Love your food and eating! Series: Post 2

Dinner time is one of the most valuable teaching and learning opportunities in daily life.  To do it well requires organization, planning and precise execution!  It makes sense then to include our kids at a young age in every step along the way, from menu planning to meal preparation, eating together and of course, cleaning up!  Every Monday for 4 weeks I will delve into each of these steps offering some great tips and strategies to make eating healthy a joyful experience for the whole family!    

A joyful dinner experience begins days before with menu planning.  I can tell you from experience that I have bypassed this step only to be left in the lurches, scrambling to think of something last minute to make!  Undoubtedly, this leads to me preparing the meal in a state of chaos and much less likely to enjoy what I eventually put in front of everyone.  On a more positive note, most of the time I do begin with this step and then find it so easy to consult my plan and know I have all the ingredients on hand to make the meal stress-free.  Also, note that the menu does NOT need to be pretty or take much time.  It just needs to be written down!

To make our planning all-inclusive, we have separated the week into one night per person.  We have six people in our family with the youngest being three years old and yes, even she gets a night!  She may not be all that helpful yet but she is excited to be involved.  When kids are excited about the process, they are more likely to love the result, greens and all!  We each get to choose our meal, keeping in mind that there must be veggies, grains and protein.  Note that veggies come first as they should be the largest portion on the plate.   We also do not allow repeat meals on back to back weeks.

Each person then figures out what ingredients are required and checks the pantry and fridge to see if it should be added the grocery list.  David Bach, author of the "Finish Rich" series of books, says there is much money to be saved by simply knowing what you have on hand, making a grocery list for what you don't and following that list at the store.  By doing this you will also be much more likely to use everything you buy, putting an end to wasted food (and money)! 

At the store, the family contribution continues.  Sometimes we split the list up and give each of our ten-year-olds their own to fulfill.  The youngest ones stay with us but are given an item to be on the lookout for.  We read ingredients together, analyse cost differences and discuss the impact each product might have on the environment via growing methods, shipping, and use of pesticides and hormones.  I know some people can hardly imagine shopping with the kids but I promise you that by engaging them in the process, they will be better behaved!  Our children are learning in this process WHY we are eating the food we do so that when they leave home someday, they will have the tools to continue to eat well. 

Usually by the time we get home from groceries, the last thing I feel like doing is unpacking , let alone preparing the produce for later, however, doing it at this point makes it easier to use in the future and more likely that it will all get eaten.  The kids can help here too.  We wash and cut carrots and celery, enough for a large container that we can easily grab for dinner prep as well as several small containers that are easy to grab for a healthy school snack.  The fruit all gets washed and put in the fruit bowl on the table so that when the smallest ones are hungry and dinner is not ready yet, they can quickly grab a snack without my help!  Once everything is neatly put away, with the week's menu proudly displayed on the fridge, I can sit back and relax, knowing that the week ahead is planned and everything is ready! 

It takes some time to follow these steps but in the end saves time and money, and most importantly, develops healthy life skills in the kids and deepens the family bond.  I am the first to admit that this is very idealistic but it is possible and I have done this many times and found it to be very successful.  Could you see yourself adding one or more of these steps to your family routine?  Are you already doing something else that works well for you?  I would love to hear other tips and anecdotes! 

Love your food and eating! Series: Post 1 of 3

Well I have done a tonne of different things with my kids over the years to instill responsibility and accountability in them.  Why a tonne?  Well, if you have kids you probably know that while something may work extremely well at first, the glory of it quickly fades!  There are a few things though, that remain strong in our home.  The kids, husband and I expect and look forward to them.  My next few posts will be about these special rituals.

As a family, we have always made a point of sitting down at the table to eat meals together (especially dinner).  About 6 months ago I came across a great book,  The Creative Family:  How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections by Amanda Blake Soule, full of great crafts, projects and a few ideas for traditions or rituals.  I am the first to admit that we are not a religious bunch and so have never said "grace" before meals, but the idea of regrouping, centering ourselves and being thankful for the wonderful food that has been lovingly provided and prepared for us is one I grabbed onto.  Here is our pre-dinner ritual:

We all take our seats with our plates served.  We hold hands, physically creating a circle around the table and joining us together.  We take a deep, reflective breath (we added this in the hopes of ridding all the negative energy from the day and preparing us to sit politely and enjoy the meal - it works!). 
Then we say:

Earth we thank for this food,
For rest and home and all things good,
For wind and rain and sun above,
but most of all, for those we LOVE!

Then, beginning with our youngest, we squeeze hands all the way around the circle.  When the squeeze makes its way back to her, she announces, "Let's eat!"

I feel that this ritual has completely changed dinner-time for us.  The deep breath is truly cleansing and everyone is a little more present for the meal.  Do we still have some battles with sitting nicely and eating properly?  Well... yes, sometimes.  But I believe the battles are fewer and farther in between!

How do you prepare to enjoy your food? 

Food and Family

Last night I realized how important family is when it comes to eating healthy. I went over to my parent’s house for dinner last night for a wonderful home-cooked birthday meal for my brother. My family is very close, and we love getting together and sharing cooking ideas with one another. Great food, great company, and a little bit of wine makes for a very enjoyable evening!

What I realized last night is that my parents have had a crucial role in influencing me towards healthy eating. They have done this in a very subtle but effective way: by stressing the importance of vegetables to us. At every meal we would have at least 2 vegetable dishes as part of our meal. Take last night as an example. Not only did we have a wonderful, bright-coloured salad to enjoy, but we also had steamed asparagus to add to our plates. Vegetables have always been a large focus of our meals, and I realized that I took those values with me when I moved out. I love having a variety of vegetables to choose from, especially when munching throughout the day, or sitting down to dinner in the evening.

My parents make the best salads, although there is always a dispute on whether a salad should contain more lettuce and finely chopped vegetables, or whether it should contain very little lettuce and large chunks of veggies! What do you think?!

By having so many vegetables at each meal we learned early on that they were vital for our health. And the best part is that we didn’t even know that was what they were doing! Vegetables are so important, and I know that I have learned their value by example from my parents. Having these wonderful, nutritious foods at meal times shows kids that vegetables play an important role.

My family has influenced the way I eat in other ways. My parents love to act like chefs, and they get very excited when someone is at home to cook for. They love throwing things together (sometimes things that I am not too sure of!), and coming up with something new. I guess I know where I get my sense of adventure when wanting to try new combinations of things.

I also like to think that I have made an influence on the rest of my family. I always smile when I see brown rice in the cupboard instead of white rice. I feel a sense of pride when I see that they have supported a local farmer by buying free-range chicken from the Calgary Farmer’s Market. It feels good when they enjoy eating one of my “strange” meals! It is nice to know that I can help my family continue to eat healthy and open them up to some new things.

How have the people in your life opened you up to healthy eating, and how have you passed on your knowledge of food to others?