If you are a globe-trotting family, you can expect your family’s tastes to change more often. You can keep things interesting by adding meals from around the world to your regular meal plan. Here are five family meals you can try in your home today.
Spaghetti bolognese is a classic recipe from Italy enjoyed by families for generations. No wonder. Spaghetti bolognese is simple and delicious.
Whether you can’t think of something to make for the family or you want to combine the traditional with the modern, look to spaghetti bolognese recipes for the answer. You can level up your spag bol by adding some olives, chili, and parmesan.
Sukiyaki from Japan is one of the Best Meals From Around the World
There are many mysterious things about the country of Japan, including the customs, the culture, the festivals, and the food. You have to see it to appreciate it. But you can delve into the culture from the comfort of your home with a famous Japanese family meal called sukiyaki.
Sukiyaki is a hot pot meal, a little bit like a stew, but with a difference. The hot pot contains slices of beef, tofu, and vegetables warmed up and flavored with soy sauce and mirin. In Japan, locals crack an egg on top of the stew and cook it on the surface.
Kofta is a loan word from Urdu that means pounded meat. Families in Turkey have enjoyed Kofta kebabs for generations. You can make them using meatballs on a skewer and covered in a delicious sauce coating for flavor.
You can make meatballs for kofta kebabs from any meat, but traditionally, people make them from beef or lamb. Try lamb kofta for your next family meal. Kebabs are super for a special occasion or a summer BBQ.
Tacos al Pastor
If you want to treat your family to a global food experience, you can’t ignore the food of South America. Famed for its rice, wraps, and meats, Mexico and other nations in the region have a way of creating delicious food from simple ingredients. Don’t miss tasty tacos al pastor.
Like the gyros in the Mediterranean, you can make tacos al pastor with spit-roasted meat carved off and placed into a wrap with vegetables, sauces, and rice. Since you probably don’t have a spit-roaster in your kitchen, you can grill or BBQ the meat for an authentic family meal.
Butter Chicken
You could feed your family with butter chicken from India. Families from North India have enjoyed this dish for generations. It consists of marinated chicken, yogurt and spices, cream, and curry. Serve it with nan bread.
Recap: Meals From Around the World
Your family will love these meals, and they’ll help your kids get a taste of food from other places. Do you have any favorite meals from around the world? Leave a comment and let us know. 🙂
Think back to your favorite Thanksgiving memories. For me, I think of waking up and smelling food cooking and of the excited anticipation of the day ahead, knowing that I would be seeing family and eating a delicious Thanksgiving dinner.
I think of relaxing with my family, laughing, talking, creating more memories to look back on. Mostly though, I think of the years we had a perfect Thanksgiving dinner. Aside from spending time with family and being thankful, the food is literally the most important part of the celebration!
If you’re anything like me, you always feel like you are missing a crucial part of Thanksgiving dinner. You’re worried you will ruin Thanksgiving in some way by forgetting something or not being prepared. No worries, however, as I have come up with a list of Thanksgiving dinner must-haves.
For a perfect Thanksgiving dinner, you should choose at least 3 side dishes, plus a salad of some sort, and of course, rolls with butter. Some of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes include:
Corn
Green bean casserole
Mashed potatoes
Stuffing
Sweet potatoes
Cranberry sauce
Carrots
Brussel sprouts
Scalloped potatoes
Oh, and you can’t forget the gravy!
With all of these Thanksgiving side dishes, you can browse around for different recipes so that you can make them to your own liking.
Thanksgiving dessert
Pumpkin pie
Apple Crisp
Apple pie
Rhubarb pie
Whipped cream
Pumpkin cheesecake
Drinks to have on Thanksgiving:
This is up to the personal preference of each family. Think about the people you will be hosting in your home, or about the family that is hosting you in theirs. What do they like to drink when they are celebrating a holiday? What pairs well with the foods and desserts being served? Some options include:
Wine
Beer (is this normal or just my family?! LOL)
Cider
Hot cocoa
Water
Coffee
Apple cider sangria (please, please, please Brandy?!?! P.S. – Brandy is my sister, and she makes a killer apple cider sangria.)
