Is it clear yet how I feel about the dinner table? I think it's kind of a big deal. And I don't mean that it's a big deal in the way all those studies tell us it is. Because for every study claiming that kids who eat with their parents do better in school and are less likely to be depressed or on drugs, there is research that questions it. (It's the self-selecting theory -- researchers argue that the kinds of parents who are more attuned to these issues in the first place are the ones more likely to organize quality family time around the table.) For me, it's much more important to impart how meaningful it can be to sit down to good food with your family. Meaningful in both a micro way, i.e. the tangible, primal satisfaction you get from watching your kids eat well. And meaningful in the macro way, i.e. how what is on that dinner plate can be an entree to larger discussions about the environment, about nutrition, and other such lighthearted topics like the tyranny of mega-corporations and the food processed industry. It's the macro way I have in mind as I launch what will hopefully be a regular column here at DALS. In it, you'll hear what books, movies, articles, obsessions my family is talking about when we sit down to eat. Often, you'll notice, we are not just talking
Announcing: Kitchenlightenment
Announcing: Kitchenlightenment
Announcing: Kitchenlightenment
Is it clear yet how I feel about the dinner table? I think it's kind of a big deal. And I don't mean that it's a big deal in the way all those studies tell us it is. Because for every study claiming that kids who eat with their parents do better in school and are less likely to be depressed or on drugs, there is research that questions it. (It's the self-selecting theory -- researchers argue that the kinds of parents who are more attuned to these issues in the first place are the ones more likely to organize quality family time around the table.) For me, it's much more important to impart how meaningful it can be to sit down to good food with your family. Meaningful in both a micro way, i.e. the tangible, primal satisfaction you get from watching your kids eat well. And meaningful in the macro way, i.e. how what is on that dinner plate can be an entree to larger discussions about the environment, about nutrition, and other such lighthearted topics like the tyranny of mega-corporations and the food processed industry. It's the macro way I have in mind as I launch what will hopefully be a regular column here at DALS. In it, you'll hear what books, movies, articles, obsessions my family is talking about when we sit down to eat. Often, you'll notice, we are not just talking