title: The Whole Family Cookbook: Two-Tiered Meals to Please Both Parents and Kids
author:  Kristene Fortier 
description: Notes From a Well Seasoned Mom. Before my children were born, I always had a lovely fantasy about family dinners. We're all gathered around the dinner table; we're laughing and joking and having a wonderful time. Real life turned out to be quite different: Our dinner hours were often tense and frustrating as my husband and I tried to persuade our youngsters to eat what was on their plates.
zlib_text: the _flexible_ family cookbook
  
  > JO PRATT
  
  > PHOTOGRAPHY BY MALOU BURGER
  
  ![](Images/image00133.jpeg)
  
  ![](Images/image00186.jpeg)
  
  Contents
  
    1. Introduction
    2. Breakfast and brunch
    3. Soups and broths
    4. Small plates and snacks Main meals
    5. Sides
    6. Baking and desserts
    7. Dietary index
    8. Index
    9. Thank yous
  
  Introduction
  
  It’s a fact that most parents these days cook multiple meals at meal times,
  due to a rise in dietary requirements. It might be down to gluten and dairy
  intolerances; it could be for moral or environmental reasons; not to mention
  people just wanting to be more healthy and reduce the amount of meat, sugar or
  saturated fat they eat.
  
  It’s exhausting just thinking about it, and all of this has made eating
  together a little anti-social, as cooking to cover lots of requirements has
  become hard work. We all need easier ways to put food on the table and sadly
  many people will turn to ready-meals or takeaways as a solution.
  
  Eating together as a family is