5 Hints for Absolutely Delightful Family Meals

Writen by Norma Schmidt

Everyone's talking about family meals these days.


News stories show how busy families are making a commitment to increase the number of meals they eat together each week. Experts are promoting family meals as a way to fight childhood obesity and boost student achievement.


But we all know that family meals can go awry. Uncommunicative kids, annoyed parents or disappointing conversations can lead to an unsatisfying time together.


The good news is, some simple, positive strategies can make family meals a delight. Here are five hints for family meals you'll love:


1. Keep mealtimes peaceful.


Save disciplinary issues and major disagreements for another time so that no one feels tense or afraid at the table. Let your answering machine take any phone calls during this time, and turn off the TV.


2. Use positive strategies for teaching table manners, letting go of expectations of perfection.

Here are a few ideas:


• Model the table manners you want your children to use.


• Make sure that children understand that using kind words is the most important table manner of all.


• Use friendly reminders at the beginning of the meal and as needed during the meal. Or, if one child is forgetting what to do, praise someone at the table who is behaving correctly. For example, a dad could say, "Mom, you're sitting up straight with both feet on the floor. Thank you!" It's likely that the kids will take the hint. Thank them when they self-correct.


3. Make the table beautiful.

Have flowers on the table or, if the kids are old enough to follow safety rules, light candles (never leave lit candles unattended, and have a pitcher of water handy in case of any emergency). As an alternative, you could invite your children to take turns each week finding something beautiful to serve as a centerpiece.


4. Begin the meal with a moment of gratitude and peace.

You might keep this as a time of silence, or sing or say a table grace. Some families join hands during this time. You can find table graces at http://www.gbgm-umc.org/AldersgateUMCMI/graces.html


5. Add a little structure for a fun and satisfying conversation.


You might ask everyone at the table to tell what was the best thing that happened in their day. Everyone else at the table responds with a comment and a follow-up question. As an alternative, ask everyone at the table to share something new they learned during the day.


Or, you can allow family members to choose from a basket of conversation-starter cards. A variety of commercially produced cards are available at www.target.com (do a search on "conversation starter cards").


You can also make your own conversation-starter cards. Ask such questions as: What's the best meal you ever had, and why? If you ruled the world, what's the first thing you would do? When did you have the most fun, and why?


With these simple steps, you'll be well on your way to family meals that you and your children will remember fondly.

(c) Norma Schmidt, LLC (limited liability corporation)

Norma Schmidt is a parent, a parenting workshop leader and a hospice chaplain. Her latest online publication, "The Parent's Bag of Behavior Tricks," is ready for instant downloading at http://www.BehaviorMagic.com Get Norma's free report: "61 Ways to Boost Your Child's Money IQ: How to Raise Wise, Responsible Money Managers," at http://www.ParentCafeOnline.com

A Guide To Modern Wine Racks

Writen by Ellen Pedersen

Wine has been a part of our lives since as long as I can remember.

It has a well deserved reputation as a sophisticated drink, which requires knowledge and acquired taste in order to fully appreciate it. But, of course, newcomers can take much pleasure as well.

To enjoy wine at its true value and preserve the best taste, one must invest in storing it in the right place, angle and temperature. While that was a hard thing to do in the past and only the very rich could afford it, requiring underground cellars, nowadays storing wine is made easy with the modern wine racks.

If you are an amateur with just a few bottles to account for, or a collector with a vast selection, but live in an apartment/house that has limited space to be dedicated to a wine hobby, tower wine racks may come to your rescue.

These modern wine racks can hold anywhere from three to hundreds of bottles.

Tower wine racks are made to accommodate versatile needs and allow you to start small and grow your collection with time.

These racks are designed vertically, not horizontally and, therefore, save on ground space, while allowing you to store numerous bottles.

In addition, modern wine racks are made with today’s requirements in mind – to match every d้cor possible - wooden, metal, glass, and so on.

Tower wine racks can be divided/made on request into separate cabinets to achieve optimum temperature required by various wines, such as – white wine in cooler temperature and red wine at room temperature.

Most of these modern wine racks come with built-in drawers and shelves, enabling you to store wine connected items (corkscrew, decanters and other items).

