One of the first parent education workshops I ever offered was titled “What Does ‘Healthy Eating’ Really Mean? Feeding Kids in a Confusing Food Culture.”
I would begin the session by asking everyone to write down a positive food memory from their childhood—and then invite a few people to share.
“Making bread with my grandmother.”
“Gathering loose change to get something from the ice cream man.”
“Getting to pick what was for dinner on my birthday.”
I loved watching people’s expressions and body language change as they recalled these happy moments from childhood. Some parents got a little teary-eyed as they experienced a poignant wave of nostalgia.
Even though they were in that room (and later, a Zoom room) to think about how they were feeding their kids, I liked to start by asking parents to reflect on their own childhoods. Because those food memories weren’t about macronutrients or fiber or “maxxing” anything.
They were about people and delight and feeling loved.
My goal was to help everyone get back in touch with the things we get from food that can never be captured on a nutrition label. The comfort, the fun, the sense of belonging.
I was reminded of this workshop exercise when I saw a recent post from Zoë Bisbing:
In today’s diet and wellness culture, feeding kids (and ourselves) can feel pretty disconnected and joyless. Too often parents feel like they’re carrying the weight of unrealistic expectations of “perfectly balanced” rainbow plates, homemade-only snacks, and high-protein but low-sugar desserts. And that’s on top of the baseline mental load and expense of stocking a kitchen and feeding a family.
So today I invite you to take a deep breath and consider your fond food memories, perhaps from a time before diet culture got in between you and the experience of eating.
In the spirit of summer fun, I’m opening up the comments to everyone today.
What is a happy summer food memory you have from childhood?
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