Food Fun Family

A family lifestyle blog about food, family, entertainment, travel and family-friendly products.

  • Home
  • Food
    • All Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Side Dishes
    • Vegetarian dishes
    • Delicious Dishes Recipe Party
    • Recipe Round Ups
    • 15 Minute Suppers
    • Recipe Box
  • Family
    • Tips for Moms
    • Family life
    • Holidays & Celebrations
    • Savvy Living
  • Creative Life
    • Crafts + projects
    • DIY Bath & Body Products
    • Printables and Activity Sheets
    • Photography Tutorials
    • Give Me Your Best Shot – Photostory Friday
  • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Giveaways
    • Book Club
    • Movies
    • Printables and Activity Sheets
    • Blog prompts
  • About
    • Contact Me
    • Privacy Policy
    • Advertise
    • Site Map – Find Your Way Around
  • Lollidale Goats
    • Our Does
You are here: Home / Family life / Making Family Dinner Time a Priority

Making Family Dinner Time a Priority

Tuesday, November 6, 2012 by Lolli 2 Comments

When I was a kid, the oldest child of five, family dinner time together was not an option. We ate meals together, period. We helped cook, we helped set the table, and we definitely helped clean up the kitchen afterwards.

Now that I am a mom with 5 kids of my own, I’ve maintained my mom and dad’s view on family meal time. We eat together, period. Granted, there are nights every now and then when we have to split the family up during dinner time, but nights when we don’t eat dinner together are the exception, and definitely not the rule.

Why are family dinners so important?

  • Eating together builds and strengthens family relationships.
  • Eating a dinner at home is more economical and almost always a more healthy option.
  • Sitting together at the dinner table reminds children that they are part of a loving family.
  • Family dinner time provides a daily block of time where there are no other distractions – no phones, no computers, no TV. It’s a time to just be us, and be together.

making family dinner time a priority

Although we usually cook dinner at home, some nights are too busy for a full home-cooked meal, but eating together is still important. So we have a few stand-by alternatives. Sometimes we grab a pizza, sometimes we call “free for all” and everyone grabs whatever they can find in the fridge or freezer. Last week, though, we tried something SO much better.

making family dinner time a priority

We ordered Carrabba’sto-go last Tuesday night. We had just spent the last 3 full days inside, not knowing what Hurricane Sandy was going to dump on us, and although I had been baking a bunch while we played the waiting game, on Tuesday I wasn’t in the mood for cooking. It was easy to order our food:

  • Mezzaluna Carrabba – Delicate half moon ravioli stuffed with chicken, ricotta cheese and spinach, tossed with grilled chicken, sauteed mushrooms and peas served in our alfredo sauce.
  • Sirloin – USDA Choice center-cut sirloin topped with mushrooms, prosciutto and Lombardo Marsala wine sauce and cavatappi amatriciana.
  • Pasta Carrabba – Fettuccine alfredo with grilled chicken, sauteed mushrooms and peas.
  • Chicken Parmesan Panini – Coated with our Italian breadcrumbs, sauteed and topped with pomodoro and mozzarella, served on baked focaccia.

In addition, three of the meals came with soup, so we ordered one of each: Lentil & Sausage, Minestrone, and Mama Mandola’s Sicilian Chicken.

making family dinner time a priority

The dinner was a huge hit (to say the least) and after all 7 of us had eaten our fill, we actually had leftovers – enough for KitKat to have a really enjoyable lunch on Wednesday. Sigh….I was hoping to have the leftovers myself, but she grabbed them early in the morning.

At least we have next time….

Dinner with my family is one of the most important parts of our day. Whether you are dinning in or ordering online to-go, Carrabba’s helps bring your family together during the week.

Tell me why you think family dinner is a priority and one of my readers will win a $25 gift card to enjoy at Carrabba’s!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Carrabbas. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

© 2012 – 2013, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

About Lolli

Lolli has written 3740 post in this blog.

I became a mom in 1996, and in 2005 I had my fifth. Yes, 5 kids. In 2007, this blog was born (my 6th baby that will never grow up) and I've been sharing recipes, photography tricks, parenting tips, and everything in between. (Formerly Better in Bulk)

  • View all posts by Lolli →
  • Blog
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Family life, Giveaways, Parenting Tagged With: dinner, Family life, family traditions, giveaways, Parenting

« Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cookies
Ace and Pudge – Wordless Wednesday »

Comments

  1. Eve McGee says

    Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 7:05 pm

    I agree with Kelly. It’s a time to slow down and really enjoy each others’ company.

  2. Kelly DeBie says

    Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 6:47 pm

    Family dinner is essential, especially in a house as big and active as ours. We need the time to reconnect, to talk, to tell stories, to find out what is going on in each other’s lives.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.