Great recipe resources for family dinners

Find family friendly meal ideas that are both adult- and kid-approved.

Mon, Oct 10 2011 at 2:19 PM

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If all of this talk about family dinner has you wanting to eat more meals at the table with the entire family, that’s a good thing. But, if your routine is more like using a blue box of mac and cheese and chicken nuggets to supplement your drive-thru meals, you might need some resources to find family friendly recipes that will make family dinner succeed. I’ve pulled together some resources to help.

These resources include kid-friendly recipes, but they also include ingredients that your kids may have never eaten. My suggestion is to round out your meals with foods you know your kids like — raw carrot sticks, sliced up apples, their favorite green vegetable, or a little pasta with butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Seeing familiar foods next to new foods is one way to help introduce new foods without too much eye-rolling at the table.

Online resources

Meals Matter has a weekly post with seven family friendly meals. Each week has a theme like one-pot meals or budget-friendly meals.
Allrecipes.com is one of my top recipe sites. What makes it great for family cooking is that home cooks add the recipes to the site and often comment on their kid-friendliness. Those who review the recipes will comment about how kids like them, too. The site also has a section dedicated to Family Favorites.
Real Simple has 50 Family Recipes Kids Actually Like. This Deep Dish Polenta Pizza looks especially interesting.

Print resources

ChopChop Magazine — This is a great magazine that not only has kid-friendly recipes, but it also has recipes geared toward getting kids to learn to cook real, healthy foods. I reviewed ChopChop when it first hit the stands two years ago, and it continues to be an impressive magazine.
“No Whine With Dinner” — 150 healthy, kid-tested recipes, with one chapter dedicated specifically to the slow cooker for your super busy nights.
“The Family Dinner” — Not just a resource for recipes, but also a resource for conversation starters and information on why family dinners are so critical.
“Jamie’s Dinners: The Essential Family Cookbook” — One of Jamie Oliver’s earlier cookbooks, this was inspired by what he cooks for his own family.
“SOS! The Six O’clock Scramble to the Rescue” — This book has earth-friendly, kid-pleasing recipes for busy families. Sounds like what most of us need, doesn’t it?

Your resources

I’d love to know what your go-to resources are for recipes that please both adults and kids in your family. If I get enough of them, I’ll do another piece based on your input.

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