Meal Time Solution

Hi All, This is A.J. and welcome to my first post!
On Help me mom, I’d like to share with you one of the greatest dilemmas surrounding families today: Dinner time. With T.V, Internet, Game boys, and what seems like 1000’s of other things fighting for your kid’s attention, dinner as a family is often overlooked.
We have been fortunate with this because we have always taken it as a must, to eat dinner together at the table as a family. Everything else is turned off and its a gathering, we make it a social event, to see how everyone’s day went, ups, downs, everything.
One of the most common complaints we hear is “My kids won’t come to the table” “They don’t want to eat anything I cook” Or the infamous “If it’s not covered in ketchup she won’t touch it!”
If you have trouble getting and keeping your family at the table, do the same make sure, everything else is off. Another Highly overlooked fact is that kids CAN help. (In their own way of course) If a child is involved in the making process they are more apt to not only eat it, but DEVOUR IT!
Here are some basic age guidelines:
2 years old:
Wiping the table
Tearing lettuce or other salad greens
Snapping fresh beans
Crushing up cracker crumbs (one of our daughter’s favourites!)
Scrubbing fruits and veggies
3 years old:
Mix ingredients in a bowl
Shake things up in a container
Knead dough
Spread peanut butter, cream cheese etc. On celery and crackers
4 Years old:
Mash soft fruits and vegetables with a fork
Set the table, juice oranges, lemons, limes,
Beat eggs with whisk
Mix dry and liquid ingredients together
5- 6 Year old:
Measure Ingredients
Use a mixer
7+
Most kids at this age can handle most kitchen related tasks WITH supervision of an adult. You know your child best so keep that in mind when deciding what they can and can’t handle.


Valuable Tips!
Research shows that children are more open to trying new foods if they helped cook them!
Sharing meals gives parents one of the easiest ways to serve as role models by letting them see you using manners, trying a variety of new and healthy foods, ( remember Kids Live What they Learn)
It’s a great bonding experience, for both you and your children
It’s also been proven that families that constantly share meals together: have children with higher self esteems, and better academic performance, as well as showing your children that the doors of communication are OPEN! Make that impression now and reap the benefits all throughout the dreaded teenage years!

Now I’m not saying that you have to eat dinner together every night or your children will suffer. I myself don’t because of a hectic unstable work schedule but take advantage of the opportunity you can, train yourself to identify these opportunities, and seize them like they were a fine jewel....because they are.
One of my personal favourites Is breakfast! The Whole Thing, Pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, fresh fruits, It’s easy to dress up, down healthy or decadent. Replace bacon with Back bacon; add egg whites to your normal scramble, whole wheat toast instead of white, are just some of the healthy options.
**quick note** people who eat whole wheat bread vs. white bread have a 30% less chance of getting certain types of cancer. Courtesy Of Men’s Health

Pancakes, to me, are the best “everyone helps” items. They taste great, can be as healthy as you want, but most of all they are FUN!

Here is the basic Pancake or Griddle cake recipe
Makes about 4 six inch pancakes
Classic Pancake the basis for seemingly endless amount of variations.
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 ¾ Tablespoon baking powder

Combine in another bowl
1 ½ cups Milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
And there it is mix wet & dry ingredients until smooth and you've got your ground work for your families favourite breakfast. From here you can add, chocolate chips, frozen blueberries, bananas wheat germ, oatmeal, crushed all bran cereal, buckwheat, Coconut, cheese, diced nuts, even crumble bacon. ANYTHING!!
My families favourites’ include mashed bananas, crushed all bran cereal, flax seed, and of course chocolate chips and blueberries. But the most Important ingredient .......you guessed it LOVE
My children love to blow kisses into the bowl after everything is mixed.
**Time Saving Tip**
Double the ingredients and make far too much, take the leftovers and freeze them individually for the busy week ahead. Pop them in the toaster and you have homemade breakfast in a flash! You may find Eggo's has nothing on these Pancakes!
Hope our secret ingredient is as delicious on your table as it is on ours!
Cheers
A.J.