Ask your diners to guess the ingredients in a new dish. Throw in an offbeat spice or flavor element into a meal with a dash of cinnamon, a splash of lime juice or a squirt of fish sauce. And don’t be surprised if children are better at this game than the adults, since we lose half of our taste buds by age 20!

This idea is adapted from Anne Fishel’s forthcoming book, Home for Dinner: Mixing Food, Fun, and Conversation for Healthier Families and Happier Kids,  due out in January 2015.