| dbverycherry |
| (member) |
| 29/04/2008 21:08 |
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Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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My OH only got in half and hour ago from work and was ready his evening and main meal of the day.
I being a domestic goddess in the kitchen
quickly made us one of my versions of Paella. Rice, three peppers, crab sticks and fresh king prawns, a vegetable stock cube, large pinch of saffron and water.
It took just over 15 minutes to both cook and prepare and he said it was tasty and was happy it was quick
I did snack a bit tonight and before this meal as I was getting hungry but only on two biscuits and a packed of crisps
Well at least I owned up!What about you? Do you have a routine with meals and stick to it. Do you snack healthily or are you like me and on the odd occasion snack on the odd packet of crisps and biscuits in between?
A friend of mine has a photo of herself looking slim and this saying stuck to her fridge door to warn her and her OH off,
'Little Pickers Wear BIG Knickers!'
| Elsie |
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| 29/04/2008 21:17 |
Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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I've 3 kids who have loads of after-school activities, so 'routine' is not a word to describe our evenings! Have to say, when OH is away, my evening meal is usually a healthy-ish ready meal or something on toast - mashed avocado with sliced spring onions piled on toast is my fave!
If making a meal, I'll do something earlier in the day that we can all help ourselves to when we wish eg roasted veg with couscous and pesto, or a pasta bake that we can reheat portion by portion.
I wish we could all sit round the table more often, and am sure we will manage it more than once a year (Xmas!) eventually!
| Catja |
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| 29/04/2008 21:21 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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I always do evening meals. My family expects it. I love cooking anyway! It's really important to me that my children enjoy this aspect of family life. It used to be such an ordeal for me when I was little, you see. My mother used to slam meals down on the table, late at night. It was kind of depressing. She hated her whole life and she served up bits of it for us to share, as it were.
I also snack a great deal. Mostly healthily but sometimes not. I adore chocolate.
Catja
| dbverycherry |
| (member) |
| 29/04/2008 23:09 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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Hi there Elsie and Catja.
I used to have a good routine and we would all sit down together for an evening meal most days of the week and up until a few years ago.
Over the last few years this has gone to pot.
Now our 21 year old son is at university in Norwich and our 18 year old daughter is often out and about or around at her boyfriends, we rarely all sit and eat a meal altogether but when we entertain they make an effort to be around and have a friendly and chatty sit down meal.
How I long for the ease of those good old days! Instead now I have to ask OH and daughter each morning if they think they will be in for a meal or out and about.
| susieblue |
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| 30/04/2008 08:00 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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We always used to sit down to an evening meal but now the kids have flown the nest, it is not always so. Depends what I am planning. Sometimes we sit at the table, sometimes we have it on trays in front of the TV, sometimes we have it in doggy bowls - eg risotto, or sometimes like last night, we don't have anything. My OH got in late. I had already treated myself to a glass of wine, so he joined me. By then it was well turned 9 pm, Trevor Eve was on the box so we just had a second glass instead as we weren't hungry.
| Peregrine |
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| 30/04/2008 08:29 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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We always have an evening meal, but we don't all sit together. Our meal is usually at about 6.30pm and if anyone is late they either have to warm it up or make their own, the "canteen" shuts at 7pm
| mjm |
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| 30/04/2008 08:58 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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We usually have our evening meal together at the table, I think its really important, this is where we share our day, and whom said what to whom.
If OH is going to be late, I usually make myself something small, and then when OH does get in, depending how late that is, I make him a meal.
| ChrissiFi |
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| 30/04/2008 09:05 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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We're both at work all day so breakfast and dinner are important (lunch is just a sandwich and fruit). We have a proper dinner most nights (I don't do supermarket ready meals - everything's home cooked), if it's a casserole or curry I cook enough for two or three days and put some in the freezer to save time another night. We always eat together, even if it's at 10pm and in front of the TV.
| Elsie |
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| 30/04/2008 09:38 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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Peregrine, we're just like your family. There's always at least 1 kid needing fed early, so that they can go off and play football, or swimming, or something. They come home starving and get out the shredded wheat. The other 2 see them eating their cereal and decide they're hungry, too and before I know it they're all tucking in to cereal at 8.30pm!
On reading this back to myself, I've just realised this is a delay tactic to avoid going to bed! I've been had!
| PLASMO |
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| 30/04/2008 09:54 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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We always sit down and eat our evening meal, I always think its a nice end to the day. I always cook healthily, but we do have bad things sometimes. Do I snack in the day? I have to be honest, yes I do, things like, crab sticks, rice cakes, and cheese, and I have been known to eat a bowl of cereal. My sister came over the other afternoon, I had made some lovely homemade chicken soup, we had that, and about an hour later we had fresh cream eclairs - how naughty is that ha ha. Plasmo x
| Duffy |
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| 30/04/2008 09:57 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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Cooked meal every night...lots of veg etc and all sit down as a family...OH sometimes in late..so kids eat together and I wait for OH...would feel guilty if didnt cook something homemade....Slow cooker is great...and sometimes prepare food for couple of days....meal planning is also good..and saves time on having to dream up some amazing dinner .... I sometimes do a meal planner then shopping list purely for meals for the week..saves money buying any old thing because its on the shelf!!!
| tigertog |
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| 30/04/2008 10:37 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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It's good to hear about all of you having meals together. In our neighbourhood it's latch key city and the kids grab a pizza when they feel like it! We seem to be the only family that eat together!
| dbverycherry |
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| 30/04/2008 10:43 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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Hi Duffy I often find myself planning the weeks meals but in my head. Most days now I am waiting and eating late with OH and daughter.
