One of the lessons my 1-on-1 clients do is called the ‘Meal of Meaning.’ Basically, everyone in your family (or circle of friends) gets to bring a dish with sentimental value to a shared meal. No rules…the dish doesn’t have to be ‘healthy’ or fit any nutritional guidelines. Our family did this recently and we ended up with stuffed shells, scrambled eggs, homemade potato chips, cherry pie and mashed potatoes. During the meal our assignment was to explain why we’d brought our dish…what was so special about that specific food? As we went around the table we realized that each choice had been made primarily because of a person we associated with that food. I choose stuffed shells because my mom made them for us growing up and it’s a meal my husband asks for on special occasions. Scrambled eggs, chips, pie and potatoes were all chosen by kids who recounted how they’d learned how to cook these favorites beside Philip and me and how much they enjoyed that the rest of the family had liked what they made. Obviously, they were also chosen because most of these are ‘red light’ foods that we only occasionally enjoy because they’re tasty, but not the healthiest. The kids found the loophole in this lesson pretty quickly! 🙂
Our meal was far from nutritionally balanced, but it’s had me thinking because it highlighted how much influence we have over which foods our families learn to love. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying macaroni cheese because grandma always made it for you, but could we be just as purposeful to make meaningful memories around healthier options? As we talked, my husband commented that he still really enjoys mac&cheese because Mawmaw DID always make it for him, even though he realized the version she made probably wasn’t the tastiest recipe. That memory is so ingrained that he still opts for the Velveeta version that reminds him of so many special dinners at her house.
What foods are we using to make memories with our families? How could some of those include whole foods? Are we inviting our kids to make salads with us, pick food from the garden, learn how to grill, and get excited when seasonal favorites show up in the stores (hello bing cherries!)? What recipes could we add to our Thanksgiving/Christmas, birthday, July 4th spreads to balance out the more indulgent norms?
Just food for thought. 🙂
