When it comes to cooking for your family, it’s more than likely that you’ve fallen into somewhat of a rut with what you’re making - always cooking the same dishes week in, week out. It is all well and good having a few family favourites to rely on when it comes to meal times, but that doesn’t have to mean always serving up the same dishes. Instead, it’s far better to get creative with family mealtimes and learn how to create some more unique and more interesting meals to serve up.
That being said, it isn’t always that easy finding new dishes that everyone likes, is it? When you’ve got a large family, it can be a nightmare making sure that everyone likes what you’re serving up, can’t it? However, while you might want to stick to serving what you know, making the same recipes again and again can quickly become somewhat dull, and can even put your little ones off of eating what you make.
That’s why it’s so important to find lots of sources of inspiration and ideas for putting a twist on traditional family meals and spicing up your menu a little bit. To help you to create a selection of unique, fun, delicious recipes that the whole family will enjoy, we’ve put together some useful tips and pieces of advice - for everything that you need to know about family cooking, have a read of the guide below.
Utilise recipe boxes
When it comes to revamping the meals that you serve to your family, it can be hard to source inspiration. However, a recipe box could be the answer to sourcing cooking inspiration when it comes to family meals, as when you order a recipe box you are given a selection of unique recipes to try. From veggie options and pasta to meat and fish dishes, you will have the option of trying all sorts of recipes that you would never normally try. What’s great about utilising recipe boxes is the fact that each recipe comes with a recipe card that you can keep and use to make the dish again and again. In order to find lots of new recipes that you enjoy, it’s a good idea to test out lots of different recipe boxes. You may find that you love all of the recipe boxes that you use, or you may find that there’s one brand that you prefer.
Revamp old favourites
A simple yet highly effective way to change up the way in which you cater to your family’s dining needs could be to try revamping old favourite meals. Say for instance, you normally serve normal chips, perhaps you could look up how to make curly fries, to help spice up meal times. By taking the time to revamp old favourite meals, you can ensure that the food you serve is as unique as possible. By serving the same food every night, you will end up not enjoying family mealtimes - and neither will your little ones. When it comes to simple meals that it’s easy to revamp, there are lots of ideas and pieces of inspiration online - sources such as Pinterest act as a great resource, for instance.
Go DIY
If there are any meals that you would normally buy readymade, consider swapping to DIY versions of these instead. Say, for instance, pizza is popular in your house, consider making homemade pizza instead of serving shop bought ones. By choosing to make your own pizzas, you can change up the toppings and make the experience more unique. Or say, for instance pasta dishes are popular in your house, but you always buy readymade sauces - instead opt to learn to make your own. Another popular meal that you could try making yourself is chicken goujons - instead of buying pre-made chicken pieces opt to make your own. You could even opt to get the kids involved in the cooking process - by getting your little ones involved in the cooking process, you can increase the chance that they will be happy to try the DIY alternative to the foods that you would normally buy regularly.
When it comes to family mealtimes, it’s far too easy to get into a rut, serving the same foods again and again. However, by taking note of the tips and ideas above, you can source the inspiration to create meals that are unique, interesting and packed full of flavour. Remember, the more fun and exciting you make cooking, the more you - and your family - will enjoy it.
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