Hot Strawberry Syrup- Disconnect to Reconnect Breakfast for Dinner

“I participated in a Blogger Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for the J.M. Smucker Company. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a to thank me for my participation. All opinions in this post are my own.”

Who here has a hard time getting their kids to disconnect from their devices? Who here also has a hard time disconnecting themselves? I know that at my house, if I am not monitoring how much time my kids are on their devices, they would be on them all day long. Well, I have a great idea for you! A Disconnect to Reconnect family dinner. And what could be more fun than having breakfast for dinner? Today I’m sharing my ideas on how to disconnect to reconnect with your family at family dinner. I’m also sharing one of my families favorite breakfast recipes, Hot Strawberry Syrup!

Doesn’t it look so good? Mmmmmm! My favorite thing for breakfast is Waffles with Hot Strawberry Syrup and homemade Whipped Cream.  The tanginess of the strawberries, the fluffy waffles and the sweet whipped cream make this the perfect breakfast food, in my opinion. So why not have breakfast for dinner? Something fun for the whole family, you’re kids will LOVE it!

First, let’s talk about disconnecting. We have a few rules in our home about devices that you may want to incorporate into your daily routine too.

• First, no using devices in the morning. If my kids use their devices in the morning, they will not get ready for school on time.
• Second, no devices are allowed at the kitchen table. Period. Plus, all meals are to be eaten at the table, so then we have some time to talk. Family dinner time is about so much more than food! It’s a precious time to reconnect with family members. That is why Power of Family Meals is proposing to disconnect to reconnect during dinner time.
• Third, devices are only to be used AFTER homework and chores are done, and then only for a limited amount of time. It always depends on what we have going on that day, but that is usually only about an hour. My kids are very active kids, physically. They are always outside playing with friends, at soccer practice or tumbling class. So I don’t worry too much about that in our home. My kids enjoy getting out. If your kids don’t, I would suggest setting up play dates with neighbors or school friends. Then set the rule that at least half of their time needs to be spent outside or inside doing some sort of physical activity. This will not only make their bodies healthier, but also their social skills will grow and they will enjoy hanging out with friends and hopefully choose to do that instead of playing on a device.
• Fourth, all devices are to be brought into the kitchen at night to charge before the kids go to bed. This way I know my kids aren’t texting, watching, playing or listening to anything as they are trying to go to sleep. We try to do this about an hour before bed time so the kids can have time to unwind and we can talk as a family, have family scripture study and have family prayer. I feel like it’s a very healthy habit to be able to fall asleep in the dark, on your own. I know that sounds silly to some of you, but I KNOW there are some out there that let their kids fall asleep in their rooms with the TV on, or doing something similar. I feel like this is a very bad habit and is hurting your kids in the long run.
• Fifth, my kids do not use their devices on Sundays. Sunday is a special day in our home. It is the sabbath and we try to keep it holy. We listen to church music, play with our kids and they play with each other. The old fashioned kind of play. My girls will do make-overs on each other, and the boys will build things with legos. I love this day! It’s the best!

This is why I’m teaming up with Disconnect to Reconnect to help get families to unplug during meal times. Head over and take the pledge to disconnect to reconnect with your family. While you’re there, you can explore their site for more great ideas on how to implement this at your home.

Here are a few things we do at dinner time to reconnect.

• Family Prayer. We bless the food and bless our family members.
• Candlelight night. We turn off the lights and use candle light to eat our dinner. So Much Fun! The kids really love this tradition.
• Ask questions. We have a fun little game that we play that came with our little kit for this post. It’s called Family Talk. There are some awesome questions and my kids absolutely love it. We ask a different question to each child, or we have all the children answer the same question.

• Breakfast for Dinner is one of my family’s favorite traditions. This is where the Hot Strawberry Syrup comes in. We use it for waffles, pancakes, crepes or German pancakes, with powdered sugar.

Want the super easy and quick recipe? I’m glad you asked! Here you go!

Hot Strawberry Syrup for Pancakes, Waffles or Crepes

-24 ounces sliced frozen strawberries or fresh strawberries cut up
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup Smuckers Naturals Strawberry Jam

Add all the ingredients into a microwaveable class bowl and microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Using a potato masher, mash the strawberries to stir. Then microwave another 3 minutes until hot. If you don’t want to use the microwave, you can use a sauce pan and heat and mash until hot. So easy!

Now make your favorite waffles in the waffle maker. We like to use Hungry Jack, and I just use the recipe for Waffles on the back of the box. It has an egg in it and I’ve noticed that they come out fluffier than other mixes.

Serve the hot strawberry syrup over hot waffles and add a dollop of homemade sweetened whipped cream and you’ve got the perfect breakfast for dinner.

Now gather the hubby and the kids around the dinner table and get out your Family Talk game and you will spend more time at the dinner table tonight than you ever have because you will be having so much fun learning new things about each other.

Please be sure to visit the Power of Family Meals website and like them on Facebook and Twitter (tell them I sent ya) so you can get more ideas on Disconnecting to Reconnect.

What are some of your favorite family dinner traditions? Do you have any rules about devices in your home that I didn’t mention? I’d love to hear about them! Leave me a comment.