tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/family-meals-47114/articlesFamily meals – The Conversation2023-11-29T00:04:04Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183392023-11-29T00:04:04Z2023-11-29T00:04:04ZMeal kits are booming – but how do they stack up nutritionally?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561750/original/file-20231127-19-geo4qn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=39%2C15%2C5220%2C3485&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/view-looking-out-inside-refrigerator-couple-1459832255">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Meal kits are a <a href="https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/online-food-delivery/meal-delivery/australia">billion dollar industry</a> selling the promise of convenience while cooking healthy meals at home. Delivering ingredients and step-by-step recipes to the doorstep, meal kits reduce the time and energy to plan, shop and prepare meals. But do they deliver on their promise of health?</p>
<p>While people may <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666321007236">think</a> meal kits are healthy, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/6/daad155/7441372?searchresult=1">our new research</a> suggests this varies.</p>
<p>The range and quantity of vegetables in a meal is a great indicator of how healthy it is. So we assessed the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/6/daad155/7441372?searchresult=1&login=false">vegetable content</a> of recipes from six Australian meal kit providers. We found when it comes to nutrition, whether it be budget friendly or high-end, it’s more about the meals you choose and less about what company to use.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-we-overthinking-family-meals-5-realistic-tips-to-ease-the-pressure-200731">Are we overthinking family meals? 5 realistic tips to ease the pressure</a>
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<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>For our <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/6/daad155/7441372?searchresult=1&login=false">new research</a> we purchased a one-week subscription to nine Australian-based meal kit companies to access weekly recipes. Six companies provided their full week of recipes. The vegetable content of these recipes were analysed. </p>
<p>Of the 179 meals analysed, we found recipes use a median of three different types of vegetables and provide a median of 2.5 serves of vegetables per person. At first glance, this looks promising. But on closer inspection, the number and types of vegetables vary a lot. </p>
<p>Some recipes provide less than one serve and others more than seven serves of vegetables per person. Not surprisingly, vegetarian recipes provide more vegetables, but almost one-third of these still include less than two vegetables serves per person. </p>
<p>The variety of vegetables included also varies, with recipes providing between one and six different types of vegetables per meal.</p>
<h2>What’s for dinner?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10200412/">Dinner</a> is the time when we’re most likely to eat vegetables, so low levels of vegetables in meal kit meals <a href="https://theconversation.com/food-as-medicine-why-do-we-need-to-eat-so-many-vegetables-and-what-does-a-serve-actually-look-like-76149">matter</a>. </p>
<p>Eating vegetables is known to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5837313/">reduce the risk</a> of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6266069/">obesity</a> and some cancers. What’s more, food preferences and eating habits are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17367571/">learned</a> in childhood. So being exposed to a wide range of vegetables from a young age is important for future health.</p>
<p>But few Australians eat enough vegetables. According to the <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-dietary-guidelines-1-5">Australian Dietary Guidelines</a>, children should be eating 2.5 to five serves and adults at least five serves of vegetables each day. Currently children eat an average of <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4364.0.55.012main+features12011-12">less than</a> two serves and adults less than three serves of vegetables per day. </p>
<p>So there’s room for improvement and meal kits may help.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561749/original/file-20231127-17-rrvgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two children at kitchen bench stirring in mixing bowls" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561749/original/file-20231127-17-rrvgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561749/original/file-20231127-17-rrvgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561749/original/file-20231127-17-rrvgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561749/original/file-20231127-17-rrvgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561749/original/file-20231127-17-rrvgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561749/original/file-20231127-17-rrvgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561749/original/file-20231127-17-rrvgzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Meal kits might be a way to get the family involved in dinner preparation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-black-and-white-striped-long-sleeve-shirt-holding-stainless-steel-bowl-UyEmagArOLY">Annie Spratt/Unsplash</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trying-to-spend-less-on-food-following-the-dietary-guidelines-might-save-you-160-a-fortnight-216749">Trying to spend less on food? Following the dietary guidelines might save you $160 a fortnight</a>
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<h2>Meal kits have advantages</h2>
<p>The good news is that using meal kits can be a healthier alternative to ordering takeaway delivery or prepared ready-to-heat meals. When we cook at home, we have much more say in what’s for dinner. We can use healthier cooking methods (think grilled rather than deep-fried), healthier fats (olive or canola oil) and add in plenty of extra veg. All make for better nutrition and better health.</p>
<p>Meal kits might also build your cooking confidence to cook more “from scratch” and to learn about new ingredients, flavour combinations and time-saving techniques. Cooking with meal kits may even <a href="https://theconversation.com/cooking-from-meal-boxes-can-cut-household-food-waste-by-38-new-research-192760">cut household food waste</a> by providing the exact amount of ingredients needed to prepare a meal. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561752/original/file-20231127-19-i7tgn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="contents of meal kit delivery with packets and foods on bench" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561752/original/file-20231127-19-i7tgn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561752/original/file-20231127-19-i7tgn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561752/original/file-20231127-19-i7tgn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561752/original/file-20231127-19-i7tgn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561752/original/file-20231127-19-i7tgn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561752/original/file-20231127-19-i7tgn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561752/original/file-20231127-19-i7tgn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">You can always add extra vegetables to meal kits or tweak the recipes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sydney-australia-20200509-hello-fresh-meal-1806818530">Shutterstock</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-save-50-off-your-food-bill-and-still-eat-tasty-nutritious-meals-184152">How to save $50 off your food bill and still eat tasty, nutritious meals</a>
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<h2>5 tips for getting the most out of meal kits</h2>
<p><strong>1) Select some vegetarian options</strong> </p>
<p>This way you can have <a href="https://meatfreemondays.com/about/">meat-free</a> dinners during the week. Vegetarian recipes are more likely to help you meet daily vegetable intakes and to eat a wider variety of vegetables</p>
<p><strong>2) Choose recipes with at least 3 different types of vegetables</strong> </p>
<p>Eating a range of vegetable types and colours will help maximise nutritional benefits. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7195662/">Research</a> shows eating a variety of vegetables at dinner can increase our vegetable intakes. Exposing children to “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-get-children-to-eat-a-rainbow-of-fruit-and-vegetables-97546">eating the rainbow</a>” can also increase their willingness to eat vegetables</p>
<p><strong>3) Choose recipes with unfamiliar or new vegetables</strong></p>
<p>Research tells us that learning to prepare and cook vegetables can increase cooking <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20399299/#:%7E:text=Households%20bought%20a%20greater%20variety,at%20least%20one%20minor%20(difference%3A">confidence</a> and skills. This can influence our willingness to buy a wider range of vegetables. Worried about fussy eaters? Add your child’s favourite cooked or raw veg to their plate (one familiar, one new)</p>
<p><strong>4) Look for ways to add more vegetables</strong></p>
<p>It’s OK to tweak the recipe! Adding vegetables from your fridge – maybe some lettuce on the side or chopped up carrots to a cooked sauce – to meal kit meals will help reduce household <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/food-waste">food waste</a>. You can also extend meals by adding a can of lentils or beans to mince-based meals, or frozen peas or chickpeas to a curry. This adds valuable fibre to the meal and also bulks up these recipes, giving you leftovers for the next day</p>
<p><strong>5) Use less</strong> </p>
<p>While vegetables are important for health, it’s also important to consider the <a href="https://academic-oup-com.ezproxy-b.deakin.edu.au/heapro/article/36/3/660/5908259">salt</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31694291/">fat and energy</a> content of meal kit recipes. When using meal kits, you can <a href="https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/bundles/healthy-living-and-eating/salt-and-heart-health">use less</a> seasoning, spice mix or stock cubes and add more herbs instead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218339/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Spence is affiliated with Dietitians Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Campbell receives funding from NHMRC</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Penny Love is currently a named investigator on a NHMRC CRE Grant (2022-2026) and Norwegian Research Council (2021-2025) funded project. She is affiliated with Dietitians Australia (DA), the World Public Health Nutrition Association (WPHNA), and the International Society for Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kylie Fraser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The vegetable content of meal kit meals mean it’s more about the meals you choose and less about what company to use.Kylie Fraser, PhD Candidate, Deakin UniversityAlison Spence, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Population Health, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin UniversityKaren Campbell, Professor Population Nutrition, Deakin UniversityPenny Love, Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2106682023-08-11T12:38:35Z2023-08-11T12:38:35ZGut microbes are the community within you that you can’t live without – how eating well can cultivate your microbial and social self<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542026/original/file-20230809-15-nrb1kh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2121%2C1412&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Communal meals are a social glue that binds people together.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/family-and-friends-toasting-drinks-at-home-royalty-free-image/1176845606">Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The age-old adage “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-018-0061-2">you are what you eat</a>” holds profound truth. Nearly every molecule in your body is absorbed from what you eat and drink. Your food choices are directly linked to your <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30041-8">physical</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.npbr.2019.05.007">emotional</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fmcn.12321">social</a> health. And scientists are learning that your <a href="https://gutbites.org/2022/09/01/spotlight-on-gut-health/">gut health and the microbial communities</a> within you have a significant role to play in orchestrating these processes. </p>
