7 Creative Ideas To Keep Dinner Interesting

When it comes to the nightly meal of the day – dinner meals easily become a victim of repetitive entrees and side dishes. Some individuals and families find themselves stuck in a rut, preparing some of the same meals on a weekly basis – fish on Friday, Meatloaf Monday, Taco Tuesday, bland corn, white rice, and lifeless mashed potatoes.   Many times we prepare the same meals because we know the family likes them.  But there are many other things our family would eat, if we just tried something different.  To keep dinner fun, fresh, and in many cases, exciting – there are plenty of ways to stop the boredom that comes with fixing and eating the same dishes. A few ideas include:

1) Try New Recipes

Whether you scour the cookbooks lining the library shelves or search the infinite number of online resources, there are plenty of recipes awaiting the enthusiastic cook. New recipes add excitement and new flavors that not only add spice to the dining room table, but also awaken the taste buds. You never know if you don’t like something if you’ve never try it. Why not experiment with veal or make your first gumbo?  And even if you don’t like all the ingredients in a newly discovered recipe, it can still help spark some creativity.  Feel free to use the recipe as a guideline but mix it up to suit your individual tastes like substituting pork for chicken.   After all, recipes were created by people looking for new meals options. 

2) Try New Ingredients 

Sometimes you can transform an old favorite by simply substituting the ingredients you normally use. There are thousands of different spices, meats, vegetables, fruits, sauces, and other cooking ingredients that you may be unaware of.   And you really never know if you like something until you try it.  Mix a few of your favorite spices together to make a new seasoning for meat or poultry.  Don’t limit yourself by thinking that you can’t combine certain flavors.  You never know what will work and what you’ll discover until you try it.  Ask your children what new ingredients they would like to try.  Many kids are daring when it comes to trying a new food.  This is also a great chance to explore some of the different worldwide methods of cooking, as you consider the use of cilantro, rose petals, Adobo, hummus, and oyster sauce.

3) Theme Night of the Week

To spice up the dinnertime you have grown used to, theme nights create a great break from the monotony. You may select a day of the week that is specifically set aside for a particular theme of your choice, such as "Dinner and a Movie."   Try to choose a dinner that ties into your movie them.  When preparing a mealtime your family will never forget, you may choose to explore another culture. Are your kids learning about China in school?  Why not prepare a traditional Chinese meal.   Is Mexico currently on your child’s social studies syllabus?  Why not prepare a Mexican feast.  Giving kids a hands-on learning experience will help them much more in their studies.  Other options for theme night feasts may include: Italian (pizza, cannoli, lasagna); Asian (spring rolls, chicken stir fry, fortune cookies); Middle Eastern (pita sandwiches, falafel); or French (croissant sandwiches, quiche, crepes).   

4) Breakfast Food At Night

When you're tired of the same old meat and potatoes dinner, there is nothing wrong with setting a hot stack of pancakes on the table for dinner. Omelets, waffles, French toast, scrambled eggs and bacon, all make great selections for a dinner that breaks from the standard dinner fare.   An egg bake made with sausage or bacon, cheese, and vegetables makes a great well rounded option for “breakfast at dinner”.  Another great option is bagel sandwiches.  Add your favorite meats, cheeses, and toppings to a bagel to create a sandwich that works as well as a dinner as it does as a breakfast.  Kids love breakfast so they will really enjoy when they get to have it twice in one day!

5) Fun Presentation Ideas

Perhaps the things you cook for dinner tastes great and are crowd pleasers, but you want to step up the level of enjoyment. Enhanced presentation of food not only add interest to the meal, but also gets the conversation going around the dinner table. One of the most attention-grabbing ideas for meals includes fruit and vegetable carving, where radishes, apples, oranges, and melons become works of art. Sometimes, dinner plates may showcase a bright explosion of foods, arranged according to the colors of the rainbow.   Take a look at your meal and if it lacks color, find a fruit or vegetable to add to the menu, and the color palette.  Ask everyone to share their highs and lows from the day.  Or ask each member of the family to bring a fun question to the dinner table.  Examples include: What is your favorite family vacation memory?; What is one or your most prized possessions?; What’s your favorite place to be and why?; What do you want to be when you grow up and why?; or If you won two free tickets what would you like them to be for?

6) Decoration, Decoration, Decoration

Decorating the dining room table is a great way to boost the level of delight and  encourage a more enjoyable dinner meal.  Include colorful napkins, inviting candles, fun silverware choices, decorative tablecloths, new cups and glasses, or beautiful spreads of flowers and plants.  Allow your children to decorate paper place mats or make a fun centerpiece.  Or get inexpensive plastic mats that can be brightened up with markers or embellishments.   If there is a special occasion, such as a birthday or someone having done particularly when in school or sports, give them a personalized place setting.  Let them use a special plate for dinner.  Give them a colorful glass to drink out of.  There are many little things that can be celebrated and doing this will turn an average dinner into a fun evening feast.

7) Change The Scenery

Sometimes the food served during dinner isn’t the boring part of mealtime, but the monotonous seating and setting at the dining room table sometimes becomes the problem.   Changing the scenery can be a simple solution.  To change up the scenery, make arrangements to have a picnic dinner.  You can even play yard games like bocce ball or croquet for dinner and a game.  Gather on the patio to watch the sun set over a delicious home cooked meal, or plan a laidback feast to enjoy in the family room. Why not hold an outdoor Hawaiian luau, where the backyard is transformed into an island paradise with roasted pineapple, grilled food, and leis?   Weather outside not ideal for eating on the patio?  Throw a blanket on the living room floor and have an indoor picnic.  Changing the order of who sits where at the dining room table is another great way to mix things up.

There are many options to spice up your dinners.   And most involve taking very simple steps.  It just takes a little creativity and the whole family can help.  Overall, if you think coming up with your own creative meal ideas is hard, there are plenty of cooking resources and meal planners to consider. For example, to help cooks keep dinner interesting, culinary exploration reports offered at Menu Planning Central help add life, creativity, and imagination. Begin today by grabbing a free menu planning basics report at www.menuplanningcentral.com.

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