Eating at the Table.

As the busy mother of three, I find that one of my biggest issues with food is eating on the run; scoffing toast at the computer whilst checking emails at breakfast, or munching on a basic sandwich with one hand at lunch while I multi-task with the other is not unusual.

Most of the big chain takeaways encourage this practice with their drive-thrus and whatnot, encouraging us to munch "super-sized" buckets of chips absent-mindedly whilst negotiating traffic and refereeing back seat arguments.

Busy Woman posted last year about the importance to her of eating dinner at the table and the myriad of benefits that come with it. She wrote that:

* It is an opportunity for them to gather together as a family and to talk with each other about their day;
* It's a time without television;
* It allows their meals to be more structured; and
* It's a simpler way of living.

I have to agree, these are all great benefits. I have been doing a lot of reading over the past couple of years about the Slow Food movement, and I think there are also a number of other, food- and health-related benefits to eating at the table. The main aims of the Slow Food movement is - essentially - that our food should taste good, should be good for us and be produced in such a way that it is good for the farmers and their animals and good for our planet.

Primarily, sitting down for a meal together (and by myself when I make the effort to sit at a table) means that the emphasis of meal time is placed on the food and conversation, not the TV or computer screen. As a result:

* We tend to chew food more slowly. This achieves two results:

a) We feel full more quickly, and therefore tend not to overeat. I think this is a really big issue with many families; it's easy to overeat when we are distracted by whatever is on the TV - I know I've sat down to watch a movie with a packet of chips and suddenly I'm scraping the bottom of the packet, thinking "Where did they all go?!". As well as:

b) We tend to savour the flavour and texture of our food. Too often processed foods are loaded with fat and are heavily salted and/or sweetened to cover up the fact that they are bland. I think the maxim "Quality over quantity" really comes into play here for me - a simple sandwich made from hard, supermarket tomatoes and bagged white bread does nothing to inspire me to sit and savour the moment. However, substitute a rich, red, fresh heirloom tomato, sliced onto a slab of toasted fresh bread, with real butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper... well, there's a little bit of heaven :-)


* We tend to go to more of an effort to prepare our meals. Grabbing something quickly as I pass through the kitchen between tasks, is really the equivalent of the drive-thru in the car I suspect - all convenience and no substance! If I take the time to sit at the table to eat however, I might as well take the extra couple of minutes to make a nice garden salad, or heat up some leftovers - and then the first point I mentioned above kicks in, and I'm not wandering back into the kitchen 20 minutes later, circling around for something else to eat, filling up on empty calories and extra fat and/or sugar.

* We tend to put more thought into what it is we are eating. By that I mean, if I know I am going to be putting a platter of food onto a table in front of my family, I want it to not only be healthy and filling, I also want it to look appealing and fresh (particularly if I am trying to get the girls to eat something new).

* It gives us the opportunity to create a nurturing environment. This could be through the ritual of setting the table - my kids are involved and each has a task to do - and/or the decoration of the dining room, if you have one, and also through the effort made to prepare and present the meal on the table. I think many of us have really pleasant memories of particular instances in our childhood that revolved around food and special occasions, such as a grandmother baking for hours to prepare a Christmas feast for example. I'm sure that whilst the actual food was amazing, part of the fondness of the event was the fact that someone you love went to the trouble to do it for you and/or your family. What better way to create a contrast with our consumerist, fast-food society than to ensure our families feel healthy and loved at home?

* We can model appropriate behaviour for our children, such as table manners and how to eat slowly and deliberately (as opposed to scoffing our food and then diving in for seconds).

* I can expose our children to a larger variety of foods, both through seeing new foods placed on the table and through seeing what the adults are eating. I hated avocado for years when I was younger, but I clearly remember the relish with which my parents used to smear it thickly on toast with some lemon juice and salt and pepper. It was that memory which tempted me to try it again years later when my taste buds had clearly developed more (yum).

* I can give our kids the opportunity to serve themselves from platters and bowls placed on the table. I have found that this is a great way to get our kids to try new foods - and it also gets around the issues of each child liking particular salad vegies that the others don't as they can just serve themselves more of what they like. I am often surprised at what my kids will dish themselves out, and in what quantity. I guess most parents know that littlies can tend to eat like sparrows for a few days and then like a horse to make up for it LOL. It also lets them regulate how much they feel like eating without the pressure of not having finished what is on their plate.

I'm sure there are many other reasons that sitting down to a meal is a great idea but just from these reasons alone, it seems like a win-win situation to me; it's all good! Certainly something we will be persisting with for a long time to come.