Ever wonder if there was a “right way” to eat? We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and we may not do it all the time, but we do understand how big of a difference it makes to the rest of our day. But wait…there’s more. How you go about eating your meal is hands down, one of the most important factors in establishing a healthy lifestyle for both the young and the old. Giving your mealtime a makeover just might be what you need to lose those last five pounds, to get your picky eater of a child to eat more, or even the secret to a close knit family.

1. Schedule and Sit. Schedule a time when you would like to sit down and eat with your family and stay seated throughout the entire meal. Scheduling mealtimes can help prevent unnecessary caloric intake from grazing and constant snacking.
2. You Are What You Eat. Mealtimes should be quiet, pleasant and relaxed gatherings for the family. Turn off the television and focus on communicating with the people around you during meal time. Not only will you be more conscious of what’s going on in your family, but also of what you eat.
3. Take Your Time. Mealtimes should take 15-30 minutes and allow 5-15 minutes to eat your snack. A lot of the time, we tend to eat fast and end up eating a lot more than our body needs since our it usually takes up to 20 minutes to realize it is full.
4. Avoid the Clean Plate Syndrome. Try not to force everyone to finish their plates when they are already full, including yourself. As much as we want to make ourselves believe that we are essentially saving children from _________ by not wasting food, overeating is just as bad for our own health.
5. Make Half Your Plate Veggies. Sounds easy enough, but make that extra effort to make sure that you have vegetables available at every mealtime. Not only are they packed with vitamins and nutrients, they are also low in calories but can still fill you up!

What have you done lately to give your mealtime a makeover? Tried any of the above?

Research assistance provided by Monica Lobo, RD.

1. SOCIALIZING

Taking the time to prepare and enjoy a meal allows for the opportunity to communicate and open up, vent, and hear about what is going on with the other members of your family. In a sense, it’s a way of blowing off steam and can keep you in the “family loop”. Socializing while eating can also help you lose weight? How you ask? Just think about this: conversing during meals will allow your body to take more time in between bites, leading to an increase in digestion between additional servings leading to a greater feeling of fullness, which in turn can lead to an overall decrease in consumption and ultimately a potential for weight loss.

2. EXPANDING THE PALATE

Getting together and involving your kids in shopping, preparing and serving meals can serve as an opportunity for your children, and yourself, to eat a greater variety of healthy foods. As research suggests, family meals are significantly related to greater intakes of healthful foods and nutrients that are often consumed in lesser amounts while eating away from home. In addition, by continually exposing your family to better eating habits and different foods, it’s more likely those same habits will be followed later in life.

3. HEALTHIER OPTIONS

Data has shown that meals cooked at home typically are higher in nutrients like calcium, fiber, folate and vitamins A and C and less in nutrients like saturated fat and sodium. Beverages like pop and alcohol, which are high in sugar and calories are also consumed less. Combine these benefits and you have an opportunity to have a healthier diet and a chance to lose weight.

4. LEARNING

To put it simply, the kitchen is a classroom. Luckily for your kids there’s no homework and better yet, no detention! Besides the obvious potential for improvement in culinary skills and the social component we already mentioned, which can help improve the development of language skills, preparing and having meals at home with the family can also improve math and literacy skills. Each time your children read a food label or cooking instructions, or use measuring utensils or calculate servings you are incorporating math and reading skills into activities your kids can find fun and enjoyable, all while helping out.

5. SAVING MONEY

Here’s a statistic to remember: meals purchased away from home can be as much as two to four times more expensive than meals prepared at home. That alone should be motivation enough to prepare some meals at home with the family but if not combine the other benefits mentioned above and this could lead to not only a fatter wallet but a slimmer waist as well.

6. LESS TROUBLED KIDS

Just in case the previous 5 reasons aren’t enough to get you eating as a family more often, here’s one for you. Researchers have shown that teens who eat with their families on average five times a week are less likely to be troubled teens compared to those who eat with their families three or fewer times per week. The teens who didn’t eat together as a family as often were more likely to do drugs, be depressed, less motivated at school, and had weaker peer relationships.

What is considered eating together? All family members are gathered together around the same table at the same time. No one is eating in another room and televisions are off.

So, get your kids started young at eating together but if you are often challenged by the lack of conversation consider buying Dinner Games or Family Table Topics which can both be purchased on Amazon.com. My kids love these games!

Assistance provided by Robert Masterson.