I’ve really been trying hard to serve more “family-style” dinners lately. I often recommend this way of eating to my clients, but to be truthful it’s easy to stay in the rut of plated meals.
I wanted to change that.
What are family-style dinners?
Family-style dinners are a style of eating where everyone gets to pick and choose from what’s on offer. They are meals where all food is served from the middle of the table buffet-style.
Tonight’s dinner was particularly delicious for hubby and I, but somewhat challenging for Miss 8. I had some good quality steak but wanted to replicate a Mediterranean roasted veggie dish that my sister-in-law served us on Saturday night. It was DELICIOUS! It includes several veggies that Miss 8 is still learning to like, all tossed together. It’s redeeming qualities were that the veggies are tossed through with balsamic vinegar & olive oil and sprinkled with crumbled feta. Miss 8 loves salty/tangy/strong flavours and LOVES feta, so I was hoping this might help her warm up to the dish. Besides the roasted veg dish, I made sure there were other foods she usually eats to choose from – steak, crispy roast potatoes served separately.
Miss 8 had a BIG achievement tonight. She finally tasted and ate sweet potato for the first time since she was a baby, and loved it. Indeed, she was picking through the Mediterranean roasted veg to get more. It was all I could do to hold back the fist pump and cheer of applause. Instead I calmly said: “Hmmm, so you learned to like sweet potato now?”
Sometimes learning to like new foods takes a looooong time – I’ve waited 8 years for that moment!
Key rules for family style meals are:
- Everyone gets to have a go at serving themselves
- We might like to help serve others – sharing is caring!
- You don’t have to eat anything you don’t want to
- There will always be something available that is on everyone’s safe food list
- We can use any of our 5 superpowers to learn about new food if we want to (e.g. eyes, ears, nose, hands, mouth/tongue)
- We don’t say yuck
- We do say “Yes please” and “No thank you”
- Sometimes one person will get their favourite dinner and another time it will be my turn.
Why family-style meals are better than plated meals
We only have to make one meal – enough said.
It takes the pressure off – everyone gets to pick and choose from what’s on offer with no pressure.
Kids get opportunities to practice food skills using tongs or other utensils to serve themselves or other family members. This is great for fine-motor skill development. Some children who aren’t ready to put a lettuce leaf on their own plate may be perfectly happy to help Dad put some on his. By the way, letting little ones use their fingers is fine too.
It’s fun! (and sometimes messy).
It avoids the “clean plate” club – serving meals family-style means that everyone is in control of what and how much ends up on their plate. This means that each person is more likely to eat according to their appetite, and not till the plate is clear.
Parents, get ready to start serving the food you really want to eat! As long as each person has one or two safe foods they can fill up on, it’s possible to serve tasty food that’s not “kiddified”. Kids benefit greatly from being exposed to the food their parents like to eat. That might mean that kids fill up on taco shells, bread or plain pasta a couple of nights each week when the menu is more challenging. The long-term benefit outweighs any short term nutritional concerns. If you’re concerned, match a more challenging meal with a nourishing and filling dessert. No more chicken nuggets every other night!
Eat happy!
Deb Blakley
Accredited Practising Dietitian & Director
