My subject this time is slowing down. Taking time to smell the pot roast (and including a recipe for pot roast in your family cookbook) is as important as making it to the next appointment on time.

These days, families rush around and barely have time to sit down and enjoy one another’s company at the dinner table.  Everyone is on a schedule! Rushing here and there, making sure the kids are “involved.” Seems to me that most kids (and their parents) are just plain “exhausted,” instead of stimulated.

Here’s an idea.
Have all the kids help in creating a Sunday family dinner cookbook. If you already have my cookbook software, have them come up with their own favorite recipes (or ones they would like to try) and type them into the recipe template. Otherwise, just type the Sunday family dinner cookbook recipes into a document and save in a file. (You can explain that the recipe input is a form of texting to their children in the distant future.)

Here’s another idea.
Once a month, maybe the last Sunday of the month, have the older kids determine which recipes from the Sunday family cookbook they will make for a Sunday family dinner. It doesn’t matter if the menu is balanced (however some guidance may be necessary). Reserve that day for family only (no outside activities) and go shopping together for the ingredients needed.  Each Sunday family dinner they must try to make something new from the recipes they have collected and entered into their Sunday family cookbook. They may balk at this idea at first, but give it a good try for several months (or every other month if that works better).

Here’s yet another idea.
After the routine of having a regular Sunday family dinner becomes part of the schedule, and some rules are set and enforced about no outside activities (including cell phone use of any kind), you’ll be surprised at how relaxed and enthusiastic everyone in the family may be about their uninterrupted time together. Sunday family dinners may just become an automatic favorite activity and won’t need to be added to your busy schedule.

And at the end of the day, your family will appreciate one another a bit better, and they can share a collective pride in creating a Sunday family dinner cookbook of their own.

Happy cookbooking,

Matilda

Making a recipe book? Check out all the recipe software and cookbook binding supplies we have at CookbookPeople.com.

If you enjoyed this article, you might check out:
• A Recipe Book for Kids Can Be a Fun Summer Vacation Project
• Celebrate Family Cookbook Month…Err… Family History Month
• Dear Oscar: What is Wolfgang Puck Serving at Your Academy Awards Party That I Can Make at Home?

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