Common Dining Dilemmas Solved (and FREE Product Giveaway!)

Shamrock Farms has a lot to celebrate these days. It’s June Dairy Month and 2012 marks 90 years of delivering dairy goodness to your family!

No matter how many things have changed over the past nine decades, one thing remains constant – we’re here to help you meet the needs of an ever-evolving family mealtime. And often these days, that family mealtime faces several dilemmas (we've all seen the face above, haven't we?).

With our experience, we’ve seen it all – picky eaters, allergies, lack of time, busy schedules… and the list goes on! We picked the top three most common dilemmas we hear about and provided some solutions.

DD #1: You have a child who won’t eat vegetables!

Sometimes kids just need a little encouragement or motivation to try something new.

• Call the food fun names, such as “trees” for broccoli. Make it a game and ask your child to come up with a name for the food.
• Cut the food into fun shapes with cookie cutters or make “animals” or "scenes"  with your food, like these:

   

DD #2: You have an unenthusiastic eater!

When it comes to mealtime, your child is just not interested in eating. Sometimes, we have to think more like them and how they would want to enjoy food.

• Serve a meal in an unusual container, such as a muffin tin instead of a plate. Fill a couple cups with your child’s favorite foods, and a couple with new foods to try.  This mom used terra cotta pots to serve carrots & hummus.

• Surprise your kids at mealtime by getting creative with your meal or switching up mealtimes, such as breakfast for dinner. Or make your child’s favorite foods, and turn them into something healthy, such as meatloaf & mashed potato cupcakes  or beet pancakes (Most stores carry pre-cooked beets).

 

DD #3: You have absolutely ZERO time to focus on dinner!

With the average family spending around 15 minutes to make dinner, most people can relate to this dilemma. Time is precious, and you’d rather spend more time enjoying the people sitting at the table than making what’s on it.  A couple ideas to consider:

• Rely on your Crock Pot. A whole meal is made with only four or five ingredientsin a slow cooker and there is no work involved.  Check out how this mom prepared 12 Crock Pot meals in two hours and only one mess to clean up!
• Purchase prepped foods! Avoid the time-sucking prep work in cooking by purchasing pre-cut veggies and fruits, pre-seasoned meats and pre-washed salad bags at the store.
• Try creating family time while making the meal by involving your kids with the process. Assign them simpler tasks, such as tossing the salad, measuring ingredients or setting the timer.

We know there are many more dilemmas, so we created “Family Meals Tips” to start a conversation with moms. Between our 90 years of being at your dining table, and the hands-on experience of moms, we are bound to find a solution for you.

What are some dilemmas you were able to solve in your household? Tell us here for your chance to win! Five people who leave a comment below will be randomly selected to win a Roxie Pack worth $50 in free dairy products and four tickets to the Shamrock Farms Farm Tour.