WHAT I LEARNED WHEN I STOPPED COOKING
Pre-prepared meals delivery...like Christmas ever week, but something was missing and it wasn't the food.
Recently my family had a really busy patch. We knew it would be hectic for a few months with full work schedules, some business travel and juggling the school runs. We needed help. Unfortunately it wasn’t in the form of a live in chef or housekeeper or masseuse. Our help came in a box that was delivered every Thursday. Pre-prepared meals. While it felt a little bit like Christmas morning every Thursday, after a few weeks that feeling started to fade. I felt something was missing.
This is what I learned:
The kitchen is a gathering place of the home. Sometimes it’s incidental. Other times, it’s for an occasion. Having pre-prepared meals took some of that away. Sure, we all stood in line to microwave our Tuscan style bolognaise and our Chill fried noodles, but it didn’t feel the same. It made me appreciate that the kitchen is where meals are made for those we love. And the kitchen bench and stool are places where you can solve the problems of the world (or at least of the playground).
The dining table is a central part of the home. Like the kitchen, it’s where people can congregate at the beginning and the end of the day. Once each of us had heated our meals, we tended to go our separate ways. One would sit at the dining table, while the others would sit on the sofa. Then the conversation about the day wasn’t as free flowing as it usually would be when at the table. Dinner became functional. You only have to google words about families eating together at the dinner table, to see that many studies show it’s a good thing.
The sense of occasion wasn’t there. I’m not suggesting that I pull out my best silverware or china for dinner each night, but the anticipation and preparation of dinner marks the end of the working and school day. Not participating in the preparation of the meal somehow felt empty. Eating out of a plastic container wasn’t as appetizing as using my own plates and serving ware. The desire to set the table wasn’t there. And there were no cooking smells as you entered the house, hinting at the promise of what was to come.
Our experiment certainly wasn’t a disaster. It enabled us to get through a busy patch and eat healthy food without the temptation to go to a “drive through” for dinner. And it saved a lot of time shopping and cooking which at the end of the busy day, I wanted to spend with my family. Don’t get me wrong, there are days when I really don’t like cooking. But I feel that I have returned with a bit more creativity and clarity: it helped me appreciate that the home should be a nurturing place where people connect and that food and eating together play a major part.
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