In some areas of life, simplicity may seem a poor substitute for all the toys and treats of modern, state of the art living. When it comes to eating, however, I doubt if many would prefer the modern array of pre-processed, almost pre-digested foods served straight from the microwave and eaten in front of the television to real home-cooked meal, made from quality ingredients and eaten at the table with good company and good conversation. Why accept the former when you can weave the ideals of simple eating into your home and into your life?
Eating is important, I think we can all agree on that the process of putting food in our mouth important, but how we do is also important. Your grandparents had it sorted out well the family sat at the table, the food was served, and the family ate. Modern life has blurred this process; many of us sit at table with our family very rarely and some of us only on special occasions Christmas or thanksgiving. Surprisingly a number of families have given up eating together entirely, each member of the family, perhaps sometimes in ones and sometimes in twos getting what they want when they want and eating. I want to suggest that individual ‘feeding’ is a poor substitute for the social occasion that is a family meal. Which table families sit at also varies some at a kitchen table with food served at the heat of the food preparing activity, and sometimes in a dining room hopefully close by. But both of these become impossible if the table itself has been dispensed with as it has in many homes in the UK!
The first step towards simpler eating is to have mealtimes and have a table to eat at. Something about a family eating together suggests all kinds of things are going on besides just the intake of a meal, social interaction ‘how was your day’, ‘what happened at school today’, did you get that hail storm at lunchtime’ ~ all signs of interaction. Young children at the meal table are learning to talk by watching and listening and older children are learning to join in adult conversation where does this happen if not at the family meal table.
Why do I suggest that these things are important and what have they got to do with simplicity at all? I think the answer to that is that by family protocol and tradition we are signifying the importance of the family as a group and, of course, showing that food is vital. Food is not something that we throw down our throats to get on with the next ‘exiting’ thing we have to do, it is, quite simply a matter of life and death! Family eating traditions that you introduce may be setting some kind of pattern for generation to come ~ these things are very important.
Spiritual Eating.
If we look at families from a cultural point of view we note also that the meal table is a place of spiritual interaction ~ most religious traditions start with grace or the blessing of the food. My own family follows the Quaker tradition of silent grace. We have introduced a short reading, sometimes, before silent grace to ‘give them something to think about,’ this might be from the bible, the Quaker book Advices and Queries or a book of prayers for children. If we do use readings we are careful to select them to reflect our personal religious preferences, the time of year, and other family, or world events. The member of the family taking grace is different each time to get away from paternalistic (or maternalistic) traditions. Grace need not be like this, and it can be appropriate to any religious tradition. It is possible to envisage that a non-religious family might consider having a short period of ‘thinking time’ at the start of the meal as an alternative to grace. It is also a good idea then then start the meal with some formal words of starting such as ‘bon appetite’ or ‘shalom’ or a traditional greeting from another culture ‘wassail’, ‘skol’ etc.
In Amish families grace can be a much longer process than that outlined above and may include readings prayers, silence or even hymn singing. As soon as grace is over the food is eating with lack of further ceremony. It is simply a matter of finding out what works for your family.
Eating Alone.
For some eating alone is what happens every day, and for others it is an occasional occurrence, either way how can you make this process an important part of a simple life? I would suggest that you need to follow a similar pattern to a family, have mealtimes, set the table well and make it look good, flowers, candles. No reason to miss out on grace, but you can replace conversation with a good book. Why listen to the radio or watch television at mealtimes make them special, you are no less important than when eating with others so simply treat yourself well. I can see no reason why meals cooked from scratch should not be on the solitary diners table just as with a family; the skill needed to cook for one requires a little more thought, but no more skill of cooking.
Setting the Table
Simplicity is not necessarily minimalism, sitting down to eat from matching pure white crockery on a white linen tablecloth may be minimalistic, but it’s not simple. The simple tabletop is spread with what is needed for the meal. If plates don’t match then this shows that you simply buy replacement plates as and when needed, the effect is rustic, unpretentious and very simple.
Likewise with cutlery, no need for a matching set, just use what you have and make sure that children have equipment to eat with that matches the size of their hands. Try to always find a meaningful centerpiece to the meal, something seasonal, flowers, budding twigs, stones, a small basket of pinecones or a candle. Where possible dish up food at the table from serving dishes, this prevents food wastage and provides plenty of valuable leftovers (the true value of leftovers is discussed in a later chapter. Always have a jug of drinking water on the table and encourage younger people to fill glasses or tumblers themselves. It’s a useful skill!
Meals
The simple way is to have three meals a day served at pretty much the same time each day breakfast, lunch and supper. This, of course does not fit in with everyone’s life perfectly, but it should be the norm for most days. Eating between meals out of necessity is fine, if you have been using lots of energy and are too hungry to wait until the next mealtime, but between meals eating out of habit is probably results in overeating and subsequent weight gain. Meals have a way of evolving within families and that is the way it should be it also means rules develop about what is appropriate and what is inappropriate at the meal table. Younger members of the family should be expected to follow these rules and fit in with the general flow of mealtimes. Rules must be for everyone, and adults cannot behave, at the meal table, in a way that they would find unacceptable in children.
