Family dinners under pressure

COOKING UP A STORM: Hannah Duggan says despite a hectic schedule food was something she enjoyed and did not take short-cuts on, despite new figures suggesting fewer Bay residents were able to cook decent meals.PHOTO/GEORGE NOVAK

The family tradition of sitting down together for an evening meal has been lost on some Bay families as new figures reveal time-poor parents are repeating the same boring meals, while struggling with their budget.

The study, conducted by General Mills food company, showed 16 per cent of Bay of Plenty and Waikato residents said they almost never sat down with their family for dinner, while 22 per cent said they checked their cellphones at least once during the meal.

Modern family dinner time in the Bay has been further hampered with 29 per cent of people saying they cooked fewer than six meals, which they repeated each week.

Forty per cent of Bay people surveyed said they would like more meal variety but were restricted by tight budgets, while a further 16 per cent said they lacked the confidence to trial new meals.

But some Bay parents say with a little organisation, families can still have healthy, home-cooked meals at the table on time each night despite hectic lifestyles.

Twenty-two year old Bachelor of Business student Hannah Duggan is studying three Level 7 papers - each is considered to take 30 hours a week - while also running her household, transporting her fiancee to and from work and looking after her three-year-old son full-time.

The excuse of 'not having enough time' to cook decent meals did not wash with Ms Duggan, who said she has dinner with fiancee Kane Tereapii and toddler Jacob at the table most nights.

"We don't buy takeaways. Even when I was working full-time and studying part-time, meals would always be on the table at 6.30pm," she said.

Ms Duggan said they would spend about 30 minutes on a Sunday going over what meals they wanted for the week ahead. Being organised and the routine of cooking as soon as they got home helped in making dinner time happen, she said.

"Food is meant to be something that you enjoy."

Last week, the Bay of Plenty Times reported Bay teenagers were losing valuable cooking skills as their parents struggled with busy lifestyles and opted for takeaway or processed foods.

Food Solutions owner and NZ-registered dietician and nutritionist Fiona Boyle confirmed families had become time poor but it came down to being organised and many people did not have basic skills.

The ripple effect of poor meal management could impact future generations, she said.

"You learn off the way your parents go about preparing food. If it is not being done in the home, the child can't learn it."