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can't believe how fast it goes
Laurie David, whose new book "Family Dinner: Great Ways to Connect With Your Kids One Meal At a Time" just came out last week and is already in its second printing (!), is leading a chat on all aspects of getting our families to the table and enjoying the food and time together. Co-hosting with her are a fabulous group of mom bloggers!! Here's what Tom Hanks said about Laurie's book: “If you can muster the energy for only one tool to raising a healthy family, make it having family dinner. This book will help you make those meals easy, fun, and of lasting impact.” And Dean Ornish said this, “A great fun cookbook, but it’s so much more than that — it’s an empowering recipe for joy, health, and healing.” Join us for a GREAT conversation!! http://thefamilydinnerbook.com/ http://www.lauriedavid.com
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Family Dinner: Talking with Laurie David About Great Ways to Connect With Your Kids One Meal At a Time
Nov 15, 2010 Monday, 1:00pm EST - Add as Favorites
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Category:FAMILY
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- Grace Hester 20 comments
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It feels like I am hearing alot more about how our moms influenced us, and how we as moms are the driving forces behind having family dinners. Any insights on how your respective dads or father figures, husbands or significant others feel about this?
about 1 year ago
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- Laurie David 16 comments
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so i had a great conversation the other day with a professor at emory university who has spent his life trying to unravel why family dinners are so powerful and guess what.....they figured out the answer! its because the dinner table is the number one place that family history gets passed on....and when we stop eating together, we stop passing on the lore....and its knowledge of family history that builds resilience in children....wow. start getting those relatives over for dinner and fast!!!
about 1 year ago
v2br
Really? I'm surprised. The dinner table was always a place where we discussed everything that happened that day and politics. National politics played a very prominent role in dinner time talk. My sisters and I were not always too happy about this, but it did make a huge impact on us.
about 1 year ago
Tina Butler
Emily it is the same with my mom there are alot of things she doesn't remember anymore. Her memory is slipping as well.
about 1 year ago
Emily
Laurie, this post and the comments bring tears to my eyes. My mom's memory is slipping fast, but just this weekend I found a recipe she had set me for roasted red pepper soup, with a note from her at the top. I'm making it with my girls this weekend. Thanks for the idea!
about 1 year ago
Kate Selner
A lot of what I do in the kitchen is so connected with my Mom, especially baking as she was an awesome baker. I always share those stories with my son. He was a baby when she died so he's never known her, but she lives through our food memories and what she taught me in the kitchen.
about 1 year ago
Chefdruck
I think it also has to do with the ties between memories and food. If we associate a story with a great taste, or a feeling of comfort, it stays with us.
about 1 year ago
Laurie David
that is such a gift that you have handwritten recipes! pick one this weekend and make it with your kids and use that time to talk about your mom and her life. on page 182 of The Family Dinner there is a photo of aunt isabelles icebox cookies recipe card. That is my boyfriends aunt and i cant tell you how much that cookie recipe means to his whole family. Read jill's description of those cookies!!
about 1 year ago
Mommiecooks
My grandmother recently passed on her most loved German cookbook to me that she's been making meals from for as long as I can remember. She has no idea how much it means to me. So many memories there.
about 1 year ago
Grace@eatdinner
So much is learned at the family table and there are so many positive health outcomes assoc with family dinner.
about 1 year ago
Kate Selner
When my Mom passed away, I took her recipe box that's filled with her handwriting. I may never use the recipes in it, but it's filled with 'her' and I love that. She was always insisting that we have family dinner and I am so grateful to her for that. And for teaching me how to cook
about 1 year ago
Kristen Doyle
Oh wow, Laurie... I love that. My parents aren't coming home for Christmas this year. I usually host a big event at my house. I have thought about just skipping the big thing this year, but then thought... if I stop now, it'll never happen again. The meals we eat together as a family, whether it is all of us or just a few of us, are incredibly important, even as we get to be older!
about 1 year ago
Katie Goodman
That is so true! When we were kids, we would always say to our dad "tell us the story about...." We loved hearing about his childhood!
about 1 year ago
Grace Hester
Heidi, that is so beautiful. I am trying to get as many recipes from my mom as possible but the audio/video element is cool!
about 1 year ago
miss fish
So true! My father-in-law was in the military and the best stories come out around the dinner table.
about 1 year ago
Emily
Wow, that is amazing!!!!!!!!!!