<p>The gut microbiome takes the components of food that you cannot digest, like <a href="https://theconversation.com/fiber-is-your-bodys-natural-guide-to-weight-management-rather-than-cutting-carbs-out-of-your-diet-eat-them-in-their-original-fiber-packaging-instead-205159">fiber</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2019.00188">phytonutrients</a>, and transforms them into signals that regulate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2016.150">how hungry</a> you are, how strong your <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-020-0332-7">immune system</a> is, and even how you’re <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.43941">thinking</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77673-z">feeling</a>. It’s as though the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2023.03.016">communities in your gut microbiome</a> are an orchestra for your health, and you conduct their symphony through food.</p>
<p><a href="https://gastro.uw.edu/people/faculty/damman-c">I am a gastroenterologist</a> who has spent over 20 years studying how food affects the gut microbiome and overall health. The research is increasingly clear: A gut-friendly approach to nutrition is important for happy and healthy communities both inside and out of your body.</p>
<h2>Communities within and without</h2>
<p>The fascinating research on the gut microbiome takes us on a journey into the depths of the intestine, where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2179">trillions of microorganisms</a> blur the lines between other and self.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-019-0619-4">The term holobiont</a> describes the combined lives of the microbiome and its vessel, working symbiotically to support each other’s well-being. This relationship is represented at its extreme in the intestines of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2008.01442.x">termites</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-022-01298-9">cows</a>, where microbes transform uniform, low-nutrient diets of wood or grass into complete nutrition replete with vitamins and other essential nutrients for health.</p>
<p>When people eat certain foods, like those <a href="https://theconversation.com/fiber-is-your-bodys-natural-guide-to-weight-management-rather-than-cutting-carbs-out-of-your-diet-eat-them-in-their-original-fiber-packaging-instead-205159">rich in fiber</a>, they too harbor similar relationships with their microbiomes. You provide your microbes with food and a safe place to live, and they in turn fortify your diet with vital molecules such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-019-5591-7">vitamins</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-800100-4.00003-9">short-chain fatty acids</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu13062099">neurotransmitters</a> that are key for regulating your metabolism, immunity and mood.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542014/original/file-20230809-27177-99vked.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Family smiling and eating together around a dinner table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542014/original/file-20230809-27177-99vked.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542014/original/file-20230809-27177-99vked.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542014/original/file-20230809-27177-99vked.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542014/original/file-20230809-27177-99vked.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542014/original/file-20230809-27177-99vked.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542014/original/file-20230809-27177-99vked.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542014/original/file-20230809-27177-99vked.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Eating together can help build connection.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/asian-chinese-family-and-cousins-having-reunion-royalty-free-image/1297931559">Patrick Chu/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Just as food illuminates the importance of the microbial community within you, it also shines a light on your social community. Food is one of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2015.1110934">foundations of culture</a>, serving as the basis of many gifts and shared experiences. You have first dates over drinks and meals, connect with your colleagues over lunch, and share dinners with your family and friends. Food is a type of <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/04/24/michael-pollan-cooked/">social glue</a> that helps bind communities together.</p>
<p>As you feed your microbiome to cultivate a thriving community within your gut, you also figuratively and literally feed your social community when you <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-017-0061-4">break bread with friends and family</a>.</p>
<h2>Convenient fixes sacrifice community</h2>
<p>Convenient, fast, affordable <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980010003241">ultraprocessed foods</a> have some enormous benefits in helping feed a growing population and enabling an ever-quickening pace of life, but the latest research is showing that there may be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.100747">collateral damage</a>.</p>
<p>Compared with ancestral diets, industrialized diets may be contributing to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aan4834">less diverse</a> microbial communities in your gut. Diversity is important for generating key molecules like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22938-y">butyrate</a> that regulate <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2017-314050">appetite</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-018-0337-x">mood</a>. As a result, your microbiome becomes less good at regulating hunger and emotions.</p>
<p>Your social community may also be suffering as result of this disrupted microbial community. In fact, studies on various model organisms have found that microbes can mediate behaviors as diverse as <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.916766">mating</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fmicroorganisms11041008">aggression</a> by regulating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03669-y">responses to stress</a>. Food and microbes may affect <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.02.021">social behavior in people</a> as well.</p>
<p>Processed foods do serve a purpose. They are convenient and affordable and can be especially useful for people and families with busy lives and limited time to cook. But some are healthier than others. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2023.03.016">Adding back missing nutrients</a> like fiber and polyphenols to processed foods can help make them healthier, and these can complement a diet of less-processed foods.</p>
<h2>Wisdom cultures around the world</h2>
<p>Anthropological research suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827616637066">traditional diets</a> are a particularly important contributor to health and longevity. Communities in Costa Rica, the Mediterranean and Japan that follow traditional diets have many individuals who live for over 100 years. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11081802">Mediterranean</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2014.01.002">Okinawan diets</a> have consistently been shown to contribute to better health, including lower rates of obesity and other metabolic diseases.</p>
<p>These diets involve traditional <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/feb/03/indigenous-diets-fight-modern-illnesses">food choices and combinations</a> as well as natural <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fcdn%2Fnzz099">food processing and preservation</a> techniques. Combining corn with lime, an ancient process <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2022.105581">called nixtamalixation</a>, for example, increases <a href="https://doi.org/10.1106/108201302024574">vitamin availability</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/133.10.3200">decreases grain toxins</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Nixtamalization is used to make traditional tortillas.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10061151">Fermentation</a> transforms food through live microbes that consume simple carbohydrates, generating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6634-9_3">antimicrobial chemicals</a> that help preserve food. It also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-022-00152-4">decreases toxins</a> and increases the levels of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2017.1383355">vitamins and minerals</a> available for absorption. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.06.019">Fermented foods</a> have been shown to grow diverse microbial communities in the gut, decrease inflammation in the body and reduce the risk of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.02.019">chronic disease</a>.</p>
<p>Communal eating is also intricately woven into the social fabric of <a href="https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/vcoa_editorial/49/">traditional communities</a>. The longest-lived communities around the world tend to eat at least one of their <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/02/14/centenarians-healthy-eating-habits/">meals together</a> as a family, and eating together is linked to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.appet.2017.11.084">health benefits</a> including weight regulation and lower depressive symptoms. </p>
<h2>Reembracing community</h2>
<p>Here are a few simple tips to help you eat well and grow your communities – holobiont, family, friends and all:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Eat the <a href="https://gutbites.org/2022/05/14/missing-microbes-and-the-four-fs-of-food/">four phonetic food F’s</a>: fiber, phytonutrients, healthy fats and ferments. I developed this simple way of categorizing foods to streamline the often complicated advice on how to eat well from the perspective of growing a healthy microbiome. It is also independent of cultural background, as these four categories are common elements in the diets of diverse and long-lived populations around the world.</p></li>
<li><p>Learn the wisdom of traditional food preparation from people who still hold that knowledge. Consider taking a cooking class or spending time in the kitchen learning from a relative or a friend. Then re-share what you learn with your loved ones while preparing and enjoying your own meals. </p></li>
<li><p>You don’t have to be perfect. Even a step toward a healthier meal a day and a communal meal a week can be beneficial.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It may at first seem daunting to carve out time to follow these deceivingly simple tips. But with a bit of patience and perseverance, they could be inspiration to improve your and your community’s health and wellness.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210668/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Damman is on the scientific advisory board at BCD Biosciences and Supergut.</span></em></p>Nurturing your gut microbiome can go hand in hand with nurturing your social community, with health benefits all around.Christopher Damman, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1587392021-04-30T12:15:11Z2021-04-30T12:15:11ZFamily meals are good for the grown-ups, too, not just the kids<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397948/original/file-20210429-17-1t7ozy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=148%2C181%2C5318%2C3474&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Moms and dads have better physical and mental health when they dine with their children – despite all the work of a family meal.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/mother-cutting-daughters-food-at-breakfast-royalty-free-image/659856885">Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For all the parents feeling exhausted by the cooking, cleaning and planning of a million meals during the pandemic, there’s some good news. Commensality, or the sharing of food with others, is beneficial for your physical and mental health.</p>
