Eating meals together with my family is of paramount importance in our home. During our quick family breakfasts and informal dinners we have the opportunity to share stories. I ditch the phone, TV and electronics to enjoy the banter, organized chaos, and meaningful conversations that transpire at the dining room table.
Plans for our next family adventure, struggles at school, admitting mistakes, sibling jealousy, reflecting on daily experiences, and wish lists for birthday and holiday presents are a few of the topics we discussed this week. Life moves rapidly and is frequently jam-packed with activities that fill the day so we embrace the opportunity to linger together during meals.
Even though breakfast is a sprint during the week with school and work pulling on us, we make a big deal out of breakfast on the weekends. Sometimes we go out and hit the local diner, but our favorite family meals are when we create a breakfast feast – breakFEAST – with all the fixins: pancakes, waffles, warm syrup, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and fresh fruit.
September is All-American Breakfast month so we partnered with Hungry Jack, took our pancake and syrup experience up a notch, and hosted a wonderful breakFEAST pancake party for our friends and family.
My son and I had an amazing bonding experience. We let my wife sleep in while we were up early getting messy and preparing enough pancake batter to make one hundred pancakes as well as slicing up fresh melons, berries, and pineapple to create a delicious fruit salad.
Later that morning, our apartment was abuzz with laughter, children playing together, and the sweet smell of pancakes sizzling on the griddle. Pancakes were gobbled up naked and hot off the press, some doused with Hungry Jack Butter flavored microwaveable syrup (bottle fits easily into our microwave), others creatively dressed with whipped cream and chocolate chips, and a few covered with fresh blueberries. No matter how they were consumed, Hungry Jack Funfetti Pancakes were the hands-down winners with both children and adults alike. Who doesn’t love a splash of color decorated in their pancakes? Our entire batch of Funfetti Pancakes were devoured and the kids were officially inducted into the “clean plate club.”
After a two-hour marathon of delicious eating, active play, and amazing conversation with our friends, we packed up leftovers for everyone, and settled in to watch a family movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
We look forward to our next breakFEAST this weekend. This time, the waffle irons will be going full throttle making an abundance of Belgian Waffles and dipping them in warm Hungry Jack Cinnamon & Sugar flavored syrup!
***Disclosure: NYC Dads Group is collaborating this year with Hungry Jack as an ambassador for their range of delicious breakFEAST products. Our thoughts and opinions are our own and not affected by the sponsored content relationship.
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