Satisfying your family at dinner time can be challenging especially if you have growing boys like I did. You might have fussy children or simply run out of inspiration when you have a busy work schedule.
Either way, you do not need to stress or make your life difficult when trying to satisfy the family at mealtime. Here are some easy methods to ensure the family is satisfied at dinnertime.
Serve with a rich side dish
If you’re not real sure that the main dish will be satisfying, go for the a rich side dish!
Adding a creamy smoked mac n cheese as a side dish will guarantee to make the family love it. You can never go wrong with creamy mac n cheese with most folks.
It doesn’t have to be fancy
If you try to impress the family by cooking something new and fancy every night, you will start to tire yourself out and sometimes cause the family to feel unsatisfied. Sometimes the quick and easy dinners are the most satisfying. Although, it can sometimes be nice to have fancy dinners, your family will not want them every day.
So stop putting pressure on yourself to cook something fancy every night. If you want to try new dishes, stick to it once a month and if they’re a huge hit, add them to your regular menu. On the other days, stick to what you know and keep things simple.
Set the mood
If you sit in silence for family dinners, it might not be a relaxing experience. Some people might enjoy listening to music or talking about their day. Who doesn’t love a little background music to feel the quiet moments?
Either way, it is good to set the mood. You can make family mealtime feel important by setting the mood and starting conversations. You should take advantage of this time and use it to bond and chat about things you do not usually have time for in the mornings.
Ask people what they like
Although you will know your partner’s and children’s dietary requirements, their preferences might change from time to time. You will know how it feels to want something one week and something completely different the next.
So don’t just ask what they like, take note of it so you don’t forget and add that to your regular rotation. When you cook meals based on your family’s ideas, you can ensure everyone will be satisfied.
Get people to help you cook
When you ask the family to get involved with the cooking process, it might make them enjoy the daily event more. If they help you out with the cooking, they can understand more about ingredients and will start to learn the basics of making a meal. Not only can they learn new things, but you can have a helper, which can make the process a lot easier.
So again, nothing earth shattering here, just some thoughts about ways to make sure you’re family loves your dinners.
These are great tips! We try to ensure our kiddos always have a rich starch as a side in the event they don’t like the main course but, thankfully, they seem to have pretty good palates.