<p>Most parents already know that family mealtimes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.08.030">are great</a> <a href="https://triggered.edina.clockss.org/ServeContent?url=http://archfami.ama-assn.org%2Fcgi%2Fcontent%2Ffull%2F9%2F3%2F235">for the</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2015.07.714">bodies</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.155">the</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00295.x">brains</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.03.011">the</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.1223">mental</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000520">health</a> of children. More than two decades of studies reveal that kids who eat with their families do better in school and have bigger vocabularies. They also have lower rates of depression, anxiety and eating disorders, as well as healthier diets and better cardiovascular health.</p>
<p>But what may come as unexpected news to beleaguered parents is that these same shared meals are also good for adults. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2013.07.012">Across the life span</a>, from young parents eating with toddlers to parents talking about pandemic-coping strategies with their school-age kids and Medicare-eligible <a href="https://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.17.0060">adults</a> eating with younger generations, shared meals are associated with healthier eating and better mood.</p>
<h2>Healthy for all adults, but especially for parents</h2>
<p>For adults, both with and without children, there are numerous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.03.008">health benefits to eating with others</a>. Even unrelated adults, like firefighters, have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2015.1021049">enhanced team performance</a> when they cook and eat together as they await the call to action.</p>
<p>On the flip side, researchers have found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2007.08.014">eating alone is associated with</a> an increased likelihood of skipping meals and the downstream effects – lower intakes of nutrients, reduced energy and poorer nutritional health.</p>
<p>Regardless of parental status, adults who eat with others tend to eat more fruits and vegetables and less fast food than those who eat alone. Even when a home cook isn’t particularly focused on healthy cooking, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980014001943">home-cooked meals lower the odds that adults will be obese</a>. Large portion sizes, the embrace of fried foods and a heavy hand with butter are more common at restaurants than in a civilian’s kitchen.</p>
<p>Adults who park their dinner plates in front of the television may have a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2017.01.009">greater chance of weight gain</a>, just as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2006.10.010">evidence from the U.S.</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980013002954">Sweden, Finland and Portugal</a> supports the connection between obesity and kids’ eating dinner while watching TV.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397949/original/file-20210429-13-9depck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two dads and two kids eating together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397949/original/file-20210429-13-9depck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397949/original/file-20210429-13-9depck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397949/original/file-20210429-13-9depck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397949/original/file-20210429-13-9depck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397949/original/file-20210429-13-9depck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397949/original/file-20210429-13-9depck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397949/original/file-20210429-13-9depck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kids may be the healthiest dining companions you can line up for yourself.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/new-family-enjoying-vegetarian-lunch-together-royalty-free-image/1217374721">10'000 Hours/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition to these benefits of dining with others, there are additional boosts for adults who eat with their children – and they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.05.006">pertain equally to mothers and fathers</a>. When kids are present at mealtime, parents may eat more healthily, perhaps to model good behavior and provide the best nourishment they can to their kids. When there is plenty of conversation with kids chiming in, the pace of eating slows down, allowing diners’ brains to register fullness and signal that it’s time to stop eating.</p>
<p>For kids, eating more family meals is associated with lower rates of obesity. The act of eating with others does not correlate with reduced weight gain in adults, though – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980011000127">unless their dining companions include children</a>. Parents who dine with their kids also tend to report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.03.008">less dieting and binge-eating behavior</a>. Parents may dial back some of these destructive behaviors when they know their kids are watching and ready to imitate.</p>
<h2>Despite all the work, a boost for mental health</h2>
<p>It may seem counterintuitive that a process that demands so much time and resources – the energy to plan the meal, shop for it, prepare it, serve it and clean up after – could also lead to boosts in mental health. Much more obvious is how kids would benefit from their parents’ demonstrating their love and care by providing nightly dinners.</p>
<p>But researchers have found that having frequent family meals is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.05.006">better mental health for both mothers and fathers</a>, despite <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980017002270">mothers’ carrying more of the burden of meal prep</a>. Compared with parents who rarely ate family meals, parents who regularly dined with their kids reported higher levels of family functioning, greater self-esteem and lower levels of depressive symptoms and stress.</p>
<p>And mental health benefits don’t depend on a slow-roasted pork shoulder or organic vegetables. Since it’s the atmosphere at the dinner table that contributes most significantly to emotional well-being, takeout or prepared food eaten at home will work nicely too.</p>
<p>In an earlier study of parents of infants and toddlers, couples who attached more meaning and importance to family meals were <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/353344">more satisfied with their marital relationship</a>. It’s unclear in which direction the causality goes. Is it that those in more satisfying marriages gravitate toward creating daily rituals? Or that enacting daily rituals leads to more robust relationships? In either case, the establishment of meaningful rituals, like shared mealtime, during early stages of parenthood may add some predictability and routine at a time of life that can be very busy and fragmented.</p>
<p>Just as for children, family dinner is the most reliable time of the day for adults to slow down and talk to others. It’s a time to step away from video calls, emails and to-do lists, and instead connect face to face. Dinnertime often allows for a few laughs, a time to decompress and also to solve logistical problems and talk about the day’s events and what tomorrow holds.</p>
<h2>Family meals are a COVID-19 habit to keep</h2>
<p>For parents taking the long view, there is another perk to family dinner. When adolescents grow up having regular family dinners, they are much more likely to replicate that practice <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2017.08.010">in their own homes when they become parents</a>. Adults who reported having had six to seven family meals a week as a child went on to have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000046">frequent family meals with their own children</a>. Family dinner and its benefits may be an heirloom you pass along to future generations.</p>
<p>Shared mealtime, however, is not equally accessible to all. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980011000127">Frequent family dinners are</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.03.008">more common among</a> white Americans, those with higher levels of education, married people and those with household incomes that are middle class or higher. While family meal frequency in the U.S. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.06.004">remained quite steady overall from 1999 to 2010</a>, it decreased significantly (47% to 39%) for low-income families while increasing (57% to 61%) for high-income families. This gap can be understood in terms of structural disparities: Low-income parents often have less control over their work schedules and may need to juggle more than one job to make ends meet.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397950/original/file-20210429-20-2n7rzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="multigenerational family eating a meal at the table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397950/original/file-20210429-20-2n7rzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397950/original/file-20210429-20-2n7rzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397950/original/file-20210429-20-2n7rzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397950/original/file-20210429-20-2n7rzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397950/original/file-20210429-20-2n7rzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397950/original/file-20210429-20-2n7rzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397950/original/file-20210429-20-2n7rzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Family meals can be a habit passed from one generation to the next.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/generations-laughing-together-at-meal-royalty-free-image/528973981">Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>As people now tiptoe back to living more expansively, many are reflecting on what they learned during the pandemic that might be worth holding on to. There is some evidence that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082352">more families ate more meals together</a> during the COVID-19 pandemic than ever before. Some families who didn’t prioritize eating together pre-pandemic may emerge from the past year with a new appreciation of the joys of commensality. Of course, others may already be bookmarking all their favorite restaurants, eager to have chefs cook for them after feeling depleted by so much home labor.</p>
<p>But parents may want to remember that the science suggests shared mealtime is good for the mental and physical health of each member of the family. As people start to heal from this past year of loss, disruption and anxiety, why not continue to engage in nourishing practices that are helpful to all? <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sh-v7eQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">In my family therapy practice</a>, it will be a top recommendation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158739/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Fishel is the executive director and co-founder of The Family Dinner Project, a non-profit initiative, based at Massachusetts General Hospital, that helps families improve the quality and frequency of their shared mealtime. </span></em></p>All that planning, shopping, prepping, serving and cleaning can pay off with better physical and mental health for all members of the family.Anne Fishel, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1370592020-06-02T20:03:20Z2020-06-02T20:03:20ZPlates, cups and takeaway containers shape what (and how) we eat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337861/original/file-20200527-141291-aau3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C0%2C995%2C520&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cup-coffee-red-fork-knife-spoon-1672141546">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Home cooks have been trying out their skills during isolation. But the way food tastes depends on more than your ability to follow a recipe. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25713964/">surroundings</a>, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/485781">the people</a> <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jpepsy/article/25/7/471/952605">we share food with</a> and the design of our tableware – our cups, bowls and plates, cutlery and containers – affect the way we experience food.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-eat-breakfast-like-a-king-lunch-like-a-prince-and-dinner-like-a-pauper-86840">Should we eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For example, eating from a heavier bowl can make you feel food is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0950329311000966?via%3Dihub">more filling and tastes better</a> than eating from a lighter one.</p>
