friday night feasts.

By Jana Mather, Head of Marketing and Communications

By Friday evening, I’m usually running on fumes.

After a busy week of work, school drop offs, activities, lunchboxes, laundry and everything else that comes with raising two young girls, the last thing I want to do is spend hours cooking dinner. But I also know that Friday night is one of the few times in the week when we can all slow down, sit together and genuinely connect.

That’s why Friday Night Feast has become one of our favourite family traditions.

Friday Night Feast isn’t really about the food. It’s about creating a moment at the end of a busy week where we can gather around the table, share stories, laugh, and enjoy each other’s company.

Removing the pressure of cooking a traditional meal has been a game changer. Instead of worrying about preparing multiple dishes, I pull together a collection of nutritious foods that everyone can enjoy.

Some weeks it’s a giant platter overflowing with colourful produce and family favourites. Other weeks it’s a collection of small plates spread across the centre of the table, creating an almost tapas style experience where everyone can help themselves.

The girls absolutely love it because it feels different and special. I love it because it’s simple.

One of my goals as a mum is to help my daughters develop a positive relationship with food and become confident trying different foods, colours and textures.

That’s why I always make sure our Friday Night Feast includes foods from all five food groups.

The real stars of the table are always the fruit and vegetables.

You can usually find some combination of:

• Carrot sticks
• Cucumber slices
• Snow peas
• Cherry tomatoes
• Capsicum strips
• Fresh corn
• Avocado
• Apple slices
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Seasonal fruit

Sometimes the vegetables are fresh and crunchy. Other times they’re roasted until caramelised and sweet. And I’m also a big fan of using canned vegetables when I need convenience. Corn, beetroot, chickpeas and beans regularly make an appearance.

The beauty of a feast-style meal is that everything has a place.

One of my favourite parts of the tradition is involving the kids in the planning.

Each week, they choose a few things they would like included. Sometimes it’s as simple as requesting strawberries or cucumber. Other times they surprise me with something completely different.

Having ownership over the menu makes them more engaged and excited about dinner.

It also opens up conversations about nutrition, different foods and where food comes from.

To keep things interesting, we occasionally create themed feasts.

We might have:

• Rainbow Feast Night
• Mediterranean Feast
• Picnic Feast
• Breakfast for Dinner Feast
• Green Feast
• Australian Summer Feast

The themes don’t need to be elaborate. They simply make the meal feel fun and encourage us to try new foods.