Winter is the epitome of hearty dinners, holiday parties and family celebrations filled with laughter, loved ones and some of our favorite sweet indulgences. As you take part in your family’s favorite holiday food traditions, consider making a commitment to the Together Counts’™ emphasis on energy balance by packing a balanced lunch for yourself and your kids. These five easy options will not only help you keep tabs on your
Over the years I’ve found that children tend to be less picky at meal times if they are involved in the process of getting food on the table. For a long time I thought that meant letting them help prepare meals (and it still does), but like Together CountsTM often mentions, the process really begins at the planning stage. Kids love to feel valued and important, and getting them involved
If you’re anything like me, you’re a super busy parent (I think “super busy” and “parent” are actually synonymous). Your smartphone is constantly on, and you use it for everything from phone calls to calendars to daily pictures of the kids and keeping everyone on the same page. The digital and mobile world often gets a bad reputation for taking away from quality family time. However, in many ways my
Preparing holiday meals can feel stressful. There are times I’d rather my children play quietly somewhere so I can focus on the task at hand in the kitchen. While I love my little helpers, it often feels easier to do it all without the help of little hands. And though that may be true, I look back on those moments in the kitchen from my childhood with fond memories. I
Cooler days, color changes, outdoor exercise and, of course, football — those are four things that make it feel like fall to us. If you’re as excited for this year’s football season as us, but not as much for the high-calorie food and snacks that go along with it, we’ve rounded up some healthful options. Now you can feel as good on game day as your (hopefully winning) team does. (See also
It’s officially FALL, and with fall comes shorter daylight hours. For many families across the nation, those shorter daylight hours are jam packed with extracurricular activities, leaving very little time for Together CountsTM moments, homemade meals and quality time around the table. One of our family’s saving graces and favorite tools of the fall season is the slow cooker. Many of my own childhood memories involve walking into a house
The holidays are a time for friends and families to gather and celebrate life and the people and things for which we are thankful. Most holiday get-togethers involve one person in the kitchen for hours to prepare the feast for the day, but this doesn’t have to be the case. The entire family can get together to help prepare for the family meal. In doing so, there will be greater
On weekday mornings, my kids and I hardly have time to say goodbye and give each other a kiss on the cheek as we rush to school and work. But weekends are a different story. That’s when we unwind and reconnect. Dinner is so often the focus for family meals that it’s easy to forget the prime opportunity the weekend provides for a full family breakfast. (see also: 5 Reasons For
Some of life’s most precious moments occur around the dinner table. I know that sounds odd, but it’s true. There are few things that are more important to your loved ones than your time and attention, and one of the few places where this is given without distraction is the dinner table. I can remember groaning as a teenager when it was dinnertime. Some of my friends’ families ate buffet
Studies have proven that eating together as a family has many benefits: ”Kids who more frequently ate with their family not only had a lower body mass index, they also ate more fruits, vegetables, fiber, calcium-rich foods, and vitamins……Also less likely to experience depression symptoms and were more likely to feel that their family was more supportive compared with teens who ate less frequently at the family table.” – Medical Daily.
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