I grew up eating dinner almost every night, at the dining room table with my family. My parents were flexible and creative and not too tied to "rules" ... except when it came to dinner. The TV was turned off, homework put away, and we all sat down to eat. Dinner usually followed the traditional food pyramid -- a vegetable or salad, a protein, and some carbs.
Mom didn't do frozen or fast food. She Cooked, with a capital "C." Which meant our food was fresh and usually pretty healthy (although there was the occasional Domino's pizza, of course). I never understood, until I moved out of my parents' home, how critical that dining room table was.
For years, I lived in apartments that I considered too small to accommodate a dining room table. I ate sitting on the couch, resting a plate on my knees, my glass of water on the coffee table. The TV? On.
Then, close to two years ago, I moved into an apartment with an actual area that could be considered a dining room. I bought a small table and four chairs. And then, suddenly, dinner changed. I started Cooking more and reheating less. I started planning full-blown meals rather than just bowls of pasta. I started making the farmer's market a regular part of my week, and buying organic whenever possible.
Can I attribute all of this to having a dining room table? No. It also coincided with my move to Berkeley, Ca, a community that values very few things more than fresh, local, organic food. However, the dining room table is a big piece of the puzzle -- sitting down, purposefully, with my partner almost every evening as part of our daily routine has changed (or, rather, repaired) my relationship with dinner.
Do you feel the same way about your dining room table? Have you had a similar experience? How important is sitting down for dinner -- and do you consider it part of a green lifestyle?
image via lotusutol; Flickr.com
I will admit that right now our regular dinner spot is on the couch, generally watching part or all of a DVD. When we have kids I plan to change that as soon as they're on solid foods and move to the dining room.
This being said - right now Husband and I Cook (capital C, like your mom and now you do) together nightly so we catch up and unwind together that way.
Our dining table is used as a second work top, a cooling surface, and a catch-all for whatever projects we're in the middle of...which right now is preparing to pack.
http://embritadesign.blogspot.com
view EmmieB's profile
I cook full-blown meals and serve them in front of the tube. In fact, that's the only time I watch TV - when my mouth is full.
view whytephoenix's profile
I grew up in a family which insists that everyone (6 in the family) sit together for a proper dinner. Everyone will stop and gather once somebody announce 'makan!' ('eat' in Malay language). And yes, my mum Cooked and ensures we have healthy meals.
I never really appreciate this 'ritual' until i compare things with my friends whose family eat separately at different time/locations. Somehow, our 'dinner ritual' actually helps us to be closer to each other and it contributes a lot to a healthy family relationship...
view Shela's profile
mmmm..the pic looks yummy.. and it look like u were having 'nasi lemak', the all time favorite breakfast of people in Malaysia....
view kusya's profile
My parents insisted on dinner together as well, and I agree that it really brought a lot to both our family relations and our various schedules. I'm living on my own now, so I spend most of my dinners in front of either a computer or a TV screen, but I miss sitting with others around a table and regularly connecting with them. It certainly brings about a certain calm to the night.
view REMofAlice's profile
growing up we use to sit in the dining room with the tv on... mainly my father watching some sport on tv. when we moved to a new house my father disappeared completely and eats in my parents room where the bigger tv is... we have our table in the kitchen (no dining room) and we have a small 13" tv.... we watch local news mostly while we eat or abc world news.
view witchbaby's profile
Is that nasi lemak on the picture?? OMG... I'm from Malaysia too.
I miss having dinner with my family (they are still in Malaysia) so I make a point to hv my hubby sit at the dining table with me for dinner (almost) every night. I even force him to turn the TV off so we can actually spend quality time together. Back at home, we ate in the dining room so everyone got to contribute in a conversation.. but open layout plans are more popular in rentals here, so it is a challenge to get people to focus what each other say...
view fusionista's profile
I so not have a table. I am recently married, and the apartment we are living in now is not too small... but the living room and the dining room are the same room. And when we moved in I thought it would be better to have a big open space (for exercise, and just to feel more spread out).
I hate not having a table. I feel kind of like a barbarian when we have dinner, and during crafts I have nowhere to put my things. And I think that it is important to set the table, and share a meal. Or eat alone. It's something I was raised doing, and it just feels better to me.
I don't think I would consider it being more green though. I Cook as it is, and I'm sure that I always will make the same kinds of food no matter where it is served.
view idiotdogbrain's profile