For NNM 2016, 5 tips to Enjoy Family Meals and “Savor the Flavor of Eating Right”

Thanks to the initiative of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, March is National Nutrition Month, celebrating Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day on March 9th. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has prepared for this year a battery of media resources, with the theme “Savor the Flavor of Eating Right”. It is about helping people to prioritize family meals and appreciate the pleasure of flavors. Food is not only for the body, it is a source of pleasure and entertainment and it has a major role in socialization. This is something a see a lot in my home country. In Argentina, we take the time to sit down and enjoy daily meals with family and friends. This is probably due to the great influence of Italian and Spanish immigrants. Family mealtimes is a tradition that Argentineans should not lose with modern lifestyles. It has been shown that shared mealtimes makes family members feel loved, confident and happy and promote healthy eating. So, here I share some tips to enjoy more family mealtimes:

1. Be realistic and set goals: add one more family mealtime per week. Once it became a habit, add more family meals. Plan your dates, but be flexible with time and place.
2. Be prepared: for a fast cooking dinner, no more than 30 minutes, you can have some ingredients ready to use from the previous day. For example, vegetables, fruits, herbs can be washed, cut and stored in a container in the refrigerator in advance. 
3. Involve each family member on a specific task before, during or after meals. Kids will be excited to have a "special" role. Cooking with kids promotes healthy eating habits from childhood.
4. Focus on the family: turn off the TV, mobile phones and tablets. It can be difficult at the beginning, but it helps to create a climate whereas mealtime is identified as family time. Talk about fun stuff, avoiding topics that might be stressful. 
5. Make mealtimes a learning experience: kids learn from what adults eat (that´s why is very important to set good examples).  During mealtimes, we can talk about where the foods eaten come from, in which cultures are mostly used or other ways to cook them. In advance, search online some fun facts about specific foods to share with kids. Once a month, or once a week, try new foods or new recipes and discuss about flavor, texture, presentation, and even give a score from 1 to 10 to each one of these aspects.

 Enjoy!