I also like to cook and use fresh ingredients and have home made meals if possible but on a Friday night we have been known to much on a takeaway while watching telly.
One friend is horrified
at this and told me she didn't approve and wouldn't allow it in her home!! 
We do have linen serviettes and silver trays
dbverycherry
in a very wet part of Kent
This so called friend needless to say isn't that good a friend or that close to me and certainly doesn't pop over on a Friday night!
| blossom97 |
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| 30/04/2008 12:16 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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I try to cook a "proper" meal every night , not always from totally fresh ingredients....chicken Tonight and Dolmio are a godsend! I think it is important to sit round the table as a family, it is where children learn heir table manners and its a good place to off load at the end of the day.We don't have a TV in our dining room so there are no distractions but there is lots of chatter and fun and laughter!
| dbverycherry |
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| 30/04/2008 16:38 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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Quote:
I think it is important to sit round the table as a family, it is where children learn heir table manners and its a good place to off load at the end of the day....
I totally agree with you there Blossom97 but sadly my kids have grown up and are flying the nest so it is becoming less like this now. I personally need to get my head around things and work out how to enjoy our evening meal together with just my OH and may be a few good close friends?
*A Dinner party. Who's up for popping over and having a good chin wag over an evening meal? Bring a bottle or two!
*A dinner party - OK before I get loads of PMs and replies it was said jokingly but sill a nice idea all the same don't you think?
Anyhow there is the FORUMFEST in York for all you partying, chatty and hungry lot.A massive
Plus 
now from when I last checked the related post the other day of those who are planning to go and all being well 
| lizwuk |
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| 30/04/2008 17:51 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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I do some sort of dinner each night. I always had diner ready for me when I was at home so its how I was brought up as such but it is hard to get everyone else together.
My daughter is always so hungry when she gets in that I do hers early or if I;m at work I leave something she can do easily herself, then I try to wait for hubby and we mostly eat at the table.
Saturdays, we get a take-away or I will cook something nice and maybe even a starter and I will set the table nicely , light some candles, put a CD on and the three of us or if my oldest is home from uni, sit and enjoy a meal together.
Sunday I dont always do a roast but we do sit down together
| blossom97 |
| (member) |
| 30/04/2008 17:51 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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I hope I didn't sound too much like a "victorian "parent with my post about table manners!I have a thing about table manners,waiting for everyone to start, no elbows on the table, not getting down til everyone finished etc etc.It is a pain reminding childen all the time but I think it stands them in good stead in later life , when who knows who they will be eating with...royalty maybe (well it happened to Kate Middleton) and I would hate for them to be embarrassed if they didn't know how to behave.
Just a big bug bear with me...they get away with murder at other times....lol!!!
| dbverycherry |
| (member) |
| 01/05/2008 10:01 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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Blossom I for one don't think you came across 'Victorian'. This is how my OH and I bought up our two and how we were bought up.
My dad always said to me and my sister and brother when we were younger that if we couldn't behave well in a public place and eat our meal in a pleasant and polite manner we wouldn't eat out as a family.
He was strict but not overly and I do thank him for this.
I personally feel children need to know there are rules and know their boundaries.
Hi there Lizwuk good to hear of good family values. I am sure you are not the only folk to have this routine and it is nice to be a together as a family.
I to, like many others I am sure, enjoy the company of our family as often as possible but now realize more how precious that time was when they were younger. Sadly it won't be back to that with a son of 21 at university and a daughter coming up to 19 but I have my memories
| Lorraine50 |
| (member) |
| 01/05/2008 22:25 |
Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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Blossom, its a pity that more people don't think like you (and I) do because it never ceases to amaze me how atrocious people's table manners are these days. I don't know whether it is because so much food given to children these days id fast food eaten with fingers or that people are just too lazy to use a knife and fork.
As you can probably tell, bad manners are my pet hate. I have to swap places with whoever I am eating out with if someone opposite has bad manners as it puts me right off my meal. Incidentally, I would love to cook every night and sit at the table to eat it but unfortunately the cat and dog are well trained but not that well trained and OH is away most nights!
| sparkly3 |
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| 06/05/2008 11:06 |
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Re: Evening meals? Do you bother or just snack?
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Elsie - Must try the avocado idea, sounds lovely!
We do sit down every night and eat a 'proper' meal. My kids moan at having to have a sandwich for lunch at weekends!! It's a constant battle though with the table manners ...there is nearly always a TV prog they want to watch whilst eating, they bolt when they're finished, ES talks with mouth full, YS eats too fast...etc. However, I couldn't imagine life if we didn't do this. I was brought up in a household where people just made a snack when they felt like it and often no proper meals, so I feel it's important to have that bit of the day as a family.
I totally agree about the importance of manners. A dying art, but so important!