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• Sunday Dinner Anthropologist

  Dinners growing up were always more or less casual affairs (it was the 70s/80s and everyone worked, had group therapy, and didn't buy into the old traditions--it was the West Coast and it was very laid back).  Furthermore, we weren't in touch with our extended family so if there were a big special dinner on a Sunday or holiday, only a few of us would sit around the table and make small talk (which in those days meant reviewing our feelings about this or that current event). Inspired to live their lives differently than their parents, my parents provided more love than structure, more cereal than roast chicken.   Read More... Posted Jun 01 2008, 06:06 PM by Rachael Brownell (Redsy) with | with no comments Filed under: joint custody, family dinners, bringing back sunday dinners, cooking dinner, blended family, sunday dinner, fancy dinners, regular

• One Woman's Bio-Trash is Another's Mood-Boosting Good Eats

  For me, there’s something about placenta-eating that tickles the ol’ gag reflex. And I say this as a dedicated carnivore who has eaten her fair share of strange delicacies (raw horsemeat comes immediately to mind). Why should I be so opposed to eating, literally, my own flesh and blood? After all, I’m constantly gnawing on my cuticles. But body-part analogies could not keep me from dry-heaving my way through Jezebel’s reposting of cooking show's transcript where the featured ingredient is a placenta. The crowning gory glory is this:   Read More... Posted Dec 05 2007, 03:27 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Placenta, family dinners, Russia, placentaphagy, jezebel, msnbc, afterbirth

• Because Nothing Says Quality Family Time Like a Bucket of Chicken

  Studies have shown that kids who eat dinner with their families on a regular basis are less likely to try drugs and alcohol and are more likely to earn better grades. In a valiant effort to protect our youth, Kentucky Fried Chicken has joined forces with Julienne Smith, author of Food for Talk, to get families to spend more time at the dinner table.  KFC's site offers several topics for dinner conversation from Smith. And if the kids grow tired of family bonding... Read More... Posted Sep 09 2007, 05:49 PM by ChagHolland with | with no comments Filed under: family dinners, dinner, family time, kfc, family food

• TV Dinners Bad for More Than Your Brain

  Plopping the fam in front of the TV during dinner time does more than dull any type of conversation. It can actually make your kids unhealthy. A recent health survey shows kids who eat with their families in front of the television eat fewer fruits and vegetables. Turn off the tube, however, the veggie intake soars. And here I thought dinner-time TV was a bad idea because the only thing on at the time is usually umimportant things like the news. In short, the survey of 1,300 families with preschoolers showed that family dinner time = good -- while family dinner time + TV = bad. Just wait till the World Series and we'll see how quickly that equation changes. Posted Apr 12 2007, 10:31 AM by Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) with | with no comments Filed under: family dinners, dinner, study, bad habits, family activities

• The Bad News: Annie's Mac Ain't All That. There's No Good News.

  Five bucks says that you, dear reader, will be preparing a box of Annie's macaroni and cheese for your little darlings' lunch or dinner at some point within the next week. And while you may feel some tiny pang of guilt that it's from a box, you probably feel better that it isn't Kraft. Because Annie's is natural, right? It's natural and therefore it is better for your child. Even the most foodie of my friends have a box of Annie's in the pantry for "just in case", because it's better than the alternative quickie dinner, isn't it? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but someone has to be: You are wrong. I'm wrong. We are all wrong. Salon's exposé of the un-goodness of Annie's Macaroni and Cheese proves that it's no better than its mainstream competitors. Read More... Posted Jan 31 2007, 08:13 AM by Patti with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: food, healthy eating, cooking, eating, family dinners, dinner, Salon, Annie's Homegrown

• Ayun Halliday's Favorite Recipes for Families (and The Stressed-Out Parents Who Run Them)

  Ayun Halliday has been one of my favorite writers ever since I laid hands on The Big Rumpus. Not one to be tied down by stereotypes, the offbeat mama of two and mastermind behind the East Village Inky has gone on to write three tomes outside of the parenting world: No Touch Monkey!, a travelogue that's reminiscent of The Devil's Picnic, but with less absinthe; Job Hopper, a chronicle of an early adulthood's worth of shit jobs; and Dirty Sugar Cookies, about her transformation from a picky eater into a...well, a picky gourmet eater. Unfortunately, with all of this book writing to do, Ayun has refused to become sucked into the blogging vortex. Until now, that is. Imagine how thrilled I was to discover the Dirty Sugar Cookies blog, Ayun's journal devoted to all things culinary and side-splitting. Imagine my further delight when Ayun responded to my request to select the appetizers, dishes and drinks from her blog that are best suited to busy, stressed-out families. Oh, and I asked her to toss a cocktail recipe in here for good measure. After all, what's a playdate without a little tipple? The recipes after the jump... Read More... Posted Jan 28 2007, 11:11 AM by thezeroboss with | with no comments Filed under: food, health, nutrition, cooking, recipes, ayun halliday, family dinners, dinner