{"id":7629,"date":"2013-03-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/togethercounts.com\/setting-time-for-quality-family-meals\/"},"modified":"2013-03-28T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-28T00:00:00","slug":"setting-time-for-quality-family-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/togethercounts.com\/es\/setting-time-for-quality-family-meals\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting Time for Quality Family Meals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There’s a funny scene from The Simpsons where Marge Simpson painstakingly creates a smiley face out of fruit and bacon on Homer’s pancakes, only to watch him eat everything without even looking at it.<\/p>\n

In real life, it’s not so funny. <\/strong>We’re more like Homer than we care to admit. Someone spends time shopping, chopping, preparing, cooking, setting the table and serving a meal, only to have it all disappear in two minutes without anyone pausing for air\u2014 and then everyone is gone.<\/p>\n

There has to be a better way.<\/strong> There is. I believe I am smarter than Homer Simpson. And you are too. It may be easier said than done considering our fast and furious lives sometimes cause us to rush through our lives – and our meals. But it’s a choice that we can do something about…starting tonight. I’ll show you how we did it.<\/p>\n

Gather Around the Table<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One of the first things we did when we moved into our house was build a big kitchen table. We didn’t have curtains or a couch, but I wanted a great table. One of the things I remember most from my childhood was sitting around the kitchen table\u2014 the stories, the jokes, the teasing, the laughing\u2014 this is where we would catch up on our lives. This is where family happens.\u00a0I grew up in a big family, so it’s not to say we weren’t running around in a frenzy, but we did make time at dinner.<\/p>\n

(see also <\/strong>The Family Table<\/strong><\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

It Starts with 15 Minutes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Now that I have a family of my own with the requisite trombone lessons and basketball practice, I get<\/em> that Homer sneaks in. So, we started setting the timer on the microwave for 15 minutes as we sit down for dinner. We start with a salad and a drink. We don’t serve the \u00abmain dish\u00bb until the timer goes off. It forces us to actually…get this…talk to each other. To savor<\/em> instead of shovel<\/em>. To lose the Homer<\/em>.\u00a0And it’s working.<\/p>\n

We also started playing games to fill the time. Things like going around the table and each having to name a character from Toy Story,<\/em> or a kind of cereal, or a sport without a ball. Or tonight my son said he bumped into someone \u2013 and before he could tell me who it was – I said, \u00abLet me guess\u00bb and we all started playing 20 Questions<\/em> to see who could come up with the person first. Yes it sounds goofy and unrealistic, but try it. Set the timer: 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

(see also <\/strong>Finding Fun at the Family Dinner Table<\/strong><\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

We’re laughing. We’re slowing down. We’re being a family. By the time the timer goes off and we bring out the main course, we’re feeling full from the salad and water so we’re eating less. We started making smaller portions. We started learning about each other’s days. We still have to study for science tests and practice the piano but we’re making a little dent in our lives to enjoy each other, a good meal, and a good laugh as a family.<\/p>\n

Like my tips? Enter to win one of five copies of \u00a0my new book full of great family activity and meal planning ideas:\u00a0Year of Action: How to Stop Waiting & Start Living Your BIG, Fabulous Life<\/a>! (Your contact info will only be used for giveaway selection and winner notification).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

a Rafflecopter giveaway<\/a>
\n