October 5, 2024

When families eat together, it’s more than just dinnertime! We’ve heard how important it is to eat meals together as a family – but did you know that when families eat together, kids are more likely to eat healthier and get better grades in school? In addition, kids are less likely to become overweight or obese and also less likely to try drinking alcohol or using drugs. However, with schedules as busy as ever, fitting in family meals can be a difficult task. With simple family dinnertime strategies, you can take back the “art” of dinnertime again and enjoy more than just eating!

Make The Commitment – Put your family first.
• Take a break from the rest of the world and focus on your family during meals. Turn off technology such as cellphones, television and emails.
• Be flexible: Things come up – so pack a picnic and eat on the go, or stretch your meal out by having dinner with one parent and dessert with the other.
• Remember: Family meals can be any meal. If dinner will be spent running, have a family breakfast that day.

Make It Simple – Don’t make a family meal into more work than it needs to be.
• Pre-make meals. Cook double batches and freeze one for later use.
• Have everyone help. Get meals done faster and let kids have fun (plus they will be more likely to eat what they prepare).
• Plan ahead! A flexible weekly menu planner can go a long way to ensure you have everything on hand and ready to go. Tip: Have each family member come up with one meal for the week to make this an easier process.

Make It Fun – Before you know it, everyone will be looking forward to the family meal of the day.
• Create meals based on favorite books.
• Compete in a family version of Iron Chef. Let the kids help choose ingredients and develop a menu around them.
• Play games to get everyone talking and enjoying their meal.

Make It Matter – The table is one of the few places where families have consistent conversations.
• Ask open-ended questions so they can talk about various topics.
• Discuss at least one thing that happened in everyone’s day.
• Remember to keep conversations positive and give everyone a chance to speak.

Are you looking for a simple and family-friendly fall recipe to enjoy? Try this new recipe featuring good-for-you squash from Seasons magazine. Squash is low in calories and provides three grams of fiber for a half-cup serving. The orange-yellow flesh is a clue the squash is loaded with health benefits. It’s rich in heart-healthy potassium, and that deep orange-colored flesh is loaded with more vitamin A than you need for the entire day. Vitamin A is important for eye and skin health and may protect against cancer.

Squash Soup & Salad
Serves 8

All You Need:
1 (12-oz.) container Hy-Vee Short Cuts cubed butternut squash
⅔ cup chopped yellow onion
½ cup chopped celery
1 large clove garlic, minced
1½ tsp finely chopped fresh sage, plus additional sage leaves for garnish
1½ tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1½ cups Hy-Vee vegetable broth
1 (14.5-oz.) can Hy-Vee fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
½ cup Hy-Vee heavy whipping cream
Hy-Vee salt, to taste
Hy-Vee sour cream, toasted pepitas and pomegranate seeds, for garnish

All you do:

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook squash, onion and celery in hot oil 8 minutes or until onion and celery are tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, chopped sage and thyme to Dutch oven. Cook 2 minutes.
2. Stir in broth and tomatoes. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes or until squash is tender.
3. Transfer mixture in batches to a blender. Cover; blend until smooth.
4. Return soup to Dutch oven. Stir in cream; heat through. Season to taste. Garnish with sour cream, fried sage leaves,* pepitas and pomegranate seeds, if desired. *Fry sage in hot vegetable oil in a skillet until crisp; drain on paper towels.

AUTUMN SALAD: Divide 8 cups Full Circle organic power greens (baby spinach, mizuna, chard and kale) among 8 dinner plates. Top with 2 cored and sliced Anjou pears, 1½ cups sliced red grapes and 2 oz. crumbled blue cheese. Drizzle with ¾ cup bottled blush wine vinaigrette. Sprinkle with 1 (1.5-oz.) package pomegranate-flavored pistachios glazed snack mix

Recipes source: September 2020 Seasons magazine www.hy-vee.com. The information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for individual advice.