Food Brings Families Together - Essay Example

Food brings families together Family meal-time has its own importance. Those are the times we realize the importance of having a family. Those are the moments when you extend and receive love, when you share anxieties and when you just let yourself go. Food brings families together! Food has always been an important part of our family. I remember as a child, the mornings were always busy. Except for Sundays, we never had breakfast together. My school started early and mom used to be busy trying to set things in order for me for my dad and for my little brother. Breakfast was always rushed but what we waited for was the dinner time. My grandmother made sure that all of us were present for dinner together. Today we cherish those moments and value the tradition as we realize that food holds the family together. I have always seen my mother do the shopping and as I grew up I used to accompany her to the malls. I used to be amazed at the way she knew exactly what was required for the kitchen and in what quantities! She took care of the personal food habits of all of us in the family and till date I admire this quality in her. If only a few things were required, she would buy them from the street vendor occasionally. As children, we were expected to go to bed early but we were given the privilege of sitting down together for dinner. Ours was a closely knit family and my parents and grandmother used to have an early meal with us. After we went to bed, they lazed around over coffee and clearing the table. Meals were always sat at the dinner table and never in front of the television. Today when I see the distractions that the television causes, I realize and value the teachings and the discipline during food. We learned to value food, we learned to taste food and we learned to enjoy food. Food eaten while watching a television show is merely “eaten” and not enjoyed. We enjoyed food and the food time. We were taught the table etiquettes which included saying the prayers before starting the meal. We also waited for our grandmother to start first and then we followed. We were not allowed to talk while munching on food and once I remember, when I was just about three years old, I made a gurgling noise as the soup was too hot! My mom immediately corrected me and said this was indecent. What I liked about my family was that we were never scolded but given reasons for doing or not doing something. That made it easier to remember it the next time and we seldom repeated it. At the end of the meal we again said a thanksgiving prayer. Oh, and we had to pull out and push back the chair very softly. We were also taught that the wrist should rest on the edge of the table while eating and when we finished eating, the knife and fork had to be placed across the plate with the prongs facing down and the handles facing to the right. However, we always ate tacos, tostadas and tortillas using our fingers but we were taught the etiquette of using the fork and knife. Breakfast was usually cereals with chocomilk and at times, hotcake. I used to love chicken and cheese with fried potatoes for lunch. Sometimes it used to be vegetable soup with tacos. Dinner was mostly a corn-based meal and we loved corns. I love tortillas but I hated fruits. I was not very fond of stew either and had to gulp it down the days it was made. We were taught never to leave anything on the plate and hence early in life we learnt to serve ourselves only what we were sure we could consume. Taking a second helping was not a taboo but leaving food on the plate was. Today when I think back, I realize that eating together ensured that we ate healthy nutritious food, which we might not have otherwise. As we grew up, we were taught to make breakfast on Sundays. It used to be a huge mess and we almost always burnt the breakfast but everyone enjoyed it. It was fun and we liked to help around on Sundays, laying the table, picking up the plates and stacking them in the dishwasher after meals. When I was about four years old, the family had gone over for dinner to a friend’s place. I remember we were sitting at a round table at their house. There were a few different things on the plates and I remember eating pretzels with peanut butter and raisins and I thought it was really good. There were also cut up pineapple squares. I had never had pineapple before but I thought it looked good so I tried a piece. The flavor was not what I expected and I was surprised with the tangy taste in my mouth so I quickly spit it out onto my plate. I looked back up to see if anyone had noticed and they did. My Grandmother was so sweet, she said, “at least you tried it.” I was very relieved. This experience taught me that it is good to try new things even if you do not like them. I still do not like pineapple to this day but it made me realize the amount we learn during the mealtimes with the family. Mealtimes are not just food times but a time to show we care for each other. We do not have to make an effort to be together for dinner; we long to sit down for dinner together. It is the time to unwind and pull each other’s leg. It is the only time that we are totally relaxed, it is a wonderful source of family time and it serves to keep the family in contact and in tact. Read More