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Other Things to Consider When Making Thanksgiving Dinner
Does anyone have allergies? Are there other dietary needs such as a vegan option? The most important part of planning food for Thanksgiving or taking a passing dish is to consider the other people who will be attending.
Final Thoughts on Thanksgiving Dinner Must-Haves
Thanksgiving time is my favorite time of year. It’s a time for feeling and showing thankfulness, a time for spending with friends and family, and a time for reflecting on the year that has gone by since the last Thanksgiving gathering. Thanksgiving should be close to perfect, so including as many Thanksgiving dinner must-haves as you can is the way to go.
What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Mmmmm tomatoes. One of my all time favorite foods. I can’t say the same for the rest of my family, however, but realistically, your child should eat tomatoes every day.
My little guy, Liam, is the only person in my house (other than myself) who likes tomatoes. And when I say he likes them, I mean he LIKES them. He eats them first every time I put them on his plate and then asks for more.
The rest of my kids (and even my husband) aren’t fans of tomatoes. They won’t touch them. It’s crazy to me because I eat them raw all the time.
I’ve been trying to push more tomatoes, though, because they are SO good for you. I’ll explain how I’ve been sneakily using more tomato later on in this post but first, I want to tell you WHY your child should eat tomatoes every day.
Why Your Child Should Eat Tomatoes Every Day
1. Helps prevent cancer
Tomatoes contain an antioxidant called lycopene, which has been proven to prevent cancer and slow down the growth of potentially cancerous cells. Higher amounts of lycopene are found in cooked tomatoes, so adding tomatoes to your baked dishes is even better.
2. Helps bone health
Two nutrients that are vital for maintaining and strengthening your bones are calcium and Vitamin K, both of which are found in tomatoes. In order for your child’s bones to repair themselves from minor injuries, they should be consuming a decent amount of those nutrients.
The antioxidants found in tomatoes also help promote the amount of calcium found in your body. Long term, the benefits of tomatoes can prevent osteoporosis and other bone diseases.
3. Good for heart health
It’s never too early to think about your child’s heart heath, and tomatoes can help with that. To prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other heart problems, Vitamin B and potassium are necessary. By making this a regular part of your child’s diet, you are setting them up for long-term heart health.
Teaching them to love tomatoes will also make them more likely to continue eating tomatoes when they are adults, further protecting their bodies from heart disease. A bonus, you and your spouse will also benefit from the Vitamin B and potassium.
4. Improves vision
Vitamin A, found in high amounts in tomatoes, is great for your eyesight. Not only can it improve your vision, but it also can prevent night blindness.
5. Prevents and fights against diabetes
If diabetes runs in your family, you should take extra precautions for your children. Tomatoes play an important role in preventing diabetes because it can help restore biochemicals that are off.
Additionally, the fiber found in tomatoes can make the symptoms of diabetes less severe. It has been found that fiber leads to a balancing of blood sugars, lipids, and insulin levels.
6. Good for mental health
The antioxidants in tomatoes can promote positive mental health. They can help decrease emotional stress and prevent neurodegenerative disease. With depression on the rise for children and teenagers, you should be especially receptive of anything that will help.
How to Get Your Child to Eat Tomatoes
Like I said before, only one of my kids actually enjoys eating tomatoes. Liam (my youngest) will munch on them all day if I’d let him (although with his eczema I definitely wouldn’t let him).
The others claim they don’t like tomatoes, so I have to sneak them into their diet in other ways. This is easier than it sounds and doesn’t involve a ton of prep work.
Some of the ways to get your child to eat tomatoes include:
Spaghetti sauce
Grilled cheese served with tomato soup for dipping
Raw tomatoes served with ranch
Add diced tomatoes to pasta dishes
Use tomato sauce as an ingredient in sauces or dips
Help your child grow a tomato plant. This is super easy, and they will be more likely to eat the tomatoes that they grew.
Final Thoughts On Reasons Your Child Should Eat Tomatoes
The reasons your child should eat tomatoes mainly revolve around health, but they are also an easy, quick, and healthy snack for when you are on the go, too. By teaching your child to love this food, you are protecting their health now and in the future. You’re also teaching them healthy eating habits and allowing them to take care of their own bodies as they get older.
