Food possesses a special magic in our memories and traditions. The food we like or don’t like may be preferences we learned from family members before us and those around us. Food is deeply emotional and connects to a basic need for survival, health, comfort and social interaction. Food stories tell about family traditions, how we learned to cook and how those stories might even impact our health.
Looking back on my food story, it was my grandmother, my dad’s mother, who gifted me with a passion for cooking and ultimately a career in nutrition. If she were here, we would chat about her delicious black walnut cake, moist and rich with big chunks of black walnuts. No one in the family knows where the recipe is. Lost. She showed my sisters and me how to make angel food cake, a small disaster on our part resulting in a flat cake and 12 eggs lost to our lesson. My grandmother was a canning whiz, remembered best for her small jars of pickled watermelon rind flavored with oil of cloves and sweet like candy. No doubt she was self-taught, but her degree in home economics from Ohio University in 1914 assured her skills.
Culinary traditions have greatly evolved since my grandmother was cooking. There was no such thing as fast food in her day. Eating out was considered Sunday dinner with family and friends after church. Now we experience a global cuisine with flavors and ingredients fusing and blending into novel dishes. Cuisine has never been more creative. Chefs are celebrities. Restaurants are numerous. We love our kitchens. What memories and stories will emerge?
Make sure your stories involve healthy foods. Remember children model their eating habits and preferences from their parents and people around them. Here are a few ideas to create healthy memories.
- Plan a family picnic or a picnic with friends. Pack a real picnic basket and a blanket even if it is just in your backyard or go on a “picnic date” to a park.
- Grow a vegetable garden even if it’s small and in containers. Have the kids plant the seeds.
- If you family doesn’t sit down together for dinner often enough, plan to do it more.
- Collect salad recipes for summer meals. Share your collection with family and friends.
- Teach your children or grandchildren to cook. Let them make a grocery list with healthy foods and let them help with the grocery shopping.
- Make a family cookbook. Gather recipes and lace those recipes with family stories.
Cooking Tip: Resurrected from the past, the newest cooking fad is cooking with cast iron. A 12- inch Lodge Cast Iron Skillet is less than $30.00 at your local Ace Hardware Store, a bargain worth its weight. Or search garage sales and antique shops for an old skillet. Those are best, seasoned by age and use. If you have the family skillet, you have a skillet full of cooking memories.
Iron Skillet Steak
I learned this in Italy and it changed the way I cook a steak. Remove your meat from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Heat a cast iron skillet until very hot. Sprinkle salt across the whole skillet. Don’t worry about the meat being too salty. It won’t be. No oil is needed. Sear meat on each side for several minutes. Amount of cooking time depends on meat thickness and desired degree of rare to well-done.
Written by: Mimi Cunningham, Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist, Diabetes Educator (April 2020)
Written by: Mimi Cunningham, Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist, Diabetes Educator
Mimi Cunningham is a dietitian-nutritionist living in Eagle, Idaho. Her nutrition specialty is diabetes education and management. She loves writing about embracing healthy eating as fun plus a route to good health. She serves as a member of the Idaho Foodbank board of directors addressing food insecurity as a challenge to good health for Idaho children and adults.
On behalf of Smart Strategies for Successful Living, our sincerest appreciation goes to Mimi Cunningham for her contribution to our community website and commitment to healthy living and aging.