<p>Contrast this with fast food, which is most commonly served in lightweight disposable containers, which encourages <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666312001754">fast eating</a>, <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f2907">underestimating</a> how much food you’re eating, and has even been linked to becoming <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23773044/">impatient</a>.</p>
<p>These are just some examples of the vital, but largely unconscious, relationship between the design of our tableware – including size, shape, weight and colour – and how we eat. </p>
<p>In design, this relationship is referred to as an object’s “<a href="https://jnd.org/affordances_and_design/">affordances</a>”. Affordances guide interactions between objects and people.</p>
<p>As Australian sociologist <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/how-artifacts-afford">Jenny Davis writes</a>, affordances:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…push, pull, enable, and constrain. Affordances are how objects shape behaviour for socially situated subjects.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Designed objects don’t <em>make</em> us do things.</p>
<h2>The colour of your crockery</h2>
<p>When you visit a restaurant, the chances are your dinner will be served on a plain white plate. </p>
<p>But French chef Sebastien Lepinoy has staff <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=-5gCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT118&lpg=PT118&dq=Sebastien+Lepinoy+paint+plates&source=bl&ots=8jc3yBavYd&sig=ACfU3U0jRwMOQtM_NmOspLXcyXp9SiVTuQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjqzNzj3MPpAhUOxjgGHQnvDlEQ6AEwCnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Sebastien%20Lepinoy%20paint%20plates&f=false">paint the plates</a> to match the daily menu and “entice the appetite”.</p>
<p>Research seems to back him up. Coloured plates can enhance flavours to actually change the dining experience.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337864/original/file-20200527-141291-17m4n6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337864/original/file-20200527-141291-17m4n6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337864/original/file-20200527-141291-17m4n6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=253&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337864/original/file-20200527-141291-17m4n6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=253&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337864/original/file-20200527-141291-17m4n6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=253&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337864/original/file-20200527-141291-17m4n6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337864/original/file-20200527-141291-17m4n6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337864/original/file-20200527-141291-17m4n6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The colour of your mug can influence the taste of your coffee.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/many-different-hands-holding-multi-colored-1230949390">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22128561">one study</a>, salted popcorn eaten from a coloured bowl tasted sweeter than popcorn eaten from a white bowl. In <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Does-the-colour-of-the-mug-influence-the-taste-of-Doorn-Wuillemin/476e322e1de2c705e8691e14c72c814fd79e5e09">another</a>, a café latte served in a coloured mug tasted sweeter than one in a white mug.</p>
<p>This association between colour and taste seems to apply to people from Germany to China. </p>
<p>A review of <a href="https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13411-015-0033-1">multiple studies</a> conducted in many countries over 30 years finds people consistently associated particular colours with specific tastes. </p>
<p>Red, orange or pink is most often associated with sweetness, black with bitterness, yellow or green with sourness, and white and blue with saltiness.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bitter-coffee-today-try-changing-the-colour-of-your-cup-33248">Bitter coffee today? Try changing the colour of your cup</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The size of your plate</h2>
<p>The influence of plate size on meal portions depends on the dining experience and whether you are <a href="https://www.deakin.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/897365/DUBELAAR-JACR-Plate-Size-Meta-Analysis-Paper-2016.pdf">serving yourself</a>. In a buffet, for example, people armed with a small plate may eat more because they can go back for multiple helpings.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, average plate and portion sizes have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/apr/25/problem-portions-eating-too-much-food-control-cutting-down">increased</a> over the years. Back in her day, grandma used to serve meals on plates 25cm in diameter. Now, the average dinner plate is 28cm, and many restaurant dinner plates have expanded to <a href="https://www.nisbets.com.au/size-of-plates">30cm</a>.</p>
<p>Our waistlines have also expanded. Research confirms we tend to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666311006064">eat more calories</a> when our plates are larger, because a larger capacity plate affords a greater portion size. </p>
<h2>Plastic is too often ignored</h2>
<p>The pace of our busy lives has led many people to rely on those handy takeaways in disposable plastic food containers just ready to pop into the microwave. And it’s tempting to use plastic cutlery and cups at barbecues, picnics and kids’ birthday parties.</p>
<p>In contrast to heavy, fragile ceramic tableware, plastic tableware is <a href="https://discardstudies.com/2019/05/21/disposability/">designed to be ignored</a>. It is so lightweight, ubiquitous and cheap we don’t notice it and pay little mind to its disposal.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337855/original/file-20200527-141295-yzab1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337855/original/file-20200527-141295-yzab1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337855/original/file-20200527-141295-yzab1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337855/original/file-20200527-141295-yzab1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337855/original/file-20200527-141295-yzab1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337855/original/file-20200527-141295-yzab1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337855/original/file-20200527-141295-yzab1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337855/original/file-20200527-141295-yzab1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plastics change the way we eat and drink.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/many-clean-plastic-boxes-food-packaging-1336991219">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Plastics have also changed how we eat and drink. An aversion to the strong smell of plastic containers that once might have caused people to <a href="https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/0747936042312066?journalCode=desi">wrap their sandwiches before placing them in Tupperware</a> seems to have disappeared. We drink hot coffee though plastic lids. </p>
<p>Australian economic sociologist Gay Hawkins and her colleagues argue lightweight, plastic water bottles have created entirely new habits, such as “<a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/ics/news/news_archive/2015/history_of_bottled_water_focus_of_new_book">constant sipping</a>” on the go. New products are then designed to fit and reinforce this habit.</p>
<h2>Aesthetics matter</h2>
<p>Healthy eating is not only characterised by what we eat but how we eat. </p>
<p>For instance, eating mindfully – more thoughtfully and slowly by focusing on the experience of eating – can help you feel <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/why-eating-slowly-may-help-you-feel-full-faster-20101019605">full faster</a> and make a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/351A3D01E43F49CC9794756BC950EFFC/S0954422417000154a.pdf/structured_literature_review_on_the_role_of_mindfulness_mindful_eating_and_intuitive_eating_in_changing_eating_behaviours_effectiveness_and_associated_potential_mechanisms.pdf">difference</a> to how we eat. </p>
<p>And the Japanese cuisine <a href="https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/dining-out/kaiseki-cheatsheet-sg">Kaiseki</a> values this mindful, slower approach to eating. It consists of small portions of beautifully arranged food presented in a grouping of small, attractive, individual plates and bowls.</p>
<p>This encourages the diner to eat more slowly and mindfully while appreciating not only the food but the variety and setting of the tableware.</p>
<p>Japanese people’s slower eating practices even apply to “fast food”.</p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00346651211277654/full/html">study</a> found Japanese people were more likely to eat in groups, to stay at fast food restaurants for longer and to share fast food, compared with their North American counterparts.</p>
<p>Affordance theory is only now starting to account for <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0270467617714944">cultural diversity</a> in the ways in which designed objects shape practices and experiences. </p>
<p>The studies we have reviewed show tableware influences how we eat. Size, shape, weight, colour and aesthetics all play a part in our experience of eating.</p>
<p>This has wide implications for how we design for healthier eating – whether that’s to encourage eating well when we are out and about, or so we can better appreciate a tastier, healthier and more convivial meal at home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137059/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The colour, size, shape and weight of your cutlery and crockery affect how you eat. Your popcorn can seem saltier and your coffee sweeter.Abby Mellick Lopes, Associate Professor, Design Studies, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology SydneyKaren Weiss, PhD Candidate, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1391012020-06-01T12:15:57Z2020-06-01T12:15:57Z5 ways eating in a pandemic is improving your relationship with food – and why you should stick with them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338029/original/file-20200527-20241-egznw7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C32%2C2707%2C1771&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In some households, children have been learning to cook and bake while parents are home during the pandemic. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://gettyimages.com">Catherine Delahaye via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s 5 p.m. on who can tell which day, and instead of rushing from work to kids’ activities, I’m unpacking a box of produce while my 7-year-old peels carrots beside me. Rather than grab what we can from the fridge on the way to soccer practice, my family is all sitting down together to a homemade vegetarian meal. On the menu tonight: <a href="https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-cauliflower-and-lentil-tacos/">cauliflower lentil tacos</a>.</p>
<p>Before you get the wrong impression that everything’s going swimmingly at my house, it’s not. But as <a href="http://www.bu.edu/sargent/profile/stephanie-vangsness-meyers-ms/">a registered dietitian</a> and a mom, I’m noticing a few noteworthy patterns amid the pandemic, both in my own family and in what my clients report every day. Some of these food-related behavior changes have the potential to become new habits with long-term benefits.
