Enjoying At-Home Dining In our minimalist economy, many of us find ourselves “dining” at home more often. And unfortunately, we often tend to just shovel the food down without much thought or enjoyment. While we all know we should eat more fruits and veggies, along with whole grains, to lose or maintain a healthy weight, that is pretty hard to do when we are in the “shovel-it-in” mode.
What we really need is to enjoy whatever it is we’re eating at home, and to be more conscious of the colors, tastes, and textures of the food on our plate and palate. While this might initially take a bit of effort, you don’t need to go all Martha Stewart about it. Some simple and relatively inexpensive changes can make dining at home a more pleasant experience, and in addition to more elegant and enjoyable dining, a few simple recommendations might also help you lose or maintain a healthy weight. With a little effort, your at-home dining can become a more positive in-the-moment experience.
- Sit to eat. Don’t eat while standing or while walking or driving. Sit down at a table or counter to eat. Better than sitting at the counter or kitchen table, sit in the dining table or dining area of your home or apartment. This applies also when preparing food (you’re standing!), as too much tasting while cooking can wreck the best eating plan.
- Dress it up. Use a tablecloth, fabric napkins, your best china, silver, and crystal. Dining as an experience rather than as a “refueling” aids digestion, makes you more aware of what (and how much) you’re eating, and consequently makes dining a more leisurely and enjoyable activity.
- Focus on the food. Rather than reading or working at the computer while eating (or—yikes—watching TV!), focus on eating. What are the textures—soft, crunchy, chewy, juicy—and tastes—salty, sweet, or bitter—of the food on your plate? Most meals are a pleasant combination of these but most of the time, especially when harried or hurried, we fail to really focus on the food. We barely realize what we are eating. Don’t get distracted; focus on your enjoyment of the food.
- Chew and appreciate each morsel. The old advice to chew each bite of food 10 times may sound boring but it actually slows down eating, and consequently aids digestion, promotes enjoyment, and keeps you from eating too much, too fast. Chewing and saliva are the beginning of the digestive process. Barely chewing food also has other negative consequences, such as ingesting air, inhaling food into the windpipe, which causes choking, and trying to swallow too large pieces of food which could also cause choking. Savor each bit of food by chewing and attending to the taste and texture of each bite.
- Drink plenty of liquid, preferably water. When milk, juice, or soda accompanies a meal, also include a glass of water. Water aids digestion and promotes swallowing, helping to keep food out of the windpipe. Sipping a little water between different foods cleanses the palate and also promotes more enjoyment of the food you are ingesting. An occasional glass of wine is nice too.
- Keep it pleasant. Mealtime isn’t the time for teaching table manners, except by example, and it certainly isn’t the best environment for discipline. Keep the conversation light and focus on the food, noticing the food’s preparation, color, texture, and taste. Do compliment the cook whenever possible.
It is also important not to wait so long before eating that you are ravenous by the time you sit down to eat. Waiting too long between meals leads to shoveling in the food without much conscious thought and typically takes away the enjoyment. If it will be several hours between meals, have a light snack or an appetizer to keep the hungry monster away. Just “filling your belly” is never the route to enjoying your meals and maintaining a healthy food intake.
Finally, while family meals are important, occasionally feed the children their favorite foods before an adult meal, so you and your significant other can have a quiet, enjoyable meal. It’s something to look forward to after the children are in bed or otherwise occupied. Who knows what a spousal candlelit dinner might lead too. Make it a date—dinner and…
Bon Appetit!
