Meet the Eddy family! Art Eddy is the host of the Art of Fatherhood podcast and blogs The art of fatherhood. He’s a friend of The Family Dinner Project and a big proponent of shared meals, so we’re excited to introduce him and his family this month!
The family:
Art and Jess Eddy, their two teenage daughters and two cats.
The target:
Since Art and his family have been sharing meals regularly for many years, their goals for dinner are mainly to keep things fresh and interesting. Right now, they’re committed to trying out new recipes to expand their meal rotation — a goal that’s much easier to achieve when the whole family helps prepare dinner.
The strategies:
“Ever since our kids were young, we wanted to start the tradition of enjoying a family meal together at dinner,” says Art. So the Eddy family has made dinner a daily routine. While Art admits that his family, like most others, is sometimes too busy to sit down together, he points out that it’s much easier to get back on track after a busy period when family dinners become a regular feature. be of the schedule. “The more it becomes a routine, the more likely you’ll be able to eat together,” he says. (We find this is true for many families; once they’ve developed the habit of successfully eating together several times a week, those habits provide a supportive structure that helps them easily return to family dinners when they’ve been too busy to make contact.)
It also doesn’t always have to be the adults who do all the work of planning, cooking, and cleaning up after dinner. Art recommends letting the kids take over! “Once your children reach the age where they are able to cook, let them come up with a menu. Our daughters started doing this for my wife and me a few years ago. They create a menu and even a theme for dinner. Those dinners create memories that will last a lifetime.”
Not sure if your kids can handle dinner? Checking out Art’s post about teaching kids how to cook.
The food:
As they try to expand their meal rotation, the Eddy family is up for anything! Art says they especially enjoy Mexican-inspired dishes like chilaquiles, and they like finding new recipes online or in cookbooks and then giving them a special Eddy family twist.
Art and his family also shared their pizza ravioli recipe, a perfect “starter recipe” for young chefs!
The takeaway meals:
“Family dinners are a great way to stay connected as a family,” says Art. “I feel like making an effort to schedule quality time each day shows your kids that they matter. Mealtime is a great opportunity for a family to bond and talk about what happens in their lives. My wife and I want to make sure that our children keep this tradition in the future when they have children of their own. We want our children to enjoy meals and conversations just like we do now.
The best part:
“Dinner time gives us the opportunity to share whatever is on our minds.”
Do you have your own family dinner project to share with us? We look forward to hearing from you and considering including your family! Contact us.