Families who eat together have more positives than families who eat separately. Joyce Fikri Nutrition Educator from the St. Louis Dairy Council said when families eat home cooked meals they're better off nutritionally because they have better variety, and family meals offer more fruits and veggies than fast food will. Fikri said, there are other benefits besides being healthy for families eating at home together including saving money, and children having less behavioral problems

Fikri said families should plan to eat together at least three to five times a week, and the more often it can be done, the better. While it may be difficult for some families to make this happen, Fikri said ways to make it happen, are through simple recipes or cooking twice the amount.

Another tip Fikri gave was if a family was in a rush, a precooked rotisserie chicken or frozen pizza from the grocery store, is never bad to have. More information can be found at stldairycouncil.org. Fikri appeared on the NEWSTALK WTIM Morning Show.