Your Choices Count
August 24, 2009
If you are the person in your family most likely to buy the food, prepare the meals, and pack the lunches, you have not only a job...you have a title. You are the nutritional gatekeeper. And you have a huge amount of influence. A recent study shows that you affect 70 percent of the foods your family eats. Your decisions go far beyond the family table; they help to determine what your kids eat at school, even what your family orders at restaurants.
When you, important person, choose what to serve, how to prepare it, how to present it, as well as when, where and how much to eat, you set the stage for your family’s food preferences and habits. In terms of your family’s eating, you are king or queen.
This power often goes unnoticed. But you can be more aware of what good, and bad habits and attitudes you are passing along. When you encourage your own best tendencies and moderate your shortcomings, you will be helping both your family and yourself.
Mealtimes Matter Video
from Miriam Weinstein
About Miriam
Miriam Weinstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. As a journalist, she has won several awards from the New England Press Association. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, the Boston Globe magazine, Hope, and ParentSource. A former staff member for North Shore Weeklies and freelancer for Essex County Newspapers, she writes restaurant reviews and food columns as well as features on a wide variety of subjects. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband and has two grown children.
The Surprising Power of Family Meals
In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today. You can buy this book from our friends at Smucker's® Online Store.
