Joe’s Crab Shack
The Corner Bakery
Au Bon Pain
Chevy’s
Burger King
Chili’s
and even Carrabba’s Italian Grill
I have eaten in these restaurants more than once. In some cases I have taken my family to the restaurants on multiple occasions. I should feel guilty, but I don’t. The reality of my life is that I am a busy working mom of three. While I may plan to or have good intentions of cooking dinner each night, our on-the-go schedule dictates that we eat more than one meal a week at somewhere other than home. And, I’m OK with that.
Oh, sure there are times when I grocery shop with recipes in hand or create a crockpot meal in advance of the dinner witching hour. But many days when 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. rolls around, there is no dinner on the table. No chef is coming to my rescue to whip up a meal for the 5 of us. My husband works late some nights, so he can only step in and cook dinner from time to time. A Kid, a preteen, a teen, and a working mom and dad need to eat, don’t they?
So, like many American families we come up with a solution that works for us. Some nights I cook. Some nights my husband cooks. Some nights we eat out. Is our weekly dining plan ideal? No. But is it realistic ? Yes.
While I will opt out of cooking home cooked meals in favor of going out to eat, I don’t want to sacrifice nutrition or quality. My oldest is 15, so I well remember the days when a kids’ meal was nuggets and fries, hot dog and fries, grilled cheese and fries. Kids know what they want to eat, which meant that many times in restaurants my kids would eat my meal of salad, lean meat, fruit, veggies, or low fat options while my husband and I would eat the kiddie meal.
I’m proud to announce the launch of a new initiative to promote healthy eating. The Kids Live Well Program is a partnership between the National Restaurant Association and HealthyDiningFinder.com. A long with the National Restaurant Association, 19 restaurants signed on as inaugural partners for the Kids Live Well inistiative.
As a side note, I was invited to speak at the press conference launching the event. A true highlight for me! I’m not a public speaker, but I was thrilled to speak at the National Press Club yesterday. I was invited in my multifaceted role as Mom…Mom Blogger…and Leader of DC CityMommy and Baltimore CityMommy.
To Learn More About the Program:
- A list of the inaugural partner restaurants in the Kids LiveWell Program
- The Twitter hashtag for the program #KidsLiveWell
- HealthyDiningFinder.com on Twitter and on Facebook
- National Restaurant Association on Twitter and Facebook
- Press release from the National Restaurant Association
I was invited to participate in the press conference for Kids LiveWell, but I was not compensated for my time. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.
