The Family Dinner by Laurie David Review

From the Publisher

The producer of An Inconvenient Truth, Laurie David's new mission is to help America's overwhelmed families sit down to a Family Dinner, and she provides all the reasons, recipes and fun tools to do so.

Laurie David speaks from her own experience confronting the challenges of raising two teenage girls. Today's parents have lots to deal with and technology is making their job harder than ever. Research has proven that everything we worry about as parents--from drugs to alcohol, promiscuity, to obesity, academic achievement and just good old nutrition--can all be improved by the simple act of eating and talking together around the table.

Laurie has written a practical, inspirational, fun (and, of course, green) guide to the most important hour in any parent's day. Chock-full chapters include: Over seventy-five kid approved fantastic recipes; tips on teaching green values; conversation starters; games to play to help even the shyest family member become engaged; ways to express gratitude; the family dinner after divorce (hint: keep eating together) and much more. Filled with moving memories and advice from the country's experts and teachers, this book will get everyone away from electronic screens and back to the dinner table.

My Thoughts

We are part of the fast-food nation and, in this fast-paced world, it's hard to find a moment of peace and quiet. Children seem to grow up in the blink of an eye and, before you know it, they are in college. One of my most favorite memories as a child is that of eating dinner with my family. No matter how hectic our days, each night we came together to eat a fantastic homemade dinner. We very rarely ate elsewhere and it was considered a treat to do so. Looking back, I have fond memories of that simple, yet special time with my mom and dad. The busy world around us continued on while all was quiet, except our voices and laughter, at our family's dinner table.

our table- used only for special occasions lately!

I was excited to read this book because I've recently noticed the lack of time we (me, the kiddos, and the hubs) spend at our table. It's sad, actually, and we've often said we were going to eat more often there and failed to do so. The table has begun to be our mail sorter, unfortunately. After reading The Family Dinner by Laurie David, I was more compelled than ever to start eating dinner at the table once again.

Not only is The Family Dinner filled with delicious family recipes, but thoughtful stories from other writers, musicians, actresses, and more! Every page is filled with informative and intriguing articles, from Maya Angelou suggesting reading poetry at the dinner table to a conversation with Judge Judy, who spoke about table manners and life as a grandma. The Family Dinner is the perfect mix between a cookbook and a memoir. I love that each time I open the book, I learn something new, either about cooking, statistics and facts about eating dinner as a family, or about other people's family experiences. As a big fan of memoirs and cookbooks, this book really appeals to me.

The book doesn't come across preachy at all to me, but definitely makes you feel like more effort should be put into eating dinner at the family table, which, in my opinion, is a good thing. The only point with which I disagree with David, the author, is making rules to eating dinner as a family. She suggests several rules to eating at the dinner table, though I don't see that they are necessary. As a family, when you come together and sit at the table, the conversation, the laughter, and everything in between just seems to fall into place. Why should there be rules? Just enjoy your time together and don't worry about what you should be doing and what you are doing wrong.

All in all, The Family Dinner is definitely worth a read so, pick it up at your local library or purchase it at Amazon.com for only $17.99! That's a great deal!

No compensation was received for the writing of this review. Only the book was received and read in order to properly review it. All opinions are completely and 100% mine and only mine.