Mumsnet users discuss family mealtime rituals with Uncle Ben's & Dolmio

[AaronMumsnet]

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While some evenings are for a hastily prepared and eaten meal as you taxi your child around to football/ballet/karate, others are for taking the time to share the chopping and stirring, then sit down and enjoy dinner as a family. Family dinners come in all shapes and sizes and can be noisy and often messy affairs - but they’re the perfect opportunity to create family mealtime rituals and spend quality time together.

Uncle Ben’s and Dolmio believe in the power of dinnertime to bring people together:

‘We all know that one of life’s pleasures is to share a meal with family and friends where you can take time to connect with the ones that you love, but in the midweek mayhem it’s not always possible to take time to cook and eat together. We want to hear your stories, what mealtimes in your house are really like, tips and tricks to overcome barriers to a great mid-week dinnertime and the rewards that eating together can bring.’

Did you make your daughter’s first boyfriend sweat over a flaming hot chilli con carne? Is it while your kids help you in the kitchen they have suddenly chosen to open up to you about their feelings, school day, worries or dreams, or did this time together produce a mini Nigella, now boasting cooking skills and flare far beyond what you’ve taught them. Does the dinner table give rise to stage-worthy performances, perhaps an impression of their teacher so legendary that it still leaves you in stitches, even now? Or do you still brag about the famous spaghetti bolognese in which you successfully hid a grand total of four portions of veggies and hit your family’s nutrient quota for the day?

Whatever your meal time wins, and rituals might be, share them below to be entered in to a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).

Thanks, and good luck!

MNHQ

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Every Sunday evening we visit my MIL who cooks us an amazing Sunday Dinner. This started 10 years ago when my husband moved out of his childhood home to buy our first house. As time went on we realised there were some left overs and we took them home. Since then my MIL cooks us extra so we can have bubble and squeak leftovers in the week. Now we have two daughters who love going to Nanny's house for a gorgeous home cooked roast and they eat every last bit. No picky eaters here as it tastes so good and leftovers to look forward to later.

Always at the table, all together and often with a candle and flowers on the table.

we eat together at the table, and tell each other our news of the day

Once a week roast dinner, with all sat at table and no devices anywhere near

Our ritual is simply to eat together as often as possible, sat around a table. It's the perfect and relaxed way to catch up with each other's day, make plans, laugh over ideas, learn new things. We don't have a TV in the room, but gadgets are used to answer questions on things we might be discussing.

I think where eating together like this is "the norm", there is no stiffness. The kids friends / girlfriends simply join in if they are present for a meal time.

Whether it's a quick meal, even beans on toast, or something that has taken hours to pull together, the call goes out around the house that the meal is ready and everyone in the house gathers, lays the table, and sits to eat together. Simple, but it works for us.

The vast majority of our evening meals are together at the dinner table so it's a good chance to hear everyone's news. One ritual we've had since our daughter was tiny is to put carrots on her plate for 'daddy' and saying she was to look after them for daddy but then they would mysteriously get eaten (by her). It was and still is a great way for her to eat veg as she finds it hilarious that daddy's carrots disappear into her tummy each time.

As the kids are getting older we are finding it harder to all sit down together due to sports club commitments ect. We always sit down together on a saturday night though

our most important family ritual is no ipads or phones while eating and mostly home cooked meals for us!

Absolutely no technology up the table and we always discuss and laugh about our days even if we have to turn sad/bad days around.

Throughout the week its always hectic so i prepare meals and cook myself although we always sit at the table together and we can all catch up on our days. Friday nights are when the kids can choose what they want and we can eat it in front of the TV for a treat followed by a yummy pudding. At the weekends we like to go out and about so picnics are usually made and then i get the kids to help as much as they can with preparing dinners and setting table etc. Luckily my two dont see this as a chore they love it!

Our ritual usually consists of husband starting the cooking as I am invariably stuck on the bus in traffic coming home from work. He has timed it to perfection and it is usually being dished up to everyone as I walk in the door. The it's his turn to sit down and I clear up.

We try to eat together at meal times over the weekend and at least once during the week but different activities etc get in the way! Mostly it's about keeping the peace between my three daughters or if they're in good moods hearing all about their day at school :)

I have a large table in the kitchen, since they were very small we all sat around to eat, and all devices have to stay in their rooms, no bringing it down.
My dad used to have us all sit and eat at the table when i was a kid and i suppose i just followed through.

we tell each other about our days whilst cooking :)

I try and get my son to sit down for a meal with me each night, he is autistic and can't keep still so he normally takes a few bites and runs, then I have to get him back to have some more. Our only ritual he does enjoy and sit still for is movie night, every Friday pizza and a dvd

our mealtimes are a bit hectic, my youngest likes her tea at around 5pm with me , but hubby and my older two children aged 18 and 19 usually eat around 7pm

We eat at the table daily but our ritual is eat with the TV on on Saturdays with it on our knees!!!!

Table is always properly laid mats, napkins etc. No TV or phones, and everyone says thank you at the end.

We don’t eat together very often so I love when the 3 of us make pizzas on a Saturday night. My husband makes the dough then my daughter & I prepare the toppings & we choose what we want. Barbecues are nice too - we laughed yesterday because the sausages took FOREVER to cook!

Dinner time is usually the one time of day we are all together. Get to hear everyones plans and news. A bit more help clearing up would be nice, once the food is totally gone the DCs all seem to scatter!

Washing up in the kitchen with my mum, singing ‘Jerusalem’ while we banged on saucepans and taps with spoons. Acting out ‘The Man who shot Liberty Valance’ complete with soap suds. Happy memories, never to be repeated thanks to the dish washer!

We take it in turns to put music on

I wish I could say we sit around the table together but as its just my son and I, and he is VERY fussy about what he eats, we eat at separate times mostly. There are some occasions where we will make pizzas or fajitas together but as he is very anti vegetable it makes life difficult to serve up 'homecooked' meals like I remember my mum doing for us when we were kids.

My little boy is only 18 months so we've not got anything set in stone yet, at the moment he eats while I sit next to him and have a snack. That way we can still catch up (I love his gibber gabber), but I get to eat too!

Kids set and clear the table, we all eat together. I cook and my partner cleans up! All works well...apart from the kids complaining about setting and clearing the table : )