Get Back to the Table Wrap-up

CONGRATULATIONS to Tara for winning the Libby's giveaway with this comment:

"I like to get the whole family involved in cooking dinner."

Enjoy your tote and book!

Here are some of my other favorites from the comments:

"I make my kids eat at the table every night. I plan meals and let the "help" make them. I also use fun placemats,napkins, and plates to make dinner more fun." Amy V.

"Turning off the TV is #1 for us as that encourages us to sit at the dinner table to eat and chat!" Jes

"I like to get input on the menu for the week. Why cook if they're not going to enjoy it, plus, it makes it easy to look forward to dinner together when it's a meal someone has specifically chosen!" Chelsea

On a related note, I recently stumbled across some great resources at the Above Rubies Magazine page - Check them out!

And don't forget to join me in helping Libby's and Feeding America by clicking the button on the right!

Lunch With Hannah Keeley and a Giveaway!

Last Thursday I had the joy to meet for lunch with Hannah Keeley and the women behind some awesome blogs (Mommypalooza, Super Jenn, Penny Pinchin' Mom, Kansas City Mamas, Dine & Dish, and My Kansas City Mommy) at an awesome restaurant in midtown Kansas City. The lunch was sponsored by Libby's and The Motherhood.

In addition to awesome food (best Reuben sandwich ever!), we had a blast sharing ideas and getting advice about eating dinner with our families. I've already shared a bit from our online talk, but it was way more fun hearing the anecdotes and tidbits of wisdom in person! Some of my favorite pieces of advice were:

• Offer young ones a toothpick (with tip cut off) and bite-sized portions instead of a fork. They'll eat anything!
• Try family style meals with everyone serving themselves from dishes in the middle of the table. (I have to say that I saw this a lot while in Japan and noticed that everyone lingered longer, chatted more, and enjoyed having control over their own portions, though I'd suspect that a bit of supervision may be needed for big eaters if this were a regular thing.)
• If you're going to make a casserole, buy enough ingredients to make 5 and do them all at the same time and freeze the others.
• Don't be afraid to buy out the whole shelf of an item that is on sale (I feel guilty about this, so I needed to hear that others do it!)

It was great to compare shopping budgets (anywhere from under $200/month to $2000!!) and get to know each other.

We also spent time together after lunch filling reusable Libby's bags with goodies that were donated to a local charity, Hillcrest Transitional Housing. Libby's provided canned goods for the bags, and each of us contributed something to encourage families to spend time together at the table.

 Photo credit: Kristen Doyle

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You have the chance to win a Libby's tote of your own for sharing your best tips for getting your family to to the table! I'm excited about this because 1) I love doing giveaways, 2) I'm stock-piling ideas for dinner times when my kiddos are a bit older, and 3) It's my BIRTHDAY - what a fun way to celebrate!


The Prize: A Libby’s reusable shopping tote bag full of Libby’s products, a state-of-the-art can opener and a copy of Hannah Keeley’s book, Total Mom Makeover.

How to Enter:

• Leave a comment with your favorite tip for getting your family "back to the table" for dinner. (required)

 Get bonus entries by leaving separate comments for each of the following actions:

• Follow Libby's on Twitter.
• Become a fan of Get Back to the Table on Facebook.
• Create your own Virtual Canned Food Drive profile (include link in your comment please).

This giveaway will be open until 11:59pm (Central time) October 10th. The winner will be chosen at random on Oct. 11th.

Even if you don't win, I'm going to be choosing my favorite tips and sending them to Libby's and the Motherhood. They will then choose their favorites to share with everyone else across our blogs, The Motherhood, and Libby's websites! So please take the time to comment and share your wisdom with others!

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Also, in case you've forgotten, I'm raising money with the Libby's Virtual Canned Food Drive as well. Click the button over on the right of the blog to read more and donate! Think of it as a birthday present! :D

Talk Recap & Hannah Keeley at Hen House!

This Thursday after she does lunch with us KC bloggers, Hannah Keeley will be making an appearance at the Hen House in Merriam, KS (5800 Antioch) from 4-6pm to do some cooking demos, answer questions, etc. This is a great opportunity to get out and see a wonderful mom (of 7!) who really knows what she's talking about!

If you missed the talk that The Motherhood held this afternoon, you can go back and read through the conversation, including the recap here.

There were some amazing mommies present with lots of tips to share. Some of my favorite pieces of advice for getting our families to the dinner table are below. Enjoy and stay tuned for more after our lunch on Thursday!

• We have a glass table, so I let my son write the menu on the table with window crayons. We'll also draw fun placemats as well. (Tracie)
•  Another great way to make dinner more fun is to ask open-ended questions around the table such as "If you were a superhero what would your special power be?" The kids love it and their answers are usually hilarious! (Hannah Keeley)
• A fun thing that we have done is have "switch night" where mommy and daddy use the kids plates, cups, and silverware and kids get to use mommy and daddy's normal dinnerware. (Alaina Frederick) <-- this was my favorite!!
•  I usually have 2-3 freezer meals ready to go. Soups, frozen taco meat, spaghetti sauce, etc. It helps when you have that moment of "WHERE DID MY DAY GO!" (KCMamaKelly)
• I like to ask my kids to choose meal items. I give them options, corn or beans? Chicken or beef? They get to choose their salad dressing too! I also involve them in helping to set the table! They LOVE to help and it keeps them busy while I'm trying to get dinner on the table. (cararolinson)
   
  

Get Back to the Table Talk

Join me tomorrow (Tuesday) at The Motherhood at 1pm EDT for a LIVE talk with Hannah Keeley about getting our families back to the table for dinner. We'll share recipes ideas and tips, and tell you how you can enter to win a Libby's gift. See you there!

Help Eat From Your Pantry Feed America!

Next week, I will have the privilege of meeting for lunch with a few other Kansas City bloggers and Hannah Keeley (celebrity mom author of Total Mom Makeover and host of the tv show Hannah! Help Me!).

The lunch is sponsored by The Motherhood and Libby's to correspond with Get Back to the Table Month. Hannah will be leading a discussion about eating dinner as a family. We will be sharing tips and tricks with each other that I promise to blog about! The most exciting thing about this event is that in addition to learning from each other, we will be joining together to help families in need by creating dinner kits (with canned foods from Libby's as well as other items) and encourage them to sit down to dinner together.

A local organization that I am personally connected to, Hillcrest Transitional Housing, will receive the dinner kits. Hillcrest gives homeless families a completely furnished apartment to stay in for 90 days while they save money and go through counseling to get back on their feet. I have seen many lives changed through this program and am thrilled that it was chosen to benefit from this event.

I am also thrilled that the giving won't stop when this week is over!! Libby's is partnering with Feeding America to organize a massive Virtual Canned Food Drive! Libby's is matching each and every donation made up to $40,000, and every $5 donated will provide 35 meals for hungry families! I'm honored to help promote the drive here at EFYP. Won't you please click the button below to learn more and consider giving?

Watch for more posts about the food drive, our lunch event, and getting our families back to the table, including a special giveaway from Libby's!