The kitchen is my favorite room in the house. It is where all the food is prepared, it is where food is stored and it is where food is supposed to be eaten, well either there or in the dining room. Why then does my family want to take a plate and go to the living room and sit in front of the television when they eat?
Have you seen the public service announcement about The Family Table? I almost saw it once but Hubby clicked through the channels so fast I caught only half of it.
According to the folks who sponsor the public service message, the supper table is where the family should gather each evening to discuss their day and share their hopes and dreams with one another. (This is also the perfect place to bring up the subject of the huge dent you put in the side of hubby’s new truck when you backed over it. For as we all know, most men when eating greasy pork chops, biscuits, artery clogging gravy and buttered down mashed potatoes have the tendency to smile and nod in response to anything you tell them. Of course they would never admit it, so they wouldn’t dare confess that they were so engrossed in raising their cholesterol levels they didn’t hear what you said.)
Speaking of unhealthy food… I know I’m a little off topic here so stay with me…does it perturb you as much as it does me when the Surgeon General or whoever is head of the food police tells you that something is good for you, then about a month later they say it is actually a hazard to your health. Like for years now we have been hearing that we need to drink lots of water. We should drink at least eight glasses a day if not more.
Well, I read a report last week which stated that the human body doesn’t need excessive amounts of water and that in fact too much water can kill you. If you drink more than your kidneys can process, this can lead to a disorder called hyponatremia, meaning “low sodium.” This occurs when someone drinks a large amount of water in a short period of time and the kidneys can’t eliminate the water fast enough, causing the amount of sodium in the blood to drop too low.
Also we have been told that coffee is bad for the liver. Paul Harvey once reported on research findings which showed that the same amount of coffee each day was just as damaging to the liver as was the same amount of alcohol. Now I hear that coffee is good for you. According to the newest research findings, at least two cups of coffee daily can reduce the risk of colon cancer by 25% and reduce the risk of liver cirrhosis by 80%.
For years we’ve been warned against eating eggs. They were bad for our cholesterol levels. Now I’m reading about recent studies which show that the regular consumption of two eggs per day does not affect a person’s bad cholesterol level and may in fact improve it. According to reports, saturated fat and not dietary cholesterol is the culprit.
Don’t eat pork, they once said. Now it is called “the other white meat” and according to nutritionists, pork is an excellent source of six essential vitamins, four important minerals, protein and energy.
We say “tomato”, they say “toe-mah-toe”. We say “potato”, they say “poe-tah-toe. They say “the family table”, I say “the coffee table…in the living room…in front of the TV”.
No matter where you gather to eat, it’s still dinner. Families shouldn’t talk with their mouths full anyway.
Continue reading The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home – But Which Room is the Liver?

