Top tips for making the most of family meal-times

How often do you sit down for a family meal or a shared supper with friends?

If it’s less than you’d like, you’re not alone!

In the past 20 years, the frequency of family dinners has declined by 33%. We love getting together and cooking up a tasty meal, especially with Sutton Hoo Chicken as the main ingredient 😉 but with busy schedules it often ends up being less frequent than we’d like.

However, we all know how important proper sit-down meals are for connecting with loved ones, hearing about each other’s days, as well as the health benefits of eating home cooked meals.  We believe food brings people together by sharing an experience at the end of the day.

Here are our top tips to make meal times more achievable:

1. Meal planning

Deciding what to cook each night is tricky! Planning your meals in advance helps save time throughout the week, especially if you’re clever about using leftovers. For example, take a simple roast chicken that’s quick and easy to make – and use it to create three tasty meals. You could even try our latest 3 Meal Challenge!

Also, a Sutton Hoo Chicken is to be enjoyed any night of the week – tasting truly delicious with minimal cooking effort.

By planning ahead and organising your meals in advance, it makes it less of a chore.

2. Quick and easy recipes

When choosing what to cook for your friends or family, choose quick and easy recipes that require minimal preparation.

We have an entire section on our website dedicated to quick and easy recipes to help you create delicious and nutritious meals all week long.

3. Get others involved in the cooking

Make the process of cooking social by getting your children, other half or friends involved in preparing and cooking the meal with you.

4. Lay the table

Our final piece of advice is one we highly recommend giving a go, set the table! It might feel slightly extravagant, but it gives your mealtime a sense of occasion. Again, if you have any small helpers, this is the perfect job for them!

We aren’t suggesting you go all out with the table setting mid week but have some fun with your tablescape for weekend entertaining.

In our family, we like to use placemats, cloth napkins (much more environmentally friendly than paper, throw away ones) and tend to have a collection of candles or flowers from the garden on the table.

Start wowing your guests with an impressive tablescape and serving them one of many scrumptious Sutton Hoo Chicken dishes.