Getting "Family" Back Into The Meal
By Competing With Our Competitors

     Isn’t it sad? Our kids are begging us to take them out to Wendy’s, KFC, and other favorite restaurants because the food is so yummy. No matter how hard we try, we just can’t seem to find the ingredients to make the foods they are begging us for. We work hard all day, and want family time to be pleasant. Therefore, we give in and take them out to their favorite restaurant, spending lots of money, just so the family meal can be enjoyable.

     And if you go to places like McDonald’s or Burger King, your effort to have a “family meal” are squashed because most of them have playrooms. The fancier or family restaurants are nice too, but they are so busy. It is next to impossible to have a quiet intimate dinner with your family in public. Nevertheless, we go out to dine anyways, because we want to please those we love, and try to get the “family” back into the meal.

     Remember back when we were children, we couldn’t wait to have the family gathering at the dinner table. It was a time we laughed, shared our experiences of the day, and tasted all kinds of yummy foods, especially at grandma’s house.

     Today, we have to compete with restaurant food, video games, TV, computers and very busy lifestyles.

     So how do we, in today’s age, get back to the “family” gathering we so miss? 

     We use our competition to our advantage! Here are some ideas:

     Find “copy cat” recipes online for their favorite dishes. Ways of doing this are to search recipe forums, and other “secret recipe” websites. Sign up for their free newsletters that give you free recipes.

     Create the restaurant atmosphere in your own kitchen or dining room. If you are having a copycat “McDonald’s” meal, get small lunch sacks and serve the meals in them, put a prize in each bag. Prizes can be bought by themselves at McDonald’s, or you can get little bags of toys at the dollar store.

     (Editor's Note: Why not have a "Theme Dinner" before or after FHE and center
           the "Theme Dinner" around a family member's "My Favorite Subject?")

     One child gets to talk about and to present his/her favorite video game; another night another child gets to talk about his/her favorite TV show, or what they did that day. Make it fun, and let those who like to tease know they will have their turn the next night if they are nice.

     We can get the “family” back into the meal and recreate what we have missed from our earlier days. The times are changing and the methods our parents used, just don’t seem to work with the children of today. We can do this, we just need to be a little tricky, and a little creative and use our competition to our advantage.

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     Out smart the competition and bring back the "family" meal you remember. Get "copy cat" recipes and tips by visiting: http://fivestarrecipes.blogspot.com

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