inspiration365: Theme Nights for Dinner Planning

May 26, 2013Add Comments

You value feeding your family with healthy food and probably are aware that creating a family tradition of eating a daily meal together has multiple mental and physical health benefits. Now we have scientific research to prove that teens who regularly dine with their families are less likely to smoke cigarettes, use marijuana, or abuse alcohol. Studies have shown that eating together also helps reduce obesity, increases eating of healthier foods, and even improves school performance, language, and social skills. Whew – that’s a lot of benefits for sitting down to dinner together most evenings.*

We also recognize that getting dinner on the table every evening is no small task. The Table365 Feeding Your Family System is designed to make this as easy and efficient as possible. Coming up with specific meal ideas for each night can feel like an overwhelming challenge, which results in a small number of the same meals repeated every week. Adding variation is more pleasurable for everyone. Two good ways to keep your meal rotation fresh is to 1. keep a running list of family favorites on hand to reference when making your meal plan; and 2. use theme nights for inspiration and planning.

One of our favorite resources for starting and maintaining family dinners and rituals is The Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect With Your Kids One Meal at a Time, by Laurie David, with recipes by Kirstin Uhrenholdt.

If you already use themes as a tool for your weekly meals but feel that it is getting a bit stale or redundant, change your execution and ingredients. If you like Taco Tuesdays but are tired of the same tacos every week, try new fillings: fish, beef (ground, shredded), pork (pulled), beans (black, pinto, refried), sautéed vegetables (bell peppers, onions, zucchini), chicken (ground, shredded, cubed). There are so many variations on creating a taco that you could have different tacos for weeks! (And be sure to note which ones your family likes best on your family favorites list.)

Weekly meal themes can be based on many different ideas, including:

Types of Food: endless variations can be created in each of these broad categories.