What is your favorite way to incorporate tomatoes into your family’s diet? Do you ever have to sneak tomatoes into your child’s diet? Tell me about it in the comments!
In the past, Easter hasn’t been a very memorable holiday for my family. We celebrate with one side of the family the week before Easter, and then not at all with the other side of the family.
We would do Easter baskets in the morning, and then our big kids would head off to spend the day with their mom’s side of the family. The rest of us would just hang out at home and eat “normal day” foods for dinner. We always made it a fun day and spent lots of time playing with the littles, and we would make sure to do a small Easter egg hunt, but it was never an Easter worth remembering.
This year, I am looking forward to something completely different for Easter. I want this Easter to memorable and exciting, so I have spent the last few weeks searching for ideas and preparing for the big day, and I can’t wait until we get to celebrate!
10 Memorable Easter Ideas to Make This Year Special
1. Start the day with an Easter-themed breakfast
While the highlight of Easter morning is normally seeing what goodies the Easter bunny brought, breakfast could be a close second. I found the cutest Easter bunny pancakes while I was browsing Pinterest and immediately added them to my list of Easter festivities.
Since my little Liam is allergic to egg I will have to use my own recipe or substitute for the egg, but the idea will still be the same. I can’t wait to see my kids’ reaction when they see their Easter breakfast!!
I am absolutely in love with having fresh flowers displayed around my home. Not only do they look beautiful, but they also add a fresh scent to the air that can’t be faked in any way. Love, love, love it.
For me, Easter is the day when I really start to feel like Spring is here (or near). I am hoping my family all feels that way on Easter, and having flowers decorating the house should help with that.
I know many people cook on the grill on Easter but, for our family, that doesn’t seem very Easter-y. I mean, we cook on the grill so often during the spring and summer that I feel like it just makes Easter seem like any other day.
Having a traditional Easter dinner will make the day seem more festive and special, so my menu this year consists of ham, scalloped potatoes, Easter bunny shaped rolls, asparagus, carrots, and a variety of fruits.
4. Fill plastic Easter eggs with something other than candy
My kids get a ton of candy at our family Easter egg hunt so I hate buying them more candy for our own hunt. In the past, I have done it anyway and ended up with more candy than any family needs in a lifetime.
This year, I am going to fill the plastic Easter eggs with non-candy items instead. At first, I struggled to come up with a variety of items small enough for plastic Easter eggs so, in case you’re like me, I’m including my list of ideas for the Easter egg hunt.
Pieces of papers with numbers that correspond with a specific larger item (kite, bubbles, chalk, activity book, etc.)
Un-inflated balloons
Tiny figurines (Dollar General has Paw Patrol characters that are small enough to fit)
Fingernail polish
“Coupons” (stay up 30 minutes past bedtime, have an extra 30 minutes of screen time, choose your favorite snack at the store, no chores for a day/week, etc.)
Coin money
Paper money
Hotwheels cars (I had to open the package to fit the car in the egg)
Goldfish crackers
Raisins
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5. Have an “Easter egg hunt” for adults (AKA: Beer hunt)
Easter isn’t just for the kids!! Get out there and have some fun. You deserve it after all the careful planning you did for Easter!
Have a non-drinking adult hide the beer around the yard, and then the rest of the adults all rush off to see how many they can find. You keep (and drink) whatever you find, of course!
6. Do memorable Easter crafts
Easter crafts can be done anytime leading up to Easter, so you can get extra creative with this ideas. This is handy because you won’t have to squeeze all of the fun stuff into one single day. It also makes it possible for you to help your littles with their crafts, or you can take the time to talk about the meaning of Easter while working on crafts with them.
On the actual day of, you can plan a craft that the kids can do all on their own since you’re likely to be pretty busy that day.
A fun idea for a craft during the Easter day celebration is coloring pages. Kids will be able to do this at their leisure, and they won’t require adult assistance.
7. In the week leading up, do Easter-themed activities
This might be my most favorite part of any holiday. Easter is the most fun because of the plastic Easter egg idea, though. You can use plastic Easter eggs for so many activities, learning concepts, and sensory play.