Modern wine racks also add to the beauty and sophistcation of your home and apartment. They can be installed on the wall at the back of your bar, kitchen or any other place that you desire.

They let your guests know that you are someone with stylish tastes, and they are sure to spark numerous conversations as you sip and share your wine with pleasure.

View the best modern wine racks we've discovered at our free resource: http://www.wine-racks-selection-guide.com

5 Great Recipes for Thanksgiving

Writen by Linda Jenkinson

5 Great Recipes for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to share memories and enjoy wonderful and unique meals together. If you need some great recipe ideas the ones below are five great recipes for Thanksgiving that your family is sure to love.

(1)Sweet Potato Surprise

• 3 medium sweet potatoes

• ฝ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• ผ cup raisins
• ผ cup marshmallows
• 1 cup orange juice
• 3 tbsp. walnuts, chopped
• 2 tbsp. butter, melted
• ผ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350. Boil sweet potatoes. Run cold water over potatoes then let them air dry to cool. Once cooled, you can peel them. Cut potatoes into 2 inch pieces. In 9 inch baking dish arrange potatoes to your liking. Combine raisins, cornstarch, and orange juice. Cook over medium heat. Stir constantly. Add salt and butter to saucepan. Mixture will become thick and that is when it is done. Pour over potatoes. Sprinkle with marshmallows and chopped nuts. Bake for 20 minutes. Yields 6-8 servings.

(2)Pumpkin Bread

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 1-8 oz. can pumpkin
• 1 ผ cup flour
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ฝ tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp. salt
• 1/3 tsp. baking powder
• 2/3 cup raisins (optional)
• 2/3 cup nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Beat together sugar and shortening. Add pumpkin, eggs, and water. Blend until smooth. Add flour and sugar. Stir in raisins and nuts, if desired. Add baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Grease 9 inch baking pan. Bake for 1 hour. A toothpick inserted will come out clean when done. Let cool. Serve with melted butter and a sprinkle of sugar.

3) Green bean Casserole

• 2 cans (8 oz each) cut green beans
• 2 cups brown rice, uncooked
• 1 sm. jar regular cheese wiz
• 1 sm. jar jalapeno cheese wiz
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2/3 cup butter, melted
• ฝ cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1cup your favorite shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Measure rice accurately. Cook rice per package instructions. Drain rice completely. Let rice completely dry. Add green beans. Blend soup and butter together until creamy. Combine the two mixtures together. Add both jars of cheese. Add cheese gradually stirring as you go. Add garlic and onions. Before putting greased casserole dish into oven, top casserole with shredded cheese of your choice. I prefer mozzarella. Cook for 50 minutes or until cheese is bubbling or has started to brown on to

Pasta Salad

3 cups pasta, any will do

1 cup grape tomatoes, diced

1 tsp. chopped banana peppers

ฝ cup chopped red onion

1 cup chopped cucumbers

1 whole avocado, chopped

1 cup shredded carrots

ฝ cup diced red bell pepper

ฝ cup diced yellow bell pepper

ฝ cup celery

1 cup Italian dressing

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook pasta until tender, drain. Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour. Run pasta through cold water before you start to prepare it. Add vegetables to pasta. Blend in one cup Italian dressing. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve with whole wheat crackers.

(5) Orange Stuffing with Cranberry Sauce

• 7 slices of bread
• ผ cup butter
• 2 medium oranges
• ฝ tsp. poultry seasoning
• ฝ cup canned cranberry sauce
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup red onion
• 1 cup chicken broth

Take slices of bread. Cut into half inch cubes. Set aside. Cook celery, red onion, and butter on medium heat. Cook until celery and onion are tender. Add oranges to mixture. Cook on low heat for ten minutes. Add cranberry sauce. Cook on low for 10 minutes. Combine poultry seasoning and chicken broth. Add to celery mixture. Cook until broth is well dissolved. Take off heat Pour entire mixture over bread mixture immediately. Mix well and serve with extra cranberry sauce on the side. Garnish with orange wedges and basil.

At our site you can download a PDF file packed with tips and recipes for the holidays.

Linda is author of

Christmas and Thanksgiving Cooking Tips at http://www.steaks-guide.com