Let’s Fix Dinner!

Does your family sit down together for dinner every night? Once a week? Once a month? Let’s face it, between hectic schedules for activities, work, and school today’s parents and kids have a hard time finding spare moments to sit down and talk, much less eat a meal together. And mine is no exception – no matter how good my intentions have always been (and still are) to sit down as a family for dinner more often, it happens much more rarely than I care to admit most of the time.

Which is one reason that I am absolutely thrilled to be invited to take part in a day-long “Let’s Fix Dinner” discussion over just this very topic, at the Nestlé Culinary Center in Solon, OH on April 29th. By sharing thoughts and ideas with various ‘Mom’ bloggers and several guest experts, Nestlé and STOUFFER’S are hoping to learn more about what keeps families from eating together and find some answers for how to break down those barriers.

I will be joined by thirteen other bloggers – some of whom I have met before and will be thrilled to see again, as well as some new faces (and names) whom I’m looking forward to meeting. Here’s the group:

A Cowboy’s Wife (Lori), Busy Mom (Elizabeth), From Dates To Diapers (Christine), Geek Mommy (Lucretia), Lil Sugar (Heather), Mom Advice (Amy), Mom Central (Vicki), Mom to the Screaming Masses (Carmen), My Thoughts, Ideas and Ramblings (Lisa), Table for Five (Elizabeth), The “Cent”sible Sawyer (Denise), This Full House (Liz), and Moms Favorite Stuff (Jodi).

And we’ll be joined by experts such as past Top Chef contestant, Antonia Lofaso; Lynn Fredericks – author of “Cooking Time is Family Time”; Carleton Kendrick – author of “Take Out Your Nose Ring, Honey, We’re Going to Grandma’s”, pediatric psychologist Dr. Meghan Barlow, PhD, and an expert from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA).  Plus a variety of staff experts from STOUFFER’S and Nestlé.

I am so excited – both about the trip itself and especially to have the chance to talk and weigh in about such an important topic, and hopefully get some helpful hints that can get my own family eating together more often.

So here is my question for you, oh readers of this site – how often does your family sit down and eat dinner together? Do you have any specific thoughts that you’d like me to share on the 29th? Or questions that you’d like to ask any of the individual experts or the group as a whole? Leave me your comments, questions and whatever else is on your mind and I’ll be sure to get as much feedback for you as I can.

Thanks, and I can’t wait to share this trip with you – don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, so you can get all of my updates on April 28th, 29th and 30th!