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Supermodel Niki Taylor and America’s Pork Rroducers Celebrate National Eat Together Week And Help Feeding America With New “Click For A Cause” Campaign
DES MOINES, Iowa (Aug. 24, 2009) – With back-to-school season’s hustle and bustle of family activities, it’s easy to lose sight of family time. However, with the right planning and solutions, it’s the perfect occasion for busy parents to re-establish the timeless tradition of eating together with their children.
America’s pork producers have officially been encouraging families to enjoy meals together for the last 14 years. Whether it’s dinner, breakfast or a weekend brunch, National Eat Together Week (formerly National Eat Dinner Together Week), celebrated September 20-26, 2009, encourages families to eat together WHENEVER they can.
Some may feel that family mealtime is a thing of the past, but eating together is even more relevant than ever before as more and more Americans are returning to home cooking.
According to a recent study from the Food Marketing Institute, 85 percent of consumers say they’re eating a home-cooked meal three or more times a week. What’s more, a recent article published in USA Today(1) says Google reports that, last September to date, searches for "recipes" far outpaced the rest of the "food and drink" category.
Food for Thought
It’s difficult to stay in sync, which American supermodel and mother of three Niki Taylor knows. She’s regularly juggling work with family time to ensure she’s at the table on a weekly basis.
“As a mother of twins Hunter and Jake and new baby Ciel, gathering the family for a meal and some quality time can be a challenge. The dinner table is a place for my family to connect with each other, and bring a little ‘food for thought’ to our day. Because we’re so busy, it’s more important than ever to get in that quality family time, and eating together is a great way to do that.”
As a busy mom, Taylor says she prefers menus that are full of flavor and simple in preparation. Pork tastes great and is versatile and easy to prepare, making it an ideal meal solution for on-the-go families. Not to mention, in today’s challenging times, families can feel good about choosing pork for its nutritional value as well as its affordability.
Makeover Mealtime!
Does your menu need a makeover? Taylor has created a few simple recipes with the National Pork Board to get everyone excited about getting back to the table and mixing up mealtime with some delicious new treats. These recipes not only taste great, but they’re easy to prepare – an important must-have for moms like Taylor.
Even better, by checking out these recipes from the special National Eat Together Week section on TheOtherWhiteMeat.com, families can help those in need. America’s pork producers, in partnership with Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity, are making it easy to “click for a cause”. Beginning at midnight Sunday, Sept. 20, for every recipe (which includes these below and eight more!) printed or shared from the special National Eat Together Week section on TheOtherWhiteMeat.com, America’s pork producers will donate five pounds of pork (or about 25 meals) to a food bank in need.
• Grab-and-Go Pizza Muffins – This grab-and-go snack makes eating on the run a pleasure, and they are great for sleepover snacks! Change these muffins up by using about a cup of cooked, diced sausage or crumbled, cooked bacon instead. Use dried cherries or cranberries instead of the sun-dried tomatoes.
• Pork and Apple Cheddar Burgers – Great grilling doesn’t have to end with summer. Capture the taste of autumn on a bun with these moist pork burgers, flecked with bits of apple and crowned with a slice of cheddar.
• Triple Play Pork – Satisfy your taste buds, only cook once and eat three times!
o Start with a boneless Cuban Glazed Pork Loin roast. But, don’t stop there. Make sure to roast extra, turning one cut into three meals.
o Take some of that reserved cubed pork roast and add it to noodles to make a quick and easy version of the pasta classic – Pork Tetrazzini.
o Or, try adding the remaining cubed pork loin roast to a batch of Southwestern-style Pork Tortilla Soup in no time flat.
• Crustless Basque Quiche – Looking for something a little lean on the weekend for a quick family brunch or breakfast? With tons of taste but little fat, this light and luscious quiche is the perfect choice for the whole family to be fit and healthy.
Gearing up for more mealtimes together? TheOtherWhiteMeat.com is a great go-to Web resource packed with offerings for busy parents that can help turn meals from blah to “ahh” with a click of the mouse! The site offers recipes, fun family activities to do together inside or outside the home, and conversation starters such as what it means to give back.
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About The National Pork Board
The National Pork Board has responsibility for Checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. Through a legislative national Pork Checkoff, pork producers invest $0.40 for each $100 value of hogs sold. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, technology, swine health, pork safety and environmental management.
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