Eat Better, Eat Together is a blog series by registered dietitians and parents whose stories and advice help families start or strengthen a commitment to balanced family meals and create healthy, successful families. Take the Eat Better, Eat Together Family Meal Pledge at Facebook.com/MealsMatter.org.
Monday, September 26 is Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your ChildrenTM. Sponsored by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, Family Day is a national movement promoting frequent family meals to help keep America’s kids substance free.
Eating together is also an effective way to make sure each member of the family eats balanced meals. For busy families, recipes that combine multiple food groups—milk and milk products; fruits; vegetables; breads, grains and cereals; and meat, beans and nuts— are the secret to serving balanced meals. Often called casseroles or bakes, these “one-pot wonders” are typically simple to prepare while being colorful and flavorful. With three or more food groups usually present in the main dish, it is easy to add complementary side dishes that include any missing food-group foods.
Celebrate Family Day today with a one-pot wonder(ful) family meal with Creamy Hamburger Noodle Casserole, Spicy Corn Salad with Chilies and Cilantro and Apple Dippers. Continue serving balanced family meals all week with Creamy Broccoli Fish Bake, Chicken Fiesta, Spinach Berry Salad and Orange-Honey Arborio Rice Pudding.
Visit Facebook to take the Eat Better, Eat Together family meal pledge and follow the Twitter hashtag #EatBetter2Gether for family meal updates. Then register at MealsMatter.org to add these and other recipes to your personalized family meal plan and shopping list.
“Family Meals Matter” features registered dietitian-approved recipes from the thousands of user-contributed recipes available at the free family nutrition and meal-planning website, Meals Matter, maintained by registered dietitian moms with Dairy Council of California. Healthy Eating Made Easier™
Eat Better, Eat Together is a blog series by registered dietitians and parents whose stories and advice help families start or strengthen a commitment to balanced family meals and create healthy, successful families. Take the Eat Better, Eat Together Family Meal Pledge at Facebook.com/MealsMatter.org.
Photo Caption: Creamy Hamburger Noodle Casserole, EatingWell. Photo by Ken Burris.