Mealtime Healthy: Three ways to make family mealtime healthy

There are lots of important things we consider when planning dinnertime for the family. One is whether you’re getting value for money out of the ingredients. Another might be whether you even have time to cook the meal. The most important should be how nutritious is this food you’re giving to your family. If you find yourself often overlooking that last part, here are three simple ways to make your family’s mealtime healthy.

Order a subscription box

There are many things preventing us from putting together a completely new recipe for dinner every night. A lot of them link back to not having enough time in the day to properly prepare something new. Whether it’s not having time to look in a recipe book for a new dish, or even not having time to buy the ingredients, there’s always an excuse. Sadly, this often means that we sometimes opt for what we think is the easiest option, either a ready meal or a takeaway, both of which are often high in salt and fat.

If you find time is against you, why not get a subscription box to deliver all the recipes and ingredients you need for a meal straight to your door? If you choose a children’s subscription box you could even get your little ones to help you cook the tea. Boxes like those provided by Compass Cooks include illustrated recipe cards that your small chefs can understand. They also come with activity sheets and stickers to teach children about all of the countries around the world that their recipes originate from.

Try meat-free Mondays

Often families can get into the routine of cooking a portion of meat each night with a side of vegetables. Once you remove meat from the menu, it opens up the door to so many new and exciting recipes. While it’s a big commitment to go vegetarian or vegan, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some of the meat-free options every once in a while. One of the biggest trends out there at the moment is giving up meat for at least one day a week.

By agreeing to not eat meat every Monday, not only are you encouraging your family to try new mealtime healthy, but you’re also encouraging them to try healthier foods. This can also reduce your family’s carbon footprint as producing meat often uses a lot of natural resources, more so than growing vegetables.

Recreate restaurant recipes

Inspiration for new recipes can come from anywhere. Even if you’re not a fan of recipe books or cookery programs, there are still other places you can find new recipes. Next time you’re at a restaurant looking at the menu, think whether there are any meals that you could try creating at home. Restaurants have a huge influence on the food that is sold in supermarkets. For example, many supermarkets have started selling popular restaurant dishes like pulled pork in their stores on the back of how often they’re ordered when people eat out. You’ll be surprised just how easy it is to find some of the ingredients to create some of your favourite restaurant’s dishes.