How do you feed your family?

By mudlark • October 8th, 2008

In a culture of instant gratification, what’s your idea of a good family dinner? Sure, it’s different from family to family and there’s no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to food. But what is it to you? Do you eat as a family? At the table? Is there a TV droning in the background? Do you cook the meal? From scratch? Is dinner more about the food or the company? Is it a raucous, boisterous fun time, or a more serious, quiet meal? What’s more of a factor to you about the food – the health, the cost, or the convenience?

Chef’s Diary at Gristmill posted what I would call an awesome post that challenges KFC’s ad that a family KFC meal is cheaper than cooking dinner. It talks about providing sustenance for your loved ones as a vital, spiritual act that deserves reverence. I think there’s so much to that, especially when I read Gabriella Garcia Marquez novels, where everything from love, bitterness, jealousy, and warmth are actually cooked into the food. Not everyone has the opportunity to cook for their family every day, and for those of us who do, it truly is a luxury, not a burden.

He went to the grocery store and bought what you’d need to make a KFC family meal, and did it for a few bucks less than the fast food version would cost. I think $10 for a meal for 4 is pretty steep. I cook for 7 daily and the majority of my meals – healthy, crowd-pleasers that require under an hour to prepare – cost under $10.

So, what’s for dinner at your house? Have you been decieved to believe that cooking is less noble than other pursuits? That your time could be spent doing something more ‘meaningful’? For me, there’s nothing more meaningful and creative than providing healthy meals that my family will love. Somehow it would seem like a cop-out to bring home take out. But that’s my family. What about yours?