to reconnect from a busy day.

What Steps Can You Take To Make Your Mealtimes – Family Time?

Here are my top 6 tips to help you make your mealtime into family time:

Take the time to make a plan

Do you know what you want to prepare? If you have a plan, you are more likely to prepare a meal at home. Check out this post for some ideas.

Take all electronics away while at the table

Turn off the TV, take phones out of the room, and sit down and enjoy your meal together as a family. It opens up a great dinner conversation and lines of communication.

Invite your kids into the kitchen

Not only does this get the kids involved in cooking but it gives them confidence to build on lifelong skills that they can pass down to their families later in life.

Ask questions

Every night at the dinner table we ALWAYS ask one question… ‘What was your favorite part of the day?’. We have done this since the kids were little. Sometimes we ask what the least favorite part of our day is too but either way, it always starts a conversation. There are even a few times where we throw in random questions like ‘What is your favorite movie?‘ or lately ‘If you could travel anywhere right now, where would you go?’ Have fun and start the conversation.

Lead by example

Show your kids proper manners, how you eat a balanced meal (or you are learning how to), and how you try new foods. As a parent, you set the example.

It is all about habits

If your family isn’t currently eating together, then aim to eat two meals together a week. Schedule it on the calendar and make sure everyone knows it is scheduled for a specific day and time. Once you make that a habit you can start to increase the days according to your schedule.

How Can You Help Fuel Better Nutrition For Your Family?

If you have read through this info and are thinking that sounds great but think that dinner time is one of the hardest meal times, you are not alone. I asked my Facebook community and here is a small handful of responses when asked what their biggest frustrations are around dinner time:

I don’t know what to cook
I hate trying to plan out my meals
I have no time to put a meal plan together
I don’t know wha to feed my family that is healthy
I feel like I am in the kitchen all night long

Do you have similar thoughts?

If you are looking for guidance on meals, I may have the perfect solution for you! Enter the October Eat Better, Eat Together specialty group.

I set this up for someone like you. Ready to start eating better but may need a little guidance. This pop-up group will be for the entire month of October and will provide you with all the goods:

Your meals planned out for 4 weeks, Sunday-Thursday. This leaves Friday and Saturday to make your favorites, go out to dinner, or use up leftovers
A detailed grocery shopping list for each week
Access to your own student dashboard to save your info so there is no need to print unless you want to
FREE and private Facebook community to ask questions
Included in the Facebook group will be nightly dinner conversation starters, bonus recipes, and ideas on how to make dinners more fun