Food for Thought

My personal relationship differs greatly depending on whether or not I am alone. If I am alone it is just fuel, I don't enjoy specific tastes or flavors enough to have that matter enough for me. When I am along it is just something to keep me going. That's what the bottom image is about. When the family is together, it's different - the food is more important because it brings us together. That's what the top image is about. I have noticed that I sometimes eat at work as a stress reaction (when I am at work, etc) but that's not a sustained or chronic behavior I wouldn't say.

So in terms of how to make a meal special if its me I basically don't. If it's for the family there are a couple ways we do it:

1) put a lot of variety on the plate: 3 cherry tomatoes, a slice of cucumber, and 3 small carrots as opposed to, a big pile of a single thing - this is for the kids

2) we buy what we call 'kid's wine' - sparkling cider and pop the top, etc., like champagne, again for the kids

3) for us we try and make it special by trying something new (often chicken or seafood) and buy wine with it

4) For me and two of my sons, including something that we grew in the garden makes it more special. It tastes better, you're proud and feel connected to it and appreciate it.

5) Not a food thing, but we play games at meals, and also buy at various new rounds of placemats with interesting stuff on them - maps, birds, etc.

The perfect everyday meal:

It's salmon, broccoli, and french fries. It's perfect because its healthy and everyone likes it. Its the rare case of an adult food the kids like, so easy to prepare. But even before kids it was our go to meal. It's colorful, good for you, and if you're basically just seeking to fill your stomach at the end (which sometimes I feel like) well that's what the fries are for. I have this notion fo salmon and the omega fatty acids being good for the brain, that broccoli is as healthy as you can get, so that's why it appeals to me intellectually. Tastewise I love salt, and with soy sauce on the broccoli and salmon I get my fill of it. When its perfect its our family of 5, eating later than our usual 6 pm (say 7 pm), and we're laughing and having fun. We're at home, preferably on the back patio as I love it outside and it just adds a certain something.  This meal happens maybe once a week, we have this food probably twice a week, but half the time people are tired or something gets in the way of making it an actually fun event. What would make it more memorable would be a nice drink to go along with it - alcoholic or not, just festive, have it be outside, and have everyone be polite and appreciative of the effort put into the meal, as we don't always feel we get that.

The characteristics of a not-so-perfect meal is one that is rushed, where we have to make a different thing for every child, and its not really what we want. For example often we will run low on food at the end of the week so I make omelettes. Its a simple and appealing idea but not really what I'm looking for - breakfast at night. It's also as I said usually bc its late in the week when we are low and food, also when people are tired and there is a slightly less chance of a harmonious, fun meanl. Also its a small thing but omelettes are not very colorful on their own and the things we put on the side with them - potatoes, for example, are also not very colorful so that aspect of this meal doesn't add too much for me. Finally, somehow I like (and assume at least others in my family also) like variety on the plate, as opposed to a big plate of one thing, and even though there could be everything but the kitchen sink inside, outside an omelette is just one, single thing.




Answer to followup questions: the sparkling cider, variety on the plate, games makes a big difference to the kids. They're at a point where they're starting to challenge us a little bit, they can be cranky at night, and just some small thing to make something festive or sparkly really makes a big difference. They often portray as either "the worst day ever" or the "best day ever" so this is a way to make the most important 15 minutes of the day (for all its importance our meals are pretty short!) fee; special. In turn it makes or breaks largely the dinner experience for my wife and I because as much as I hate to admit it the kids drive the mood somewhat.

It's actually not hard to do the small things that make a meal special, only because it doesn't take too much. One well thought-out purchase from the weekend before, or something from the store on the way home, or an extra 5 minutes looking in the fridge or cupboard to think of something additional and non-typical is enough and takes some energy but not too much.

The not so perfect meal (like the omelet) doesnt happen too often, maybe once every two weeks. Its prevented from happening mostly because my wife and i both value food and meals and dinner and so make an effort to have something like, and we've been together a while now (12 years) so know what we like and don't like so are pretty able to avoid something that turns out to be a disappointment for the other. So basically if we dont plan ahead for the week and keep other people in mind in the planning that's when there is potential for coming up with a dud.

As far as how I feel after eating the omelet, oddly once I've eated and we're washing dishes its kind of all the same - the small disappointment of a drearyish meal rarely lasts beyonf the meal itself.