It’s important to find a healthy balance between your personal and professional life so you are fully present in the moment. Preparing and eating meals as a family is a great way to spend quality time together while getting everyone involved. Our days can be hectic and slowing down to prepare and share a meal together each week can help make sure we are eating healthy, nutritious foods. It also provides all family members with an opportunity to talk about their day and check in with each other.

Here are some tips to help make mealtimes a family event:

Remove distractions. Turn off the television, put away phones and unplug from work while preparing and eating your meal so the attention is on each other.

Talk to each other. Focus the conversation on what each member of the family did during the day. The goal is to get everyone involved while keeping the conversation fun. Some conversation starters include:

• List one or two things you are grateful for that day

• Share what made you laugh or something fun that happened

• If you had a superpower, what would it be and why

• If you were stranded on a desert island and only had one food to eat, what would it be and why

• Share a highlight or lowlight for the day/week

• Something unexpected that happened

When the weather is nice, take your meal outside. Cook dinner on the grill or eat your meal outside or at a nearby park.

Get everyone involved. Delegate who is responsible for washing produce, measuring ingredients, chopping veggies, etc. Everyone can help with some aspect of meal prep and clean up.

Switch it up. Once a month, a different member of the family chooses a new recipe to try. They can even help with the grocery list for their recipe ingredients.