Our Family Mealtime is a Priority | Ragú Better and Better Sweepstakes #NewTraDish

*As a brand representative, I have been compensated for my time. All thoughts remain my own. *

I was raised in a household where family was very important. My parents put their kids first and always had time for us. My mom loves to cook and like clockwork, she had a delicious meal on the table by 5:30. We would all come together to eat, and I loved this family time. Dinner was our chance to share how our day went. I remember for a while having to following my mom’s eating patterns or I would find myself alone eating while everyone else had finished. (No, really. I would enjoy our discussions so much that I would often forget to eat.) And even as my sister and I got older, this was always still a top priority, even with after school activities.

I’m so thankful that I am married to a man who shares these values. We both take an active role in raising our kids and family time is very important to us. Sometimes when I see my husband playing with our three boys, I can’t help but smile. I know he enjoys being a father, and I don’t ever have to nag or guilt him into spending time with us.

One routine that we find so important is eating dinner together. Before kids, my husband and almost always spent our evenings together. And much like when I was growing up, dinner was a great time to chat about our day. Now that we have kids, mealtime has remained special. This is a great opportunity to teach and interact with our kids, uninterrupted. All distractions are removed, and the television is turned off. And while it might be tempting to check our phone or listen to the news, we know that those distractions will keep us from what is important.

Our family.

And with that, I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen to prepare a meal that my family loves. I love that brands like Ragú help keep family mealtimes a priority with easy to create meals. With 11 tomatoes in every jar, Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce is their richest, thickest recipe* ever!

Ragú Better and Better Sweepstakes

Enter the Ragú Better and Better Sweepstakes for a chance to win great Authentic Italian themed prizes, including a grand prize trip to Italy for a family of four! You’ll find some great weekly prizes including $2,000 cash, $550 Bed, Bath & Beyond gift card and $350 cooking package, just to name a few. Each day through May 6, 2014, you can earn entry opportunities for doing simple things like voting for your favorite recipe or entering a UPC code. Get extra entries each week for sharing with with friends and pinning your favorite recipe on Pinterest!

I don’t know about you, but I’m drooling over the recipes from featured bloggers going head-to-head in a weekly recipe battle! I look forward to checking out the weeks to come for more mealtime solutions.

Be sure to also visit Ragu on Facebook for additional delicious recipes!

What does your family mealtime look like?

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50 United States (D.C.) 18 years and older. Ends 5/6/14. To enter and for Official Rules, including odds, alternate method of entry, and prize descriptions, visit www.RaguSweeps.com. Void where prohibited.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Ragú® Official New Tra-Dish. The opinions and text are all mine.