10 Back-to-School Secrets on How to Have Successful, Peaceful Dinners at Home

by Dana Susan Beasley

Back-to-school time brings a flurry of activity and new schedules. Does your family dinner time have to suffer?

Not with some careful planning and strategies! Here’s some ideas that will help you keep the sacred dinner hour going in your family all through school and beyond!

1) Organize your dinners by categories. For instance, Mondays make casseroles, Tuesdays make Italian food, Wednesdays meat and potatoes, Thursdays Mexican or some other ethnic food, Friday pizza, Saturday crockpot, and Sunday leftovers. That way, all you have to do is sort your menus by days and you will have a guide to help you come up with new ideas!

2) Use an online resource like www.recipezaar.com. You can search menus, filter by ingredient, category, or equipment, make a shopping list, and review recipes. For a small subscription fee, you can organize your recipes in cookbooks, plan menus online, create custom shopping lists and much more.

3) Buy food from a self-service commercial kitchen like Dream Dinners or Supper Solutions. You can go to their kitchen and prepare meals for a very reasonable cost or for a little extra you can have the staff prepare the dinners for you. Then, all you have to do with the dinners is thaw and cook. They usually don’t take much time at all! This option is great for when you are extremely busy, during holidays when you don’t want the added task of cooking regular meals, camping trips, remodeling, and family reunions!

4) Make a custom cookbook. Have all your family members write down their favorite recipes, including some old-time family classics. Publish this through Lulu.com or Recipezaar and share with your family members. Now you have many more menu ideas from which to draw!

5) Buy computer software that can help you plan your menus. Macgourmet organizes recipes, makes shopping lists, analyzes nutrition, and makes meal plans. This can even be downloaded on your iPhone!

6) To attract your kids to the dinner table, allow each child to pick out one special candlestick. With supervision, let each child light a candle. When they ask to be excused, then let them blow out their candle.

7) Use the children’s talents to enlist their help. Does your child like to cook? Let him help you make the shopping lists, go shopping, set the table, cook the meal, and clean up. He will gain invaluable experience and satisfaction for contributing to the family.

Utilize the buddy system. Assign each pair, children and/or adults, to have responsiblity for one task, like setting the table, clearing the table, or washing the dishes. This will help get the job done faster and it will teach your children teamwork and responsibility.

9) If your child needs a role model in helping out in the kitchen, invite a family over for dinner who has older children. Let the older child teach your young child the ropes. Your friend’s child will glow with pleasure in doing so! And your child will have someone to look up to!

10) Use an online menu-planning service like E-Mealz.com. This service has many different meal plans to choose from, including Kroger sales and Wal-mart, as well as low-carb, vegetarian and more. For $1.25 per week, you will have weekly access to a seven-day meal plan and a shopping list broken down into store categories. These shopping lists include price guides to help you stay within budget. Cook more each night and use the leftovers the next day for lunches. Your husband can take them to the office and save money on dining out!

May these ideas be a blessing to you and your family and bring you successful, peaceful family dinners!

About the Author
© Copyright AngelArts
Homeschooling mother Dana Susan Beasley is principal/publisher of AngelArts, a creative arts agency and publishing house. Dana delights in sharing her gifts and talents and the talents of others with people who are passionate about spiritual, personal, professional, ministerial, artistic, and relational growth.
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