How to have happy healthy meals

Happy healthy meals start with one simple ingredient, family. When families sit down for meals together without the added distraction of television they eat healthier because less is consumed.

You should have dinner together as a family in a dining room or kitchen with the electronic devices, radio, television, cell phones, turned off at least five nights a week. Take this time to make conversation and catch up with the family.

Schedualing meal times at the same time every night also helps to aid in proper digestion and prevent over eating.

Becky Hand, a licenced Dietitian lists eight reasons why families should try to eat at least five to six meals a week together. The first she says is because it opens up the lines of communication, conversations during meal times provide excellent opportunities for family bonding, to plan other events that the family would be interest in doing and to reconnect. Family meals, she adds foster a warmth, security and love, as well as a feeling of belonging.

Her second reason is because it is at the family table that young children and teens pick up on good manners, and manners are important in life. You get a lot further in life with good manners, and these are things that you learn more from your parents than anyone. She goes on to add that meal time is important because you learn proper etiquette, and social skills. She suggests to keep the mood light and relaxed, this is a loving environment and children pick up more from a loving environment than a hostile one.

Number three involves trying different foods, by testing out different tastes at home your child once again will know how to properly react when offered something unique or different away from home. This gives children a chance to try new foods without feeling forced or coerced, and she emphasizes don't bribe your children into trying something, just use a little encouragement by adding new foods to already family favorites; and be patient it can take up to 10 exposures before your child accepts the food item being offered; and she closes with trying new foods is like starting a new hobby, it gives the child a chance to expand their knowledge, experience, and skill.

Her forth reason is nourishment, foods made from scratch at home are going to be healthier than fast food or takeout, but this is one is on you as a parent, you have to purchase the right kind of foods, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, include dairy and products that are high in fiber, calcium, vitamins A and C, and foliate. Try when cooking to avoid making fried foods, and watch the amount of salt that you add, since salt is in a lot of the canned foods that you might be working with.

Reason number five has to do with being self-sufficient, teaching children nowadays how to plan and prepare meals, basic cooking, baking and food preparation. Children who spend a lot of their meals eating at fast food restaurants do not see the cost involved in cooking a home made meal, it can be a fun and rewarding experience to involve your children in making the grocery list, shopping, and preparing the meals. This will teach them how to budget, how much of items to buy, and also how to prepare food.

Her sixth reason has to do with preventing destructive behavior, research has suggested that teens and pre-teens who eat frequent family dinners together are less likely to smoke, drink, or do illegal drugs, then the same age range who only eat together one or two times a week. Research also plays into her seventh reason, and that is families who eat together also score higher on standardized tests in school as dinner time is a good time to talk to your children about any issues they might be facing in their schooling and work them out together. It builds unity and teamwork.

Her final reason is one that we all could agree with right now and that is eating at home as a family saves money. By everyone eating the same thing, at the same time at home you are spending less then if some of the family is eating at home and some are eating fast food, or if the entire family is eating fast food. Eating at home is just more economically responsible.

The next step is to train yourself on proper shopping, if the item is not in the house than you cannot eat it. Reading labels is a lot easier than most people think, and in some cases it is as simple as purchasing brown rice instead of white rice.

When it comes to purchasing flour, rice, or other grains, you want to purchase items that are 100% whole grain, otherwise you are essentially buying something that has all of the nutrients removed and then artificial nutrients placed in it. If a loaf of bread reads 100% Whole Wheat in the name then it is a good bet that the first ingredient will be whole wheat flour, but check to make sure, if it is bleached, or unbleached wheat flour, or enriched wheat flour then the name on the loaf is misleading and you are not getting 100% Whole Wheat.

Involving the children in the shopping experience can be positive and rewarding experience. For Preschoolers it is a good time to work on basic math skills as you count number of items in that you put in your cart. With the older children you can explain why some items are healthier and discourage them from eating unhealthy items by not purchasing them, but at the same time explaining why you aren't purchasing them. As your children grow and mature it is also good to start teaching them how to buy the right foods for their own homes someday.

After the shopping experience is done get your children involved in the cooking, there are some excellent cookbooks specifically for children, and a lot of them give age appropriate assignments, including having Preschoolers can tear lettuce, cut bananas, and set the table. Older children can pour milk, peel vegetables, and mix batter. Teenagers can dice, chop, bake, and grill. Working as a team puts the meal on the table faster, and makes everyone feel more responsible for the outcome. Giving everyone a sense of "ownership" of the meal, and that is the first step in creating healty eating habits, that will last a lifetime.