Dessert is my favorite part of the meal, so I plan on making it extra special. Just like with the adult Easter hunt, adults cannot be forgotten at dessert time, either. I plan on making a few desserts; one that the adults will love, one that the kids will love, and one that everyone will love. This way, no one will be disappointed.
You can help your kids get by until dinner with yummy Easter treats. I plan on bringing out one treat when we first start our celebration preparation, one while the food is cooking, and one later on while the adults are catching up. I want these treats to be Easter-themed, but also kind of interactive and fun.
I am so, so, so excited about this part. This idea came from the TV show on Netflix, and if you haven’t watched “Nailed It” on Nexflix, I highly recommend it. I already bought Easter cookie cutters and we are going to make sugar cookies in the shape of eggs, flowers, bunnies, and other Easter or spring inspired shapes.
Once the cookies are baked and cooled, we are going to choose a couple design ideas from Pinterest and have a challenge to see who can come closer to nailing the design.
Final Thoughts On Memorable Easter Ideas
Easter tends to be a “forgotten” holiday in our family. We don’t ignore the holiday or anything, but we have never gone all out before. This year, I plan on changing that. I want to make this Easter memorable for everyone in my family, adults included.
Tell me about your Easter plans!!! What traditions does your family follow? What new ideas do you want to implement?
Mon: Chicken Fried Rice Tues: Leftovers/anything – we do this on some baseball nights when we won’t be getting home until late. We keep little things in the freezer and pantry for the kids to have for dinner when we don’t actually have time to cook, or they can eat leftovers from the day before. Wed: Brinner (breakfast for dinner) – I’m planning on chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, and assorted fruit. Thurs: 7 Can Soup Fri: Hamburgers with Brussel sprouts and fried potatoes Sat: Sylas’ choice (it’s his birthday this day) Sun: Pizza night with the in-laws Mon:Spinach Artichoke Ravioli Bake Tues: Leftovers/Anything Wed:Taco Casserole Thurs: BLT with avocado Fri:Pizza Quesadillas Sat: Oven Baked Meatball Sandwiches Sun: Pizza night with the in-laws
I just want to point out that when I say “pizza night with the in-laws” we don’t literally eat pizza every time. We go to Chris’ parents’ house and they order from Pizza Hut. We do sandwiches, pasta, salads, wings… whatever we’re feeling that day. I realize that it sounds like we eat a TON of pizza.
Every two weeks I spend my Saturday morning drinking coffee and making a meal plan for the next two weeks. My meal plans start on Monday, but I do all my grocery shopping on Sunday.
Mon:Skilled Pork Chops with Fried Potatoes Tues: Leftovers/anything – we do this on some baseball nights when we won’t be getting home until late. We keep little things in the freezer and pantry for the kids to have for dinner when we don’t actually have time to cook, or they can eat leftovers from the day before. Wed: Baked Ziti with Ricotta and garlic bread Thurs: Bean burritos with tortilla chips Fri: Fried chicken, potato salad, and green beans Sat: Ribs, corn on the cob, and macaroni salad Sun: Pizza Mon: Brinner (Breakfast for dinner). Tues:Crockpot chicken tacos Wed: Chicken taco stuffed potatoes Thurs: Crockpot Philly cheese steak Fri: Pesto and mozzarella grilled cheese with tomato soup Sat: Beer bratwursts and corn on the cob Sun: Pizza
We love to cook on the grill when it’s nice out so both Saturdays will be food cooked on the grill. Corn on the cob is also something we have ALL THE TIME in the summer, and the recipe I linked to is one I’ve literally been using for YEARS. It’s sooooo good. Try it out!
I’m on a hunt for a yummy tomato soup recipe that is easy and doesn’t require a million ingredients. If you know of any, please let me know!! I’ll be forever grateful. 🙂
So, before I began meal planning, we would have nothing in the house for dinner. I’m not even kidding. Chris or I would be running to the store on our lunch breaks or after work to pick up something quick to cook. Since this is how we did it, we rarely had anything new and exciting for dinner. We were just grabbing simple things that we could grab and go. OR, even worse, we were just grabbing fast food on our way home. It was awful. We were spending way more money than we should have been, wasting time, and not really enjoying our meals.
