Do you remember Sunday dinners? Grandmother’s iron skillet and her home cooking perhaps? Your mom’s cooking? I have memories of meals at my grandmother’s house. My grandmother baked biscuits and cakes in an iron skillet! There was always a lot of food! I remember my mom and her sisters cooking together making homemade chicken pot pies for the freezer, homemade sausage, sauerkraut, and sometimes holiday meals. Home cooking whether it was simple or elaborate was celebrated and a part of every day!
Sometimes a smell can transport me to another time and place. Many memories are formed as we do normal everyday things. Or at least what used to be normal. Sharing in the necessary processes of life creates memories. Whether that is folding laundry together, snapping beans, cooking dinner together, doing dishes, canning, quilting, grocery shopping, clipping coupons, etc. There are many everyday tasks that need to be done and they are so much more fun when done together.
The last couple of years Americans have seen a change in the way we eat. In 2016 for the first time, Americans spent more money eating out than on groceries and cooking and eating at home. Many things have contributed to this change from work schedules, extracurricular activities, rising costs of food and higher incomes.
There are several benefits to cooking and eating at home. It is healthier and more economical than other options. Eating out comes with a price tag! Restaurant food typically has more salt, saturated fat, calories and less fiber. It also costs more. Missing out on the experience of family mealtime is a big cost. I think it takes me more time to go out to eat than it does to get dinner on the table. With a little planning and some simple recipes, you can have dinner on the table in less than an hour. You can create a master shopping list and menu plan that will help you put together a healthy meal fast.
Whether you plan to eat at home or have last minute company to feed or get an unexpected snowfall in winter, having a plan to eat at home can be a blessing! I would like to encourage you to gather your family around the dinner table this week! Whether you just do Sunday dinner or one weeknight meal together, get started making memories with your family!
http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/06/americans-spend-more-on-restaurants-than-groceries.html
https://qz.com/706550/no-one-cooks-anymore/