Why It's Important for Families to Eat Together

September is National Family Meals Month™. It’s a month dedicated to promoting the benefits of spending more family time around the table while enjoying nutritious meals. Research shows that family meals can greatly benefit the health and well being of our children; yet, the average family only spends 12-minutes together at the table during mealtime. Also, a 2013 Harris poll found that only 30% of American families share dinner every night.

With the average family only spending twelve minutes together at the table during mealtime, Eggland's Best (EB) is calling on families to commit to an additional dozen minutes around the table eating nutritious meals. The Eggland's Best Family Meals Pledge has been developed as part of EB's proud support of the American Heart Association's Healthy For Good™ movement.

"Preparing meals at home is a good strategy for families to eat more healthfully since they pick the ingredients, cooking methods and portion sizes," said Cheryl Anderson, Ph.D., chair of the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee. "We're excited to have Eggland's Best's support of Healthy For Good to help families learn how to eat smart and build good nutrition habits."

“Families that eat together their healthier together, their stronger families, they make our community even better because they are bonded as a unit,”said Dawn Jackson Blatner registered dietitian and certified specialist in sports dietetics.”In this day and age people have cell phones at the table and they don’t really eat together. So setting the stage for like a cellphone free zone, getting the kids involved for what the family should eat so that everybody is participating. That’s the kind of stuff that is so important. When choosing better for you ingredients make sure you’re actually reading the labels and you can see it is not processed. There are very nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains. When you’re reading labels your actually thinking about the companies that are making your food.”

Announcing Eggland's Best Family Meals Challenge

From now through October 1, Eggland's Best will give consumers a chance to win $5,000 towards a family vacation and a variety of instant prizes including free product coupons, supermarket gift cards, kitchen gadgets and more.

Compared to ordinary eggs, EB eggs contain six times more vitamin D, 25% less saturated fat, more than double the Omega-3s, ten times more vitamin E and more than double the vitamin B12. EB eggs are also an excellent source of vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and vitamin B5. EB's superior nutritional profile is due to its proprietary all-vegetarian hen feed that contains healthy grains, canola oil and a wholesome supplement of rice bran, alfalfa, sea kelp and Vitamin E.

Families across the country are encouraged to learn more and sign up for the Eggland's Best Family Meals Pledge at www.EBFamilyMealsPledge.com.

More About Dawn Jackson Blatner RD. CSSD

Dawn Jackson Blatner is a registered dietitian and certified specialist in sports dietetics. Dawn is the nutrition consultant for the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs, a food and nutrition blogger with Huffington Post, and a nutrition expert on the advisory board of SHAPE Magazine. She is the author of two award-winning books: The Flexitarian Diet, ranked a top plant-based diet by US News & World Report and The Superfood Swap. Dawn recently starred in (and WON!) the hit primetime ABC television show called, My Diet Is Better Than Yours.

Dawn received Lifetime Television’s “Remarkable Woman Award” for her work in the field of nutrition and has over 15 years experience working with clients to super-charge their health. She is the creator of the Nutrition WOW blog & weekly eblast, which just got ranked top nutrition blog by Health magazine. She is a trusted expert appearing regularly in local and national media outlets such as The Today Show and Good Morning America Health and she creates recipes for national publications such as Vegetarian Times, Yoga Journal and Fitness Magazine.

Dawn has worked as the dietitian for Lifetime Television, Wild Oats healthfood store, The Chopping Block cooking school, exclusive beauty spas, DePaul University and Northwestern Memorial Hospital Wellness Institute. She was a national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics for 9 years.

When she’s not traveling the world sharing her nutrition philosophy, you can find Dawn in her hometown of Chicago…at a farmers market feeling up produce for freshness, in the kitchen testing out new recipes or jogging to pop music. She has an awesome stepson and lives with her handsome husband Chris and part-time shih tzu, Mr. Nuts. Her website, DawnJacksonBlatner.com, is packed with resources focused on real food, more fun and no b.s. for people who want to eat right & feel awesome.

About Eggland's Best Eggs

Eggland's Best (EB) is the #1 branded egg in the U.S. and is an excellent source of vitamins D, B12, E, B5 and riboflavin. EB eggs have six times more vitamin D, more than double the Omega-3s, 10 times more vitamin E and 25% less saturated fat than ordinary eggs. Independent testing has also confirmed that Eggland's Best eggs stay fresher longer than ordinary eggs. The distinctive "EB" stamp on the shell assures consumers and food service customers that EB eggs meet the highest production and safety standards.

Eggland's Best was voted "America's Most Trusted Egg Brand" by American shoppers in the BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards, "America's Most Recommended™ Eggs" by women in the Women's Choice Awards, and "Product of the Year." In addition, Eggland's Best has received numerous awards and honors from such trusted publications as Prevention Magazine, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Taste of Home, Women's Health, and many others.

Eggland's Best's hens are fed a strictly controlled, proprietary, high-quality all-vegetarian diet, which results in a better tasting, more nutritious egg that stays fresher longer. EB eggs are available in large, extra-large, jumbo, cage free, organic, hard-cooked, cage free hard-cooked, organic hard-cooked, liquid egg whites, deviled egg kits, hard-cooked snacks, and are certified Kosher. For more information, visit www.egglandsbest.com.

Courtesy: Eggland’s Best

Photo Courtesy: skeeze CCO 1.0 from pixabay