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Because Dinner Time is
Family Time
- Dream Dinners has found a way to help busy families to put
dinner on the table -
Although recent years have shown an increase in family
dinners (U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, 2004), the
statistics remain sobering. When it comes to family
mealtimes, evidently, a lot of us say one thing but do
another. According to Tufts University, national studies
show that more than 80 percent of parents consider eating
dinner with their children very important, but less than 50
percent actually sit down together on a daily basis. (Family
& Consumer Sciences Hotline, 2004) What’s more, these
percentages decrease as children get older. (Gillman et al.,
2000) Sports practices, dance lessons, and hanging out with
friends take their toll on family mealtime. Add to that a
teenager’s increasing independence – physically, emotionally
and financially – and you have fewer and fewer family
mealtimes at a time when vulnerable teens need them more
than ever.
Science is just now validating what many parents of
yesteryear knew all along; eating together regularly as a
family brings with it many diverse and sometimes surprising
benefits. Children, however, seem to benefit the most from
family dinners, with improved grades, higher IQs, greater
self-esteem, fewer behavioral and eating disorders, less
stress, less depression and risk of suicide, and overall
better behavior than their peers.
Among the more surprising benefits of family mealtimes are
those related to social and academic performance. Children
who enjoy regular dinners with their parents tend to have
higher academic scores, higher IQs, better vocabularies,
nicer manners, higher self-esteem, and fewer problem
behaviors like smoking, alcohol and drug use, promiscuity
and fighting. They also experience fewer eating disorders,
less depression and have a lower risk of suicide.
This holds especially true with teens, who typically
experience fewer family dinners as they get older. Just at
the time when teens are beginning to be at risk, parents
surrender their “power” by decreasing the regularity of
family meal times together. Psychologist Wade Horn, who is
the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families in the
Administration for Children and Families at the United
States Department of Health and Human Services, described
the practice of a family eating together as “parental office
hours.” Dr. Horn said that mealtime is a positive context
for caring and sharing. “Good relationships,” he said,
“require time and interaction. Regular meals together
provide an opportunity for teens to talk with their parents
without making a big deal about it.”
Statistics show that a typical mom spends about an hour
every day on grocery shopping, meal preparations and
cleaning afterwards (American Time Use Survey 2004).
However, the reality is that we only have so much time in
the evening to deal with kids’ homework, projects, baths and
other luxuries such as workout and reading. Many of us can’t
afford to spend more than 30 minutes on the kitchen activity
on a daily basis but we still want to provide nutritious
family dinners. Home meal-solutions industry was born to
solve this dilemma. In meal assembly stores, the staff takes
care of the time-consuming chores including menu planning,
shopping, cutting, washing and clean-up. The guests assemble
12 or more entrees that they serve to their families in the
weeks ahead.
This great concept was created by Dream Dinners four years
ago by two busy moms, Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna, living
near Seattle, WA. Since then, more than a hundred Dream
Dinners stores sprang all over the country; many other
businesses were inspired to follow suit. As we busy moms
celebrate Mother’s Day, let’s think about how we can express
our love for our families and children more effectively. It
shouldn’t be so hard to create quality time together. Why
not start by having family dinners together? Because dinner
time is family time.
Herb-Tomato Chicken
Chicken breasts topped with fresh tomato slices, a creamy
sauce, and seasoned breading; this is a delicious dish to
share at your next potluck dinner.
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup canned cream of celery soup
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
6 slices tomato 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Spray 1 9 X 13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
Putting the dinner together:
Place the chicken breasts in the prepared baking dish. Set
aside. In a bowl, combine soup, garlic and mustard and stir
until well mixed. Spread equal amounts of the sauce on each
chicken breast. Top with tomato slices. In a small mixing
bowl, combine salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, parsley, and
rosemary. Sprinkle equal amounts of the herb mixture evenly
over the chicken and tomatoes.
FOR DINNER TONIGHT:
Pre-heat oven to 375. Bake uncovered for 40-50 mins, until
the internal temperature of the chicken is 165.
TO FREEZE:
Cover dish with plastic wrap and heavy-duty aluminum foil,
label, date, and freeze for up to 3 mos. Thaw in the
refrigerator before cooking as directed above.
Contributed by Dream Dinners in metropolitan Washington
area. See
www.dreamdinners.com for this month’s menu and
more information.
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