ARTICLE

Banish Your Dinner Doldrums

By Alanna Nimau Vigil, MS, RD

If you are like most people, you only make the same couple dishes for dinner, week in and week out. This may be because you just love your tried-and-true favorites or you’ve fallen into a rut, but either way you could be missing out.

By trying a new dish, vegetable or spice, you can:

• Impress family and friends at the next potluck or family get-together.
• Experiment with new flavors without breaking your budget. Preparing an unfamiliar dish at home is usually cheaper than ordering it at a restaurant.
• Teach your family by example that trying new foods can be fun.
• Explore:
• an unfamiliar aisle at the grocery store
• an unfamiliar grocery store
• unfamiliar recipe book or resource (See yourRDonline’s article on New Recipe Resources)
• Find a low-cost or healthier alternative to one of your tried-and-true favorites.

Try one or all of these suggestions to spice up your dinner table:

• Try a new recipe each week
• Pick an unfamiliar vegetable and research a recipe to try
• Wander down an ethnic food aisle and see if anything catches your eye (such as a new sauce or spice), try to incorporate in a familiar or unfamiliar recipe
• Join or organize a Supper Club/Potluck/Family Get-together where each member can take turns trying out new dishes and swapping recipes
• Take inspiration from a recent book, movie or TV show that features an unfamiliar food or dish
• Watch a cooking show
• Seek out colleagues or friends that are familiar with other cultures’ foods and cuisine for suggestions
• Ask the kids to pick out a new fruit or vegetable or country/region on the globe and find a recipe to try
• Attend cultural fairs/events as these often feature regional food and cuisine