Americans love eating. And why shouldn’t we? If cooking is an art, than eating must be how we fully appreciate this form of expression.
Imagine a sculpture you can taste or a landscape you can inhale. There is a reason we pause for a moment at the sight of a pleasantly arranged meal on a plate. Philosophers have yet to define beauty, but we all agree that it exists. We hunger for beauty as we hunger for good food. And good food is beautiful.
Alright, so we may be getting carried away just a bit, but you get the picture. Food is a playground for the senses and we are known to indulge in the good things, sometimes to excess.
Rest assured, our 14 food resolutions have little to do with dieting, but much to do with enjoying food from different perspectives and, perhaps most of all, enjoying the good company of others more deeply each and every time we share a meal.
Some are a bit off the wall, others down to earth. We hope they simply inspire you to savor the art of eating with a playful and sometimes philosophical twist. We can be so hard on ourselves. Relax. Sit back. Eat and laugh. A good belly laugh burns more calories than you know and time spent with others is diet for the soul.
14 Odd Food Resolutions… This year…
1- Put a fruit bowl on the table with one fruit per resident in your home. The bowl must be empty by bed time.
2- Save and freeze one or two slices every time you have pizza. When you have 8 slices, throw a pizza party.
3- Let the kids help more in the kitchen.
4- At least once a week, after or during dinner, look through the local paper to find workshops or activities for you or the family for the upcoming weekend. Try random activities you would not normally pick. Doing this at meal time is a good way to help you step out of your comfort zone.
5- Give your employees gift certificates to local restaurants. Many don’t often sit down to a good cooked meal.
6- Keep a food journal when you eat alone; a real paper journal, that is. Write just three sentences before taking a first bite. Whatever comes to mind. After a month, read your entries and decide if you want to continue.
7- When making a salad at home, use a larger bowl and fill it well. Put fruit in all your salads.
8- Always take a doggie bag.
9- Invite someone out to breakfast. Make it a weekly ritual.
10- Turn things around in your kitchen. Get a new, vibrantly colored tablecloth and leave it on 24 hours a day.
11- Visit local grocery stores and see how you can adapt your grocery list to shop local for more than 80% of edible items.
12- Dream of visiting a foreign country? Look up recipes and try a few.
13- Spend 20 minutes playing with the cat or dog after dinner (theirs or yours).
14- Research how to replace all bottled vitamins with live food instead. Begin implementing.
Bonus Ideas
15- Go shopping for good old board games. Play a game after dinner at least once a week, preferably in the middle of the week.
16- Let the kids decide what’s for dinner more often. Give them three choices from a menu you approve, but sometimes it’s OK if they just want peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
17- Turn all recyclable food containers from JPD into art projects to do with the kids… or with other adults. Play.
18- Read labels. Switch to foods with ingredients you can actually pronounce.
19- Eat that one apple a day. Eat a carrot too.
20- Find word or question-and-answer games to play at the table after work. Spend more time doing this than venting about the frustrations of the day. Better yet… make the table a work-talk free zone.
Have a delicious new year. Eat and play well!
Filed under: Dining with children, Family time, Food & Fitness, Meal Time Games Tagged: 158 main's food resolutions, buy local, buy local food, Dinner ideas, dinner time, eat local, family dinners, family time, Food choices, food resolutions, meal planning, mealtime, new year's resolutions
