Last night we had friends who eat the Standard American Diet over for dinner. It used to stress me out when we had company who didn’t share our diet choices. Now we are confident with standbys that are so tasty, no one ever asks, ‘Where’s the beef?’ Instead, we get asked for our recipes which we happily share. I think a great motivator for change is to show someone the bounty of flavor and nutrition instead of sounding the alarm to the dangers of SAD.
Another thing we try to do when we invite people to share a meal has nothing to do with the food, but everything to do with setting a welcoming, warm, and convivial table. I love to curate the dinner experience. A well-set table, the right music and a relaxed and happy host and hostess works every time. It’s fun for instance, to share my husband’s family heirloom dishes. His great grandfather, James Brewster Gere, founded the Iroquois China Company in 1905. The following year, 1906, he commissioned the ‘Gere China’ for his fiftieth wedding anniversary. Believe me, eating off dishes with that much history is quite the conversation starter. At other times, I mix and match everything at the table so each person gets a different dish selection as well as silverware and cloth napkin. It is so much fun to watch people try to figure out if I did that on purpose, or because I don’t have matching sets!
The point is, we are on a journey to change our lifestyle, and community is a very important part. We have moved a lot in our married life, and the world has become more isolated with social media replacing face to face exchanges. So, we have had to work extra hard to cultivate new friends and build our own community. Or as Dan Buettner, author of: The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer says, “Find your tribe!” Making sure we and our guests are having a good time is as important as the food we eat.
“Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart…” (Ecclesiastes 9:7-NIV)
“…they gather in the street each afternoon to laugh with and at each other. Laughter reduces stress….” (Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer)
“Having a rich purpose in life, enjoying our work and leisure time, feeling gratitude, meditating, caring for the Earth, having goodwill toward others – all of these enhance our life’s journey.” (Joel Furhman, M.D. Eat for Life)
Yours for a Joyful Journey,
Joyice