It is the age old question that every mother hates to hear when it is 5:00 pm and she doesn't have a clue. Standing in front of an open refrigerator hoping and praying that some form of inspiration will jump out at you is not a fun situation to be in when four children want to know when they can eat. More often than not, most Americans are tempted to close that refrigerator door so fast and hop into the car and travel to a local restaurant to grab something to eat. In some cases you maybe on your way home from work and you just don't believe you have the strength to cook so you swing by a fast food restaurant for some take out. Both are quick fixes to a short-term problem, right? Now don't get us wrong we enjoy going out to eat, but with a family of six and the cost of gas eating into our total budget, going out to eat too much can put a strain on the family budget, not to mention the waistline, making the quick fix a long-term problem. Sometimes making choices can be difficult, but making the right ones are always more beneficial in the long run. For example, turning on the stove is better than turning on the ignition to the car. Most people believe a home cooked meal is better than a prepared restaurant meal. That is exactly true. There can be lots of variations on the definition of home cooked meals. For us, we try to use a minimum of prepared, prepackaged and processed foods. Because we farm, we realize we have access to a variety of food items from which to select to prepare a meal. For the average consumer, it requires a lot more preplanning of their meal choices. It is a good idea to write weekly menus and plan shopping lists from your menu. A little bit preplanning can yield big benefits in these areas. Summer time is an excellent time to stock up on fresh, local fruits and veggies. Just this week we picked our first heirloom tomatoes of the season from our garden and no sooner did we have them in the house, one of our children started begging for BLT's. You have not lived until you have had a BLT with bacon from a heritage breed raised on pasture and fresh organic heirloom tomatoes. The juice of those tomatoes is as sweet as candy and may require two napkins to eat one sandwich. Sorry I got off track, but dinner was so good and I just can not get it out of my mind.

We do try to eat seasonally. By that we mean eating only fruits and veggies that should be ripe in our area at that time of the year. Just because there is watermelon available to eat in the wintertime doesn't mean we should eat it. You ask why not? It goes without saying that true locally grown produce allowed to mature in the field and consumed with in a couple of days no only taste better but is also more nutritionist. As we mention last month purchasing farm local farmers also helps the local economy and reduces our dependence of foreign oil. In future articles we will write more on the importance of eating seasonally.

One problem with the “quick dinner fix” of most of the food items purchased at the typical restaurant or the prepared foods purchased at the grocery store is that they are not produced from the highest quality foods in both taste and nutrition.   To compensate for the taste, or the lack there of, the manufacture (yes it is made in a factory) relies on ingredients like high fructose corn syrup to make it taste just a little better then the card board it comes in. It has been reported we are now raising a generation of children that will not outlive their parents due to health problems. Childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes and health conditions associated with this problem are at record levels. Can this trend be reversed or stopped? We think so. It has to be! If not, we are losing out on more than health issues, but the heart beat of America---- the family, our children.

For our family, sharing a home cooked well balanced meal has more than just the health benefits, it is about connecting. Remember growing up how when everyone came together to eat, you stayed around the table long after the food was consumed. Time stopped for a moment, nothing else mattered and you shared with each other what was going on in your life. You walked down memory lane and laughed at the silly stores told on each other. Family history and life lessons were communicated to the next generation. Bonds were built and forged at the table. In our family, we try to have at least one meal a day together at the table, with the TV off. We don't always succeed, but we try. We eat, talk, laugh and share. One thing we do to get us started talking is we rotate with one person asking a question which everyone has to answer. Someone can make the question up or for ideas we use two books. Ask Me by Antje Damm or Coke or Pepsi by Mickey Gill & Cheryl Biddix. All it takes is a spark for the conversations flames to begin and usually chaos ensues as our four children each want to share their answer at the same time. We would not have it any other way. We are following the foundations that have been built from our ancestors. Over one hundred years and five generations of Willoughby's have sat around the exact table we gather round daily with our family. We hope we are continuing this legacy with our family. We hope and pray we are making memories as a family that will continue for generations of Willoughby's to come. Who would have thought it could begin with good food.