Here are five eating-related behaviors I hope endure beyond the pandemic.</p>
<h2>1. Eating family meals together</h2>
<p>For the first time, some kids now have two parents home for weeknight dinners. In stark contrast, kids of front-line workers may eat more meals away from their parents. Each of these scenarios highlight the importance of eating together when you can. Research has found that eating as a family helps kids have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25676655/">better self-esteem, more success in school and lower risk of depression and substance use disorders</a>.</p>
<p>Finding time for family meals isn’t always possible or easy, but hopefully people will continue to prioritize eating together whenever they’re able. And remember, it isn’t only dinner that counts. Even eating a quick snack together or family breakfast is valuable. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338039/original/file-20200527-20233-1ndd6kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338039/original/file-20200527-20233-1ndd6kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338039/original/file-20200527-20233-1ndd6kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338039/original/file-20200527-20233-1ndd6kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338039/original/file-20200527-20233-1ndd6kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338039/original/file-20200527-20233-1ndd6kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338039/original/file-20200527-20233-1ndd6kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Regular family meals can have long-term benefits for children.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://gettyimages.com">10'000 Hours via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Kids learning to cook</h2>
<p>Some families are making time to get kids involved in the kitchen. That’s good news, because research shows it leads to healthier eating as an adult. A long-term study found that adolescents who learned to cook by age 18 to 23 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2018.01.021">were eating more vegetables, less fast food and more family meals</a> a decade later.</p>
<p>Learning to cook can be fascinating for kids but exhausting for overworked parents. Don’t lose heart if it seems every kid but yours can whisk and sauté. Ignite the basics by letting your child arrange simple snacks on a plate. It’s never too little, too early or too late to start giving kids some autonomy in the kitchen.</p>
<h2>3. Eating more plant-based proteins</h2>
<p>Nutritionists have spent decades encouraging people to eat plant-based meals. Now suddenly everyone’s stocking up on all kinds of dried beans and lentils. They’re trying tofu and <a href="https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/best-black-bean-burgers/">homemade veggie burgers</a> and finding out that, with the right recipes, these foods can be delicious. </p>
<p>Alternatives to animal protein benefit the <a href="http://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/15-082">health of individuals and our planet</a>. This doesn’t mean you need to become vegetarian, but you can start thinking about meat differently. Make it less of a main dish and more like a condiment. For example, instead of grilling a whole pack of chicken breasts for dinner try making vegetable kebabs using smaller or fewer pieces of chicken on the skewers. Or make a colorful dinner salad with grilled salmon crumbled on top. </p>
<h2>4. Buying food locally and lending a hand in the hunger crisis</h2>
<p>In the early weeks of COVID-19, some grocery shelves went bare while farmers plowed ripe crops into fields and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-coronavirus-threatens-the-seasonal-farmworkers-at-the-heart-of-the-american-food-supply-135252">dumped fresh milk down drains</a>. Problems in the food supply chain that have been magnified by the pandemic have prompted people to seek local sources of food. Sales of <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/food-dining/2017/07/10/growing-appetite-for-flour-from-local-grains/b2FeD46PzoVJuQWVVmU2RI/story.html">regionally milled flour</a>, <a href="https://www.kcbx.org/post/local-fishing-industry-sees-silver-lining-amid-coronavirus-crisis#stream/0">sustainably caught fish</a> and <a href="https://civileats.com/2020/04/09/community-supported-agriculture-is-surging-amid-the-pandemic/">community-supported agriculture programs have skyrocketed</a>. I hope this trend continues long after the pandemic ends and deepens our appreciation for who and what it takes to bring food to our table. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338022/original/file-20200527-20255-1nr3nqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338022/original/file-20200527-20255-1nr3nqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338022/original/file-20200527-20255-1nr3nqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338022/original/file-20200527-20255-1nr3nqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338022/original/file-20200527-20255-1nr3nqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338022/original/file-20200527-20255-1nr3nqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338022/original/file-20200527-20255-1nr3nqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farm owner Cindy Ayers Elliott talks with a customer about ways to clean and prepare fresh vegetables at a farmers market in Jackson, Mississippi.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://apimages.com">AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another crisis is that 42 million Americans are facing food insecurity, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/05/06/the-covid-19-crisis-has-already-left-too-many-children-hungry-in-america/">a number that has grown daily amid the coronavirus pandemic</a>. With increasing awareness of the hunger problem, people are stepping forward to help. Like my friend who’s decided to donate the produce from her garden to help other families in need. One critical thing we can do is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031914-122621">advocate for policies that expand access to quality food and health care. </a> </p>
<h2>5. Changing mindsets about wellness to include self-compassion</h2>
<p>Eating is one of the most basic ways we take care of ourselves, and disruptions in food and activity routines have people rethinking how they define wellness. </p>
<p>Many of my clients are starting to gently investigate their relationships with food and with their bodies. With proper support, they’re creating “new normal” plans for eating that include self-compassion as a daily practice. One example is short daily meditations, which research suggests <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-014-0277-3">improves many aspects of well-being, including self-worth and body appreciation</a>. One of the most important things I hope people maintain after the pandemic is more friendliness toward themselves as eaters. </p>
<p>People have come home to roost around food in these unprecedented times, discovering new habits and insights about what it means to truly nourish themselves. </p>
<p>Take pride in both big and small changes you’ve recently put into practice. They might turn into brand new habits with benefits in the long run. I encourage everyone to hang on to a homemade version of at least one food they used to buy instead of going back, because cooking at home <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.12.022">benefits health and personal relationships</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s newsletter explains what’s going on with the coronavirus pandemic. <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-daily">Subscribe now</a>.</em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139101/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Meyers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A nutritionist shares five habits becoming more common during the pandemic that she hopes will continue. Eating family meals together is just the start.Stephanie Meyers, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist, Instructor in Nutrition, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1093862019-01-16T23:48:17Z2019-01-16T23:48:17ZBoost kids’ skills and memories with weekly game night<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253651/original/file-20190114-43520-gu0ern.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parenting win: Your children leave home and say, 'I loved family time when I was little. Every Friday night was dinner and games.' </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The winter months are an ideal time to turn your attention inward and think of how you can establish something new for your family to do together indoors. If you can find the right thing, perhaps it will become a family ritual. </p>
<p>Family rituals <a href="https://depts.washington.edu/isei/iyc/20.4_spagnola.pdf">contribute to the rhythm and predictability of family life and they support child development</a>.
Once you find an activity the whole family enjoys together, the key is to repeat and make it a family habit — a sort of “family branding.” These activities do not have to be expensive, time consuming or complicated. </p>
<p>Making memories together fosters a sense of inclusion, structure and belonging that is a hallmark of healthy family life. Memories can be revisited far into the future with fondness, evoking these moments of shared experiences that, over time, become part of a family’s unique DNA.</p>
<p>Amid the challenges of parenting and growing up, it’s crucial for parents to understand the high-impact benefits of <a href="https://experiencelife.com/article/the-power-of-habit/">positive, regular habits</a> of family time. Here’s what parenting success could sound like when your child leaves home: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I loved our family time. When we were kids, every Friday was pizza and games night.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Parents have an enormous role in orchestrating and leading the action around family time. It is important that during these family gatherings, parents are completely present to their children. This means agreeing that all electronic devices are powered off. </p>
<h2>Set the stage with a meal</h2>
<p>Should you really want to make an evening of it, think of beginning with making a simple meal together. For example, your routine could become a pizza night followed by games and puzzles. </p>
<p>Young children could knead the dough, and help with spreading the sauce and slicing, dicing, chopping, shredding and arranging the toppings. Buying prepared thin crusts can cut down on the time and the mess of dealing with dough. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253953/original/file-20190115-152995-1srknyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253953/original/file-20190115-152995-1srknyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253953/original/file-20190115-152995-1srknyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253953/original/file-20190115-152995-1srknyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253953/original/file-20190115-152995-1srknyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253953/original/file-20190115-152995-1srknyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253953/original/file-20190115-152995-1srknyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Given the opportunity, children take pride in creating their own pizza and contributing to dinner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Language and cognitive skill building can be incorporated into these easy daily activities, making them fun, natural and interactive. Dinner will be on the table in a flash and your child will be sure to eat their creations as well! </p>
<p>Research identifies meal time talk as central to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cd.155">reinforcing relationships and developing vocabulary among young children</a>.</p>
<h2>Choose your game</h2>
<p>Games and puzzles provide an excellent platform for creating these shared experiences. They have the potential to promote a range of social and physical skills, concepts, strategy use and language development that will serve your child very well in their <a href="https://www.edcan.ca/articles/guided-physical-play-kindergarten/">academic achievements in math and literacy</a>. </p>
<p>Size, shape, space, patterns and sequences, for example, underlie alphabet recognition, spelling and numeracy. The key <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1167047">is to give little fingers a chance to “learn the world,” developing their fine motor skills</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723714535768">making connections to language</a>. </p>
<p>Some game suggestions: </p>
<p><strong>1) Lego</strong>: Forever a favourite, Lego is great for developing concepts of whole-part relationships, how things fit and for promoting fine motor skills. It is creative as well, and there is a resurgence among adults known as Adult Fans of Lego (<a href="http://www.brickcan.com/afol-registration/">AFOL</a>) in using these blocks.</p>
<p><strong>2) Jenga</strong> is <a href="http://www.museumofplay.org/blog/play-stuff/2009/01/jenga-jenga-jenga/">a game of physical skill involving 54 blocks arranged in a tower at the beginning of the game</a>. One block is removed by each player in turn, and replaced at the top of the tower, until it comes crashing down. The game evolved <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/mar/30/how-we-made-jenga">from the game creator’s own memories of playing and puzzling with her family</a>. </p>
<p><strong>3) Scrabble</strong> is another long-time family favorite. The game reinforces letter recognition and spelling patterns. With younger children, it’s recommended to play as adult-child teams to provide a great learning opportunity. Handling the tiles, arranging and moving them about and placing them on the board are good exercises for fine motor development.</p>