Guests
Visitors should be made welcome at the meal table and never put in the position of eating food they are not happy to eat or embarrassed by protocol. It is good if you want to invite others to eat with you, but do not get involved in the idea that they then have to invite you to eat with them and the whole concept of ‘dinner parties’ a bad one as it results in people eating what they don’t want with people they don’t want to be with at a time when they would rather be getting on with something else. Why put yourself and your friends through the whole rigmarole? An invitation to eat should be just that with no strings attached. Above all having guests for a meal should be a simple thing and not involve any degree of ‘showing off’ or trying to impress, make it relaxed and simple.
Drinking with Meals
The simple drink for any meal is water. If you drink alcohol with meals, then decide what amount you chose to drink each week and stick to it! If you refill glasses and lose track of how much alcohol you have drunk then don’t bring the bottle to the meal table. If you want to drink less then try smaller glasses, many wineglasses today are 250cm3 while not so many years ago 175cm3 were the norm, seek out the smaller glasses and use only them at the meal table. If you do serve wine, then always provide water as well. Drinking less is easily achieved by having one or two alcohol free meals each week. Non-alcoholic drinks served at table should not be sugar loaded as this just as calories to the meal without adding any nutrients, children should drink water or diluted fruit juice, not carbonated drinks or ‘squash’.
Eating Meat
Meat, historically, has been at the heart of the western diet for thousands of years. However, the demand on land and resources means that an alternative focus for the diet is ethically desirable. You can also consider your relationship to the food on your plate, if you are not happy with killing animals yourself then is it reasonable to expect somebody else to do it for you? With the large number of alternative products available not eating meat would seem the simple and ‘greenest’ way forward. You might like to consider giving up meat except for one day a week or only eating meat on one or two special occasions a year. Alternatively, you might like to try a vegetarian or vegan diet as outlined below.
Vegetarian Eating
Vegetarians do not eat meat or fish (those that do eat fish and call themselves vegetarians have a basic misunderstanding of the concept). Some vegetarians eat eggs and some also eat dairy produce but if this includes cheese it must be made with a vegetarian alternative to rennet, which is produced from the stomachs of calves. It is essential in a vegetarian diet to ensure sufficient protein, vitamin B12 and iron; all components of meat that need alternative sources. Protein can be derived from beans and lentils, but (with the exception of the soya bean) you need to mix these with grain to get the correct supply of essential amino acids; the ‘building blocks’ of muscle tissue and enzymes in the body. Other sources of protein include nuts, eggs, dairy products and ‘meat substitutes’ such as texturized soya and Quorn (TM) and the curd of the soya bean called tofu. You can soon get used to cooking with these substances and produce any number of good dishes. Vitamin B12 is not found easily outside the meat diet so vegetarians need to eat eggs or yeast extract regularly otherwise take vitamin supplements (see Simple Health) Iron is found in a number of plant sources, but for those vulnerable to anaemia, pregnant women, menstruating women, the elderly etc. supplements may be a good idea. A word of warning, becoming vegetarian doesn’t necessarily mean your diet is good, it is possible to be a vegetarian and eat very badly, you still need to think carefully about what you eat each day.
Vegan Eating Vegans will point out that animal cruelty, and exploitation is involved in the production of both meat and dairy. In particular the dairy industry could not run without the killing of young male calves. A vegan diet is an attempt to live within an ethical system which aims to eliminate the farming of animals altogether. As you can see from the information above this is possible and all you need to do is to make sure that you get sufficient protein and vitamin B12 and iron possibly from supplements. A vegan diet is perfectly healthy and, just as meat eater might like to ‘phase in’ a vegetarian diet, likewise vegetarians might like to consider phasing in a vegan diet.
Feeding Babies
The plain and simple way to feed babies is on breast milk. Unless there is a sound medical reason why this cannot happen then no excuse exists. Breast milk is the best food available for babies and it is far cheaper than buying an inferior product to make up bottled feed. Mothers may need some professional help to get this right but remember its what breasts are for!
As babies grow, they will need to be weaned onto solid food, again you may want to take advice on when is the right time to start this, but there is no need to buy manufactured baby food at all. As a father of five I can think of only one occasion when an emergency jar of prepared baby food had to be purchased for one of my children. Food carefully prepared in your own kitchen will be the ideal way to wean your baby, best for baby, best for parents and best to get a head start on a life of good, simple, home-produced food.
Feeding Children
As soon as they are fully weaned children need to eat food that is available for all the family. You may need to hold some foods for when the children are older, generally speaking, the sooner children eat a wide range of different and well-prepared foods the better. Fussy eaters are a problem, and it is best to offer food from serving dishes on the table so that children can be tempted to try new foods regularly. If children are food rejecters, be careful not to alienate them from ever trying again by anything approaching forced feeding, better maintain the peace of the meal table and try again another day. Many children eat slowly and many ‘fill up’ with what might seem to you a small amount of food, get used to your child's appetite and meal size limits and accommodate them the best you can around the meal table. As stated in the chapter ‘simple cooking’ do try and involve children as much as possible in the process of food preparation.
(C) Ray Lovegrove 2015 2022