about 1 year ago
Amy Johnson
We have the best time sharing silly stories at the dinner table that have been passed down. When we go to my in-laws everyone stays around the table sharing long after the dishes have been cleared. I hope to pass on the same cherished moments with my grandchildren too.
about 1 year ago
Heidi Umbhau
One of the best presents I ever got was my 90 year old Grandmother (on tape) making her famous tamale recipe. She lives far away, but that brought her close to us.
about 1 year ago
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v2br
My mom was the driving force behind family dinners and my father wouldn't have had it any other way. All my friends had moms who cooked and everyone had family dinners when I was growing up.
about 1 year agoGrace Hester
It's a standing joke since my husband started cooking and turning out these top-notch meals on his own, that he has "tricked" me since Day 1 of our marriage (even before!)into thinking that he was not a good cook so that I would do most of the cooking. I was duped! And breakfast for dinner is a standard Thursday fare for us. It can be all types of breakfast but everyone looks forward to it.
about 1 year agoKristen Doyle
Definitely about the breakfast - connecting morning, noon or night. Do what works for your family!
about 1 year agoFoodforMyFamily
I have to say my husband is a huge driving force behind family dinner. If I have to work late, he picks up and makes it on his own, and he also pushes for family breakfasts and lunches.
about 1 year agoJenniferPerillo
You're so right about breakfast Katie! Our schedule's been kooky of late, but Sunday mornings are generally a ritual for us. Big spread, everyone in their jammies too.
about 1 year agoGrace@eatdinner
It's a great help if both parents cook and feel confident in the kitchen! My husband cooks on many nights, and has always been committed to family dinner. Sometimes I prep for him, so dinner is "started" when he gets home.
about 1 year agoKatie Goodman
My husband doesn't get home early enough to help with dinner, but he does a lot of breakfasts on the weekend. I think family breakfast can be just as important and fun as family dinner. I don't know what we'd do without daddy's waffles!
about 1 year agoHeidi Umbhau
We have to hope they'll carry on the conversation...and the tradition.
about 1 year agoAmy Johnson
My husband is better about making it a priority than me at times. A big hurdle, that seems silly to mention, is that our kitchen table is the dumping ground for homework, mail, repairs, projects, you name it. To combat the tendency to just eat at the island or, ahem, in front of the TV, we make sure to keep our dining room table clean and ready for dinner. It's a simple thing but works like a charm for us.
about 1 year agoJenniferPerillo
It kills my Mr. to miss family dinner every night. It was something we'd been doing way before the girls were born.
about 1 year agoKate Selner
My husband is a huge advocate of family dinners. It was important in his house too, and he has lots of fond memories of big dinners his family did on holidays. My only lament is that he doesn't cook much at all. I wish he did!!
about 1 year agoKristen Doyle
My husband hijacked Laurie's book and is as strong of believer in family mealtime as I am. He was the first to say something about how much serving our meals family style vs just plating things up for everyone changed our mealtime dynamics. As far as my dad, funny... I don't remember him having an opinion either way about dinnertime...but he sure showed up!
about 1 year agoCarol Schiller
A proper, hot-cooked meal is really important to my husband - and he eats like a horse. he's fun to cook for, but I can never get away with something like "breakfast for dinner".
about 1 year agoBrandie
When I was growing up, mom and I lived with grandma - and dinner was grandma led! When my mom remarried - I think the cooking was mom-led, the eating/talking was definitely dad led. At our house I do most of the cooking, dad does most of the conversation. Of course, he also cooks to. And some nights I do all the talking. It will be interesting to see what my kids say about these dinners when they are adults!
about 1 year agoMommiecooks
That's wonderful Heidi! I wish I could get my husband in the kitchen more with me. He's not as big of a fan of cooking as he is of eating.
about 1 year agoKatie Goodman
My parents are divorced. My mom always made sure we had dinner together and when we visited our dad he did his best to make a special meal. For me they were both equally influential. I have great memories of making homemade pizza with my dad for family pizza night, and also wonderful dinner memories of my mom's best dishes and eating together.
about 1 year agoSarah Caron
My husband didn't grow up with family dinners, so the concept was new to him. But he's grown to like the idea.
about 1 year agoHeidi Umbhau
My husband would shrivel up and die without family dinners--he laments not seeing the kids enough as it is. And, on his days off, he's the cook!
about 1 year agoTina Butler
My husband grew up eating together as a family just like me. So he knows the importance of all sitting down together for a meal.
about 1 year agoCooper
Interesting observation. Dinner does feel mom-led for sure.
about 1 year ago