<p><strong>4) Card games</strong> of all kinds, including card tricks, afford endless possibilities for adult-child interaction and fun across age groups. Concepts of “more than” and “less than,” discussions of chance or probabilities as well as sequence and groupings, are given a good work out with a card game. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253665/original/file-20190114-43514-1oq8yhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253665/original/file-20190114-43514-1oq8yhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253665/original/file-20190114-43514-1oq8yhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253665/original/file-20190114-43514-1oq8yhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253665/original/file-20190114-43514-1oq8yhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253665/original/file-20190114-43514-1oq8yhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253665/original/file-20190114-43514-1oq8yhm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Handling and arranging cards, blocks and small pieces helps little fingers develop fine motor skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>While you play</h2>
<p>Parent-child talk makes a difference to a child’s language and social development. Significantly, parents should try to become mindful of how much they talk <em>with</em> their children, not simply <em>to</em> them. <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/talking-with-mdash-not-just-to-mdash-kids-powers-how-they-learn-language/">What matters is taking turns in conversation</a>, where the adult listener models responding and expanding on the previous comments. </p>
<p>For example, if the family is working on a puzzle and the child explains they are putting all the blue puzzle pieces here, the parent might say: “What a great idea, you can group all the puzzle pieces by colour, which helps us find them.” The parent returns attention in a way that gives words to the skill the child is experimenting with; the adult also models the art of taking conversation to the next level.</p>
<p>Completely focusing on the game and the players allows parents to fully hear their child and respond to the child’s comments to open the conversation further, which is central to building children’s vocabularies and understandings. </p>
<p>In addition to offering positive feedback and encouragement, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02568543.2016.1178671?src=recsys&journalCode=ujrc20">parents can offer “think alouds”</a> — talk whereby adults expose their thinking processes while using a strategy or solving a problem. In this way parents support children’s cognitive development while sharing an activity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hetty Roessingh receives funding from SSHRC. Michelle and I are also currently preparing two proposals: a SSHRC Connections grant that will bring a network of scholars, practitioners and policy makers who focus their work on early childhood development together on May 6 - 7, 2019. We are applying for a SSHRC Insight Development grant that will support a two year research project on a play-based intervention in Kindergarten and Grade 1, to track the impact this might have on Grade 2 literacy achievement. Michelle would like to pursue this question in her PhD work, starting September, 2019. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Bence does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A regular family ritual like a dinner and games night contributes to the rhythm and predictability of life and becomes part of a family’s unique DNA.Hetty Roessingh, Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of CalgaryMichelle Bence, Master's Student in Educational Research, Language and Literacy Program, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1084222018-12-16T14:36:23Z2018-12-16T14:36:23ZThe gift of cooking: Five fun and healthy recipe books for kids<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250362/original/file-20181213-110234-h5tbt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Reading recipes enhances vocabulary. Baking involves measurement, addition and subtraction. Slicing your personal pizza is a great way to explain fractions to your child.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When we think about the holidays we often think about all of the great food that we will get to enjoy — your father’s famous stuffing or your grandma’s homemade cookies. Food brings us together, reminds us of loved ones and represents tradition. </p>
<p>For the little ones in our lives, the holidays are exciting. And it can be tricky to find ways to harness this energy while checking off your own holiday to-do list. Getting your kids in the kitchen is a great way to entertain them during the holidays. It also helps build those family traditions and special memories. </p>
<p>Research also suggests cooking can help your child establish healthy habits. As nutrition researchers and dietitians, we can offer you many good reasons for engaging kids in the kitchen.</p>
<h2>Combat picky eating, reduce waste</h2>
<p>Strategies to get your children to eat such as asking your child to eat “three more bites” have been shown to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.03.004">counterproductive in encouraging healthier food choices</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, take a more relaxed approach to mealtimes by getting your child involved before the meal hits the table. Kids who are involved in preparing a meal have more <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.140267">positive attitudes</a> towards food and are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.03.030">more interested in trying the foods they make</a>, even when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.04.031">the menu includes new foods and vegetables</a>. </p>
<p>Food waste has become a <a href="https://oafb.ca/how-do-we-solve-canadas-31-billion-food-waste-problem/">billion dollar problem</a> in Canada and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.030">household-level waste is a huge contributor</a>. We throw out food for all sorts of reasons. But research suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954X.12041">homes with children waste more food</a>. The unpredictable eating patterns and preferences of little family members can be challenging to plan for. But, research at the University of Guelph found that families who <a href="https://atrium.lib.uoguelph.ca/xmlui/handle/10214/12935">involve their children in food preparation waste less food</a>. </p>
<p>And it might be this simple: getting your child in the kitchen increases the likelihood of them eating the food that is served, meaning less ends up in the garbage and you save more on your next grocery bill.</p>
<p>To get you started, we’ve picked out our favourite kid-friendly cookbooks:</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250504/original/file-20181213-178576-1w4j4x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250504/original/file-20181213-178576-1w4j4x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250504/original/file-20181213-178576-1w4j4x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250504/original/file-20181213-178576-1w4j4x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250504/original/file-20181213-178576-1w4j4x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250504/original/file-20181213-178576-1w4j4x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250504/original/file-20181213-178576-1w4j4x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<h2><a href="https://littlecookery.com/?v=e4b09f3f8402">1. <em>The Little Cookery</em></a></h2>
<p>By Lottie & Eli Aldarwish (2017, Little Cookery)</p>
<p>Age 2+ </p>
<p><strong>Why we love it:</strong> The cookbook was co-created with the author’s son Eli, so the recipes are guaranteed child-friendly. Graphic recipes make it easy for kids as young as two to get into the kitchen. </p>
<p>Recipes also include ingredient substitutions for children with allergies. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250506/original/file-20181213-178555-1qzxbse.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250506/original/file-20181213-178555-1qzxbse.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250506/original/file-20181213-178555-1qzxbse.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250506/original/file-20181213-178555-1qzxbse.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250506/original/file-20181213-178555-1qzxbse.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250506/original/file-20181213-178555-1qzxbse.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250506/original/file-20181213-178555-1qzxbse.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<h2><a href="http://cookbycolours.ca/">2. <em>Cook by Colours</em></a></h2>
<p>By Brent Currie & Jessie Jarden (2015, Cook By Colours Inc.)</p>
<p>Age 2+ </p>
<p><strong>Why we love it:</strong> Graphic recipes and colour-coded measuring cups make it easy for little ones. </p>
<p>Each recipe includes additional steps that teach important kitchen lessons like washing the dishes afterwards! </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250513/original/file-20181213-178567-1kz0khb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250513/original/file-20181213-178567-1kz0khb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250513/original/file-20181213-178567-1kz0khb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250513/original/file-20181213-178567-1kz0khb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=772&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250513/original/file-20181213-178567-1kz0khb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250513/original/file-20181213-178567-1kz0khb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250513/original/file-20181213-178567-1kz0khb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=970&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<h2><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/National-Geographic-Kids-Cookbook-Year-Round/dp/1426317174/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1543862642&sr=8-10&keywords=cook+books+for+kids">3. <em>National Geographic Kids Cookbook</em></a></h2>
<p>By Barton Seaver (2014, National Geographic Children’s Books)</p>
<p>Age 6+ </p>
<p><strong>Why we love it:</strong> This is more than a cookbook. In addition to delicious recipes, side bars include fun facts on real people and food from around the world as well as food-focused challenges. </p>
<p>Recipes also teach other food skills like how to plant a kitchen garden and pack the ultimate school lunch. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250516/original/file-20181213-178579-nwjawf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250516/original/file-20181213-178579-nwjawf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250516/original/file-20181213-178579-nwjawf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250516/original/file-20181213-178579-nwjawf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250516/original/file-20181213-178579-nwjawf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250516/original/file-20181213-178579-nwjawf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250516/original/file-20181213-178579-nwjawf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=865&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Handout)</span></span>
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<h2><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Cookbook-Kids-Williams-Sonoma-Great-Recipes/dp/1616280182/ref=asc_df_1616280182/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292943874218&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10606983949189805855&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1002199&hvtargid=pla-433987238146&psc=1">4. <em>The Cookbook for Kids</em></a></h2>
<p>By Williams Sonoma (2011, Weldon Owen)</p>
<p>Age 6+ </p>
<p><strong>Why we love it:</strong> This cookbook includes over 60 yummy, child-friendly recipes. The colourful illustrations and fun facts keep cooking fun for children. </p>
<p>The book also touches on the importance of healthy eating, a great addition to your cooking conversations. </p>
<h2><a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/what-shall-we-cook-today/9781849751032-item.html?ikwid=what+shall+we+cook+today&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=6">5. <em>What Shall We Cook Today</em></a></h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250515/original/file-20181213-178579-ismn3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250515/original/file-20181213-178579-ismn3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250515/original/file-20181213-178579-ismn3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250515/original/file-20181213-178579-ismn3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250515/original/file-20181213-178579-ismn3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250515/original/file-20181213-178579-ismn3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250515/original/file-20181213-178579-ismn3e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Handout)</span></span>
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<p>By Peters & Smal Ryland (2015, Ryland Peters & Small)</p>
<p>Age 6+ </p>
<p><strong>Why we love it:</strong> This cookbook includes 70 recipes and is divided into seasons which can help you use local ingredients! </p>
<p>As part of our research with the <a href="https://guelphfamilyhealthstudy.com/">Guelph Family Health Study</a>, we have also created <a href="https://guelphfamilyhealthstudy.com/cookbooks/">four free family-friendly cookbooks of our own</a>. </p>
<h2>Cooking is language, math and science</h2>
