This isn't a cook book (although there are recipes at the end), it's advice on how to get your family to the dinner table in an easy, trouble-free way. As we've all heard, eating dinner together as a family is one of the best things you can do for your kids. However, in our increasingly busy world that's seems to be getting harder and harder to do, as kids rush off to sports, dance and other outside activities. This book gives strategies to get families back to the table by whatever means necessary.
I really liked how the author started out by letting us know she was a real person who understood how difficult it was to sit down as a family and have a peaceful dinner, and had dealt with screaming kids throwing food on the floor. It gave me hope that this book was going to give some real life ideas for making dinner more enjoyable, and it does just that.
There are more than just quick and easy eating ideas, there are a lot of tips about improving family togetherness, getting kids interested in cooking, how to deal with picky eaters, organizing your kitchen and how to approach grocery shopping. There are also guidelines like remembering to use manners and making kids set the table and clean up after eating. I loved that the author includes some ideas for topics of conversations that can get everyone interacting.
The book addresses facts about how important it is to make family mealtime a priority, but it's not done in a condescending way, nor does it make parents feel guilty if they aren't able to do it every night of the week. I liked the interesting facts and pictures that were interspersed throughout the book as side boxes, it got the information across without overwhelming me. My favorite part of the book was the "Mom Tip" boxes, tips from regular moms, that were almost on every page.
A lot of the information is common sense, but having it all spelled out with bullet points is a nice reminder and a good push to get started, even if it's only one night a week. However, it really seems to be written for a novice, I mean at one point the author reminds us not to store the cleaning products by the food. There wasn't really any new information for me, so if you are already pretty organized in the kitchen I don't know that you are going to get any innovative ideas from this book.
There are some contradictions throughout the book, which I found frustrating. On one page the author would advise you to take your kids grocery shopping with you to help pick out foods they'd eat, and on the next page you're being told to leave the kids at home when you grocery shop so you can get it done faster. Then the author is telling you that canned vegetables are full of sodium and you should buy fresh or frozen instead, and then later suggests that to cut prep time you should buy canned vegetables. I would have liked more consistency.
There is also a push for pre-packaged meals, which I understand saves time, but if you're goal is to eat healthy, that's not really helpful. I wish there were more time saving tips on how to prepare wholesome meals. However, the author does cover information about healthy eating and how to read labels.
This book is much more than just how to make a quick dinner, it focuses on bringing your family to the table, stocking your pantry, shopping smart and being organized. Overall, there's some repetition and I think this book could have been half the size and still gotten the information across. The contradictions and lack of focus on eating healthy was a little discouraging. Still it's a good read for a beginner who needs to start from scratch in getting her kitchen organized and her family all together at the table.