Once I began meal planning, things changed. We hardly ever eat fast food anymore and we all enjoy dinner more. I plan dinners for two weeks, do my grocery shopping during the weekend, and then we are all set for the next two weeks.
When I meal plan for breakfast and lunch it’s pretty simple and honestly, we hardly ever have what is actually on the plan for these meals. I only put it on the plan so I know what food to buy and have an idea of what options we have. We always have eggs, bread, ingredients for pancakes, bagels, lunch meat, frozen pizza (on days we need a quick lunch), PB&J, on hand anyway so we stick with this most times. On the weekends our breakfasts get a little fancier because we have more time. During the week Chris, Peyton, and Nevaeh have to leave for work and school pretty early so we do quick stuff. My toddlers are so easy when it comes to breakfast… Sylas always wants Honey Bunches of Oats (in our house these are known as Honey and Boats since Sylas couldn’t say the whole thing when he first started eating them a couple years ago) and a banana, and JoJo always wants eggs, toast, milk, and a banana. Liam eats whatever is put in front of him, so it varies.
Anyhow… back to my meal plan.
So, the way that I do it is super simple.
Make a list of the meals you plan to have. Don’t bother writing the ingredients out just yet. Simply make a list of however many meals you are planning for. I do two weeks at a time, so 14 meals. We do eat leftovers once a week, but I still put “leftovers” on the list just so I don’t get confused thinking I missed two days.
Plan for events and late nights. If you have big kids who have sporting events or school activities, make sure you think about that when you are planning your meals. You will want to plan a crockpot meal or a leftover night on those nights. Peyton has baseball on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we normally do a crockpot meal on Tuesdays and leftovers on Thursdays.
Write the ingredients for one meal at a time. I don’t look at all the meals that include one pound of chicken and then write, “3 pounds of chicken” on my list. I only look at one meal at a time and write out the ingredients for only that meal. It seems tedious, but I find that I stay more organized and don’t miss ingredients or add too many of a certain thing to the grocery list. I do this on a piece of scrap paper or on the back of the printable (included below) and add the ingredients to the grocery list on my printable later.
Check your pantry. Sometimes I forget what I have on hand and I hate wasting money. Nothing irritates me more than buying something and then discovering the exact ingredient is already in my pantry at home. I learned my lesson quickly here. Once my list is finished, I go through my cupboards and pantry and cross any items off the list that I already have.
Re-write the ingredients in an organized way. So now that you have all the ingredients written out separately and you crossed off any items you already have, it’s time to organize. The way that I do this is by imagining my grocery store and starting in the back of the store. Anything that is in the back, I put at the beginning of my list. I go through all the individualized ingredient lists for meals and THEN I combine all the ingredients. This is where the “3 pounds of chicken” gets written instead of “1 pound of chicken”. I visually work my way to the front of the store, writing my list in the order that I will shop. This organized list gets written on the printable.
Check your meal plan each night. Don’t mess up your meal plan and be stuck with fast food for dinner because you forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer!! Can you tell we eat a lot of chicken? It’s been my example every time. LOL. But seriously, this has happened to me more times than I’d like to admit. I start getting my ingredients out to make dinner only to realize I never took the frozen meat out of the freezer the night before. UGH. Then I have to do the “call of shame” to my husband and tell him we have nothing for dinner. Oops.
I didn’t get a picture of my Meal Plan list filled out before I tossed it (I clearly wasn’t thinking), but I’ll share a list of the dinners I have planned for the next two weeks.
Every recipe for this current meal plan we have tried before and loved EXCEPT the corn chowder. That is the only recipe we haven’t tried yet. For the Taco Stuffed Potatoes, we use taco leftovers from the day before. We have also tried it with chicken tacos and it is just as delicious (if not MORE delicious).
Tell me what is on your meal plan for the week! I’d like to see your yummy ideas. Oh, and tell me which version of the Meal Plan printable you downloaded. I couldn’t decide which one was the cutest!
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