<p>Cooking or baking together is also a great way to go screen-free for a couple hours, listen to holiday music and enjoy each other’s company. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250596/original/file-20181214-178570-1r60wj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250596/original/file-20181214-178570-1r60wj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250596/original/file-20181214-178570-1r60wj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250596/original/file-20181214-178570-1r60wj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250596/original/file-20181214-178570-1r60wj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250596/original/file-20181214-178570-1r60wj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250596/original/file-20181214-178570-1r60wj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Recipe book from Guelph Family Health Study.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Handout)</span></span>
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<p>Picking out a recipe and preparing it gives everyone “together” time to look forward to. Cooking together also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.156">gives everyone in the family a role</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/anzf.1185">increases positive conversation</a>, both of which are key to increasing family cohesion and child well-being. Check out these <a href="http://www.unlockfood.ca/en/Articles/Child-Toddler-Nutrition/Cooking-with-Kids.aspx">ideas for age-appropriate kitchen tasks</a>. </p>
<p>Choose what works for your family — “make your own pizzas” on Fridays, a weekend brunch or afternoon cookie decorating — and have fun. The memories you create while cooking with your children will last long after the holidays are over. And the bigger the mess, the better the story later on! </p>
<p>Cooking with your child is also a great opportunity to teach language, science and even math. Reading recipes enhances vocabulary. Cooking and baking involve measurement, which is a perfect opportunity to introduce addition and subtraction. Slicing your personal pizza is a great way to explain fractions to your child (who said math can’t be fun?). </p>
<p>Cooking and baking are rooted in science so the experience can be a science experiment in itself. </p>
<p>This year, give the little ones in your life the gift of cooking, it’s a gift that will last a lifetime.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Walton receives funding from the Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angela Wallace does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Research shows that cooking with your kids helps them try more foods, eat more healthily and waste less food. It also offers opportunities to practise math and bond as a family.Kathryn Walton, Registered Dietitian, Research Fellow, University of GuelphAngela Wallace, Registered Dietitian and Project Coordinator, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/884622017-12-12T12:01:41Z2017-12-12T12:01:41ZAn anthropologist explains why we love holiday rituals and traditions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198652/original/file-20171211-9416-zprbag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=271%2C0%2C4072%2C2944&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Working together on a once-a-year project feels festive and special.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/christmas-gingerbread-making-friends-decorating-freshly-747353851">Flotsam/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The mere thought of holiday traditions brings smiles to most people’s faces and elicits feelings of sweet anticipation and nostalgia. We can almost smell those candles, taste those special meals, hear those familiar songs in our minds.</p>
<p>Ritual marks some of the most important moments in our lives, from personal milestones like birthdays and weddings to seasonal celebrations like Thanksgiving and religious holidays like Christmas or Hanukkah. And the more important the moment, the fancier the ritual.</p>
<p>Holiday rituals are bursting with sensory pageantry. These (often quite literal) bells and whistles signal to all of our senses that this is no common occasion – it is one full of significance and meaning. Such sensory exuberance helps create lasting recollections of those occasions and marks them in our memory as special events worth cherishing.</p>
<p>Indeed, there are plenty of reasons to value family rituals. Research shows that they can provide various psychological benefits, helping us enjoy ourselves, connect with loved ones and take a respite from the daily grind.</p>
<h2>An anxiety buffer</h2>
<p>Everyday life is stressful and full of uncertainty. Having a special time of the year when we know exactly what to do, the way we’ve always done it, provides a comfortable sense of structure, control and stability.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198607/original/file-20171211-27714-6zi5l3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198607/original/file-20171211-27714-6zi5l3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198607/original/file-20171211-27714-6zi5l3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198607/original/file-20171211-27714-6zi5l3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198607/original/file-20171211-27714-6zi5l3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=753&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198607/original/file-20171211-27714-6zi5l3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=946&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198607/original/file-20171211-27714-6zi5l3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=946&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198607/original/file-20171211-27714-6zi5l3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=946&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A holiday toast can have special weight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dmcordell/4232251244">diane cordell</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>From reciting blessings to raising a glass to make a toast, holiday traditions are replete with rituals. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.07.004">Laboratory experiments</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1433.2010.01305.x">field studies</a> show that the structured and repetitive actions involved in such rituals can act as a buffer against anxiety by making our world a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.05.049">more predictable place</a>.</p>
<p>Many of those rituals may of course also be performed at other times throughout the year. But during the holiday season, they become more meaningful. They’re held in a special place (the family home) and with a special group of people (our closest relatives and friends). For this reason, more people <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandratalty/2016/02/26/the-busiest-holiday-to-travel-on-is/#5780696f5e74">travel during the year-end holidays</a> than any other time of the year. Gathering together from far-flung locations helps people leave their worries behind, and at the same time lets them reconnect with time-honored family traditions.</p>
<h2>Happy meals</h2>
<p>No holiday tradition would be complete without a festive meal. Since the first humans gathered around the fire to roast their hunt, <a href="https://harvardmagazine.com/2009/11/cooking-and-human-evolution">cooking has been one of the defining characteristics</a> of our species. </p>
<p>The long hours spent in the kitchen and the dining room during the preparation and consumption of holiday meals serve some of the <a href="https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1357&context=stu_hon_theses">same social functions</a> as the hearths of our early ancestors. Sharing a ceremonial meal symbolizes community, brings the entire family together around the table and smooths the way for conversation and connection.</p>
<p>All cultures have rituals that revolve around food and meal preparation. Jewish tradition dictates that all food must be chosen and prepared according to specific rules (Kosher). In parts of the Middle East and India, only the right hand must be used for eating. And in many European countries, it is important to lock eyes while making a toast in order to avoid seven years of bad sex.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198651/original/file-20171211-9426-446qps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198651/original/file-20171211-9426-446qps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198651/original/file-20171211-9426-446qps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198651/original/file-20171211-9426-446qps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198651/original/file-20171211-9426-446qps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198651/original/file-20171211-9426-446qps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198651/original/file-20171211-9426-446qps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198651/original/file-20171211-9426-446qps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Hosts pull out all the stops for over-the-top holiday feasts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/NKJAaEGC-B4">+Simple on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Of course, special occasions require special meals. So most cultures reserve their best and most elaborate dishes for the most important holidays. For example, in Mauritius, Tamil Hindus serve the colorful <a href="https://musingsofavegfoodie.blog/2016/01/16/the-mauritian-sept-cari-a-journey-of-tradition-and-adaptation/">“seven curries”</a> at the conclusion of the Thaipussam kavadi festival, and in Greece families get together to spit-roast an entire lamb on Easter Day. And these recipes often include some secret ingredients – not just culinary, but also psychological.</p>
<p>Research shows that performing a ritual before a meal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613478949">improves the eating experience</a> and makes the food (even just plain carrots!) seem tastier. Other studies found that when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3182(98)70339-5">children participate in food preparation</a> they enjoy the food more, and that the longer we spend preparing a meal, the more we <a href="https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1777100">come to appreciate it</a>. In this way, the labor and fanfare associated with holiday meals virtually guarantees an enhanced gastronomical experience.</p>
<h2>Sharing is caring</h2>
<p>It is common to exchange presents during the holiday period. From a rational perspective, this might seem pointless, at best recycling resources or, at worst, wasting them. But don’t underestimate the importance of these exchanges. Anthropologists have noted that among many societies <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/115952/christmas-gift-exchange-anthropological-rules-beneath-it">ritualized gift-giving</a> plays a crucial role in maintaining social ties by creating networks of reciprocal relationships.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198604/original/file-20171211-10977-1dvh500.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198604/original/file-20171211-10977-1dvh500.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198604/original/file-20171211-10977-1dvh500.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198604/original/file-20171211-10977-1dvh500.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198604/original/file-20171211-10977-1dvh500.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198604/original/file-20171211-10977-1dvh500.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198604/original/file-20171211-10977-1dvh500.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198604/original/file-20171211-10977-1dvh500.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gifts under the tree can be a key component of Christmas celebrations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/xjB7du_4kQQ">Andrew Neel on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Today, many families give each other lists of desired presents for the holidays. The brilliance of this system lies precisely in the fact that most people end up getting what they would buy anyway – the money gets recycled but everyone still enjoys the satisfaction of giving and receiving gifts.</p>
<p>And as this is a special time of the year, we can even allow ourselves some guilt-free indulgence. Last year, my wife and I saw a fancy coffee machine that we really liked, but we decided it was too expensive. But in December, we went back and bought it as a mutual present, agreeing that it was OK to splurge a bit for the holidays.</p>
<h2>The stuff family is made of</h2>
<p>The most important function of holiday rituals is their role in maintaining and strengthening family ties. In fact, for relatives who live far apart, holiday rituals may be the glue that holds the family together.</p>
<p>Ritual is a powerful marker of identity and group membership. Some of my own field studies have found that taking part in collective rituals creates <a href="https://doi.org/10.1558/fiel.v9i1.53">feelings of belonging</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612472910">increased generosity</a> toward other members of the group. It’s no surprise, then, that spending the holidays with the in-laws for the first time is often regarded as a rite of passage – a sign of true family membership.</p>
