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.
Both my husband and I were raised having family meals, and we believe they offer many benefits, so it has been a priority for us to have sit-down, well-balanced meals with our three-year-old twins. Getting a balanced, nutritious meal that everyone will eat on the table night-after-night with two working parents is truly a juggling act.
The part I find easy when putting together a balanced healthy meal is making the main dish (which for us ranges from meat to eggs or fish) and pouring some glasses of milk. But I struggle with the side dishes from the other three food groups that balance out the meal.
These side dishes are important because not only do they balance the options we serve, but they offer “safe” foods that preschoolers are likely to eat on nights when Dijon-smothered chicken with capers isn’t appealing to them.
My solution for busy nights is to go simple. Usually our grains consist of brown rice or a bag of whole-wheat egg noodles with a bit of butter. Only when I’m feeling adventurous will I cook up a little couscous and add some veggies to it. Whole-grain toast with butter and some garlic salt is another quick favorite.
I also go for easy veggie options. Bagged salad for the adults with baby carrots for the kids is a staple. Pre-packaged frozen vegetables that come with cheese or butter sauce are also a go-to item. Steam-in-the-bag green beans splashed with some rice vinegar are on the menu nearly every week.
Rounding out the meal—and usually serving as dessert—are cut-up in-season fruit snatched from the bowl on our countertop.
As we sit down to eat, I do a quick survey of everything we are serving around our main dish: Whole grains? Check. Milk poured? Check. Veggies? Check. Fruit? Check.
Then I breathe a sigh of relief and try to enjoy a few warm bites of my dinner before the never-ending fetching starts: more milk, more noodles, napkins, salt and pepper, a clean fork…
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