Welcome!
I want to talk to you about family meals, but first, I wanted to just say welcome to my new blog! I am so excited to share my love of nutrition with you. I’m Linzy-I am a family dietitian, owner of the private practice LNZ Nutrition, a mom and a wife. In my private practice, I counsel all ages from infants through adults. On this blog I will be writing about everything pertaining to family nutrition including but not limited to recipes, introducing solids, picky eating, weight management, food allergies, sports nutrition, pre natal nutrition and post natal nutrition. If there is something you are interested in learning about from me, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Follow me at LNZnutrition on instagram and facebook too for more nutrition tips and easy recipes that the whole family can enjoy!
Now lets talk about family meals!
Family meals are important for every stage of life. Babies want to be just like their parents and older siblings, and they learn from what we do. For infants just starting solids, family meals are important because they teach babies how to eat! Toddlers and school aged children also learn from watching their parents. Picky eaters will often try more foods when they eat with their family because they are motivated to try new things when they see their parents or siblings eating them. Eating together as a family is also a time for everyone to socialize. More time socializing leads to more opportunities for language development, a chance to learn table manners, and more time to spend together.
While family meals are an awesome way to enjoy each other’s company, they also provide an opportunity to cook together and get children of all ages involved in the kitchen. Cooking together helps children develop cooking skills and math skills, and also helps teach them about kitchen safety. Let children pick out recipes they want to try, shop for the ingredients together, and give children age appropriate cooking tasks.
As great as family meals are, eating every meal together as a family is impossible! Busy schedules get in the way and that is ok! Your family will benefit from eating together even if you only eat together when time allows for it. If that means breakfast together a few times/week and some meals and snacks together on the weekend, that is still great! Do what you can to add more family meals into your families schedule since all family members will benefit!