<p>Holiday traditions are particularly important for children. Research shows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2015.08.002">children who participate in group rituals</a> become more strongly affiliated with their peers. In addition, having more positive memories of family rituals seems to be associated with more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-5834.00019">positive interactions with one’s own children</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198624/original/file-20171211-9432-1er5fnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198624/original/file-20171211-9432-1er5fnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198624/original/file-20171211-9432-1er5fnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198624/original/file-20171211-9432-1er5fnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198624/original/file-20171211-9432-1er5fnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198624/original/file-20171211-9432-1er5fnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198624/original/file-20171211-9432-1er5fnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198624/original/file-20171211-9432-1er5fnk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rituals and traditions can help make our memories of holidays good ones.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/GAJ4g8f7FBk">Darren Coleshill on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Holiday rituals are the perfect recipe for family harmony. Sure, you might need to take three flights to get there, and they will almost certainly be delayed. And your uncle is bound to get drunk and start a political argument with his son-in-law again. But according to Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman, this is unlikely to spoil the overall experience. </p>
<p>Kahneman’s research shows that when we evaluate past experiences, we tend to remember the best moments and the last moments, paying little attention to everything else. This is known as the “<a href="http://www.vwl.tuwien.ac.at/hanappi/TEI/momentsfull.pdf">peak-end rule</a>.” </p>
<p>In other words, our memory of the family holiday will mostly consist of all the rituals (both joyful and silly), the good food, the presents and then hugging everyone goodbye at the end of the night (after your uncle made up with his son-in-law). And by the time you get back home, you’ll have something to look forward to for next year.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88462/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dimitris Xygalatas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Holiday traditions – whether culinary, religious, decorative or musical – help families bond and individuals feel stable and content.Dimitris Xygalatas, Associate Professor in Anthropology and Psychology, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/885232017-12-04T23:55:31Z2017-12-04T23:55:31ZIs your child a picky eater? Five ways to fun and healthy mealtimes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197419/original/file-20171202-5378-rcjr4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Non-compliance at mealtimes can be stressful for parents. However, research shows that independence at mealtimes is completely appropriate for children as they learn to discriminate based on newly recognized qualities of foods such as taste, texture, presentation and familiarity.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you have a picky eater at home, you aren’t alone. <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2003.10.024">Almost 50 per cent of parents identify their preschoolers as picky eaters</a>. </p>
<p>Picky eaters can make mealtimes hectic. Concerns about wasted food and about whether your child is eating enough “good” foods, not too many “bad” foods (or even enough food at all) are common challenges. Ensuing power struggles can make mealtimes a drag. And planning around your child’s preferences can be almost impossible.</p>
<p>There’s good news, however: Some of the behaviours typically displayed by picky eaters, like <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2007.09.009">refusing new foods and going through food jags</a> (times when your child only wants to eat their favourite food) are normal. </p>
<p>Research suggests that with time and repeated exposures — without pressure — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0195-6663(82)80053-6">most children will accept new foods</a>. You can also breathe a sigh of relief: The vast majority of children who are considered to be picky eaters do not actually have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8203317">severely restricted diets, or sub-optimal growth</a>.</p>
<p>As researchers in nutrition, we have conducted studies with families and have learned several strategies you can use to create happier, and healthier, mealtimes. This, and other feeding research with young children, has identified five things you can do to reduce mealtime stress and help your “picky eater” have a healthier diet.</p>
<h2>1. Shift your perception</h2>
<p>The first step for exhausted parents is often a shift of perception. </p>
<p>During the preschool years, slowed growth (in comparison to the fast growth seen during infancy and toddlerhood) can impact dietary intake. So can psychological changes like developing a sense of independence. </p>
<p>As agents of their own preferences and actions, preschoolers prefer to feed themselves. They can develop strong opinions towards foods.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197420/original/file-20171202-5416-1ly8eba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197420/original/file-20171202-5416-1ly8eba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197420/original/file-20171202-5416-1ly8eba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197420/original/file-20171202-5416-1ly8eba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197420/original/file-20171202-5416-1ly8eba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197420/original/file-20171202-5416-1ly8eba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197420/original/file-20171202-5416-1ly8eba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>By labelling our children as “picky eaters,” we are labelling behaviours that are considered to be developmentally appropriate as non-compliant.</p>
<p>When we view children’s rejection of foods as non-compliant, interactions with our child during mealtimes often become stressful. We tend to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-017-0520-0">focus on getting our children to comply with our requests, rather than promoting a healthy relationship with food</a>.</p>
<p>Phrases like “you must eat three more bites” become common. This may lead to an escalating cycle of disagreement between you and your child. </p>
<p>In some situations, this escalating cycle of pressure and refusal may also lead you to withdraw your efforts to entice your child to eat, catering to their preferences and allowing poor dietary habits to prevail.</p>
<p>Rather than viewing children as non-compliant, we can recognize this show of independence at mealtimes as completely appropriate for their age. Your child will be discriminating based on newly recognized qualities of foods such as taste, texture, presentation and familiarity.</p>
<p>Focus your attention on fostering your child’s healthy eating without pressuring. Enjoy the time spent together during meals, rather than focusing on your child’s intake.</p>
<h2>2. Accommodate, but don’t cater to them</h2>
<p>Accommodating your child’s preferences during mealtimes is a win-win: They exert some independence, while also eating the food you have prepared. </p>
<p>During the meal-planning stages, ask your child what he or she would like to eat for the week or take your child grocery shopping and ask them to pick out a vegetable to try. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197421/original/file-20171202-5424-1kcwx48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197421/original/file-20171202-5424-1kcwx48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197421/original/file-20171202-5424-1kcwx48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197421/original/file-20171202-5424-1kcwx48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197421/original/file-20171202-5424-1kcwx48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197421/original/file-20171202-5424-1kcwx48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197421/original/file-20171202-5424-1kcwx48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Accommodating children’s preferences doesn’t mean you need to eat chicken fingers every night. If you’re serving a spicy Thai dish, consider making a version with less spice for your kids. </p>
<p>Meals that allow preschoolers to serve themselves also work well so that they can negotiate the amount or nature of the food (for example, not including the sauce).</p>
<h2>3. Have children taste new foods</h2>
<p>Don’t pressure your child to eat foods they don’t like. It is OK if your child doesn’t like broccoli. </p>
<p>UK researchers tested a variety of methods to encourage young children to try disliked vegetables. They found that after 14 days, the most successful strategies included a combination of <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.216">repeated daily exposure, offering non-food rewards for trying the disliked food and parents eating the same food as the child</a>. </p>
<p>Even if a food has initially been rejected, try and try again (without pressuring). It can take between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0195-6663(82)80005-6">10 to 15 exposures to get a child to like a new food</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197422/original/file-20171202-5406-hr5y3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197422/original/file-20171202-5406-hr5y3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197422/original/file-20171202-5406-hr5y3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197422/original/file-20171202-5406-hr5y3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197422/original/file-20171202-5406-hr5y3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197422/original/file-20171202-5406-hr5y3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197422/original/file-20171202-5406-hr5y3d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>It is easier to get a child to taste a new food, rather than eat it. So start by offering small portions. </p>
<p>Using rewards such as stickers may improve your kid’s acceptance of new foods and make repeated exposures more fun. Praise your child for trying new foods, but remain neutral if they choose not to eat it.</p>
<h2>4. Model healthy eating</h2>
<p>Eating with your child when offering new foods is also important. You can’t expect your child to eat veggies if you don’t eat them either! </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197423/original/file-20171202-5392-pqkxl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197423/original/file-20171202-5392-pqkxl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197423/original/file-20171202-5392-pqkxl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197423/original/file-20171202-5392-pqkxl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197423/original/file-20171202-5392-pqkxl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197423/original/file-20171202-5392-pqkxl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197423/original/file-20171202-5392-pqkxl9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>Children with parents who model healthful eating habits have been reported to <a href="https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.08.008">be less “picky,”</a> to be more likely to try disliked vegetables and to <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2010.10.050">eat more fruits and vegetables</a>.</p>
<h2>5. Kids make great sous-chefs!</h2>
<p>Getting the whole family involved in meal preparation can relieve mealtime stress. </p>
<p>You don’t have to do it on your own! Have your child wash foods while you chop, or set the table while dinner is in the oven. </p>
<p>Research shows that kids who are involved in preparing meals have more <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.140267">positive attitudes</a> towards food and are <a href="https://dx.doi.org/%20%20%20%2010.1016/j.appet.2014.03.030">more likely to subsequently eat the food that they help to prepare</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197424/original/file-20171202-5406-9gi9uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197424/original/file-20171202-5406-9gi9uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197424/original/file-20171202-5406-9gi9uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197424/original/file-20171202-5406-9gi9uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197424/original/file-20171202-5406-9gi9uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197424/original/file-20171202-5406-9gi9uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197424/original/file-20171202-5406-9gi9uu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p>By giving your child the sous-chef title, you are helping increase their consumption of healthy foods in the short term, and teaching lifelong habits. </p>
<p>Check out these <a href="http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Child-Toddler-Nutrition/Cooking-with-Kids.aspx">age-appropriate tasks for getting your tots involved in the kitchen!</a> </p>
<p>For ideas on kid-friendly recipes, check out <a href="https://www.uoguelph.ca/gfhs/resources/gfhs-cookbooks">these delicious recipes developed by researchers at the Guelph Family Health Study</a>.</p>
<p>By allowing your child to develop their own taste, preferences and enjoyment of healthful foods, family mealtimes will be more enjoyable in the short-term and your child’s diet will be better over the long term.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathryn Walton receives funding from the Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jess Haines receives funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, U.S. National Institutes of Health, Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research, and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs.</span></em></p>A picky eater need not ruin dinner and drive parents crazy. Two nutrition experts offer simple strategies for happier and healthier family mealtimes.Kathryn Walton, Registered Dietitian, PhD Candidate in Applied Nutrition, University of GuelphJess Haines, Associate Professor of Applied Nutrition, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.