famıana
Tools DE

Family Food

Dinner for everyone, most nights, without the drama.

Food is where family life happens three times a day. This section covers restaurants that welcome children rather than tolerate them, recipes that survive a weeknight, eating well as a family and the delivery services worth using on the nights that get away from you.

Try it: What's for dinner wheel

4 topics · 4 quick answers below
Interactive

What's for dinner wheel

Spin for a weeknight dinner the whole table will eat.

Restaurants

Top

A family friendly restaurant is not one with a children's menu of nuggets. It is one with space, quick service, a table by the window, staff who bring the children's food first and a garden if you are lucky. We rate places by how they treat families, not just how they cook.

Good to know

  • Book the first sitting. Empty restaurants are patient restaurants.
  • Ask for a half portion of a real dish instead of the children's menu.
  • Bring crayons, not a tablet. Restaurants are where children learn to sit at a table.

Guides in the works

  • How to spot a genuinely family friendly restaurantsoon
  • Eating out in Spain with children: times, tapas, terracessoon
  • Restaurant manners by age: what is fair to expectsoon
Tell me when they land

Recipes

Top

Weeknight recipes for families need four things: thirty minutes, one pan, ingredients you already have and a version a five year old will eat. Ours come with the adaptations built in and a shopping list you can copy.

Good to know

  • Cook once, eat twice. Double the sauce and freeze half.
  • Deconstruct rather than hide. A child who refuses a stew often eats the same things served side by side.
  • A rotation of ten reliable dinners beats a hundred recipes you never cook.

Guides in the works

  • Ten weeknight dinners the whole family eatssoon
  • Batch cooking for busy families: a Sunday plansoon
  • Lunchbox ideas that come home emptysoon
Tell me when they land

Healthy eating

Top

Healthy family food is regular meals, mostly plants, enough protein and no drama about the rest. We keep it simple: what a balanced day looks like for children of different ages, how to handle sugar and snacks, and how to eat well without cooking two dinners.

Good to know

  • Vegetables at every meal, including breakfast. Grated carrot in pancakes counts.
  • Eat together at least four evenings a week. It matters more than the menu.
  • Keep fruit on the counter and biscuits in the cupboard. Placement decides what gets eaten.

Guides in the works

  • What a balanced day looks like for a six year oldsoon
  • Snacks that are actually snacks, not a fourth mealsoon
  • Feeding teenagers: appetite, protein and independencesoon
Tell me when they land

Delivery

Top

Some nights the plan is takeaway and that is a plan. We compare delivery services and meal kits for families: what they cost per person, how they handle allergies, which ones deliver to holiday rentals and which are worth the subscription.

Good to know

  • Order before six. The good places run out and the waits double.
  • Meal kits cost less than takeaway and more than shopping. Worth it two nights a week for busy families.
  • Keep one frozen emergency dinner for the night the delivery does not arrive.

Guides in the works

  • Meal kits for families comparedsoon
  • Grocery delivery in Spain: which services actually worksoon
  • Takeaway nights that stay healthysoon
Tell me when they land
Quick answers

Questions parents ask about family food.

How do I get my child to eat vegetables?

Serve them every day without comment, eat them yourself, offer them first when children are hungriest, and let children help cook. Pressure makes it worse. Most children eat more vegetables at eight than they did at four.

What time do families eat dinner in Spain?

Spanish families eat late, often between eight and nine thirty. Many restaurants do not serve dinner before eight. Families with young children usually make lunch the main meal and keep the evening light.

Are meal kits worth it for a family?

For families who otherwise order takeaway two or three nights a week, yes. For families who already cook from scratch, the cost per portion is higher than shopping. Try a month and check your food spend before and after.

How much sugar is too much for a child?

Guidelines suggest keeping added sugar under about 25 grams a day for children, which is one small fizzy drink. The practical approach is sweet things once a day, with a meal, and water as the default drink.

Keep going

Sections that usually come next.

Family Health Check ups, teeth, plates and the pharmacy shelf. Shopping Buy less, buy once, buy the right size. Family Travel Holidays that work for every age at the table.
The Sunday Note

One email on Sunday. The week planned by Monday.

New guides, the tool of the week and three things to do with the children. Nothing else, no spam, unsubscribe in one click.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy notice.