Want a glimps into my family meal time?

Zoe: these are ribs, right
Me: Yes.
Sabrina: I have ribs!
Me: yup.
Zoe: so I’m eating these,right here (she’s rubbing her ribs at this point)
Me: well, yes and no. You do have ribs. But your eating pig ribs.
Sabrina: oh, I LOVE pig ribs!
Aunt LaLa: you know what’s real yummy? Cow ribs. They’re like this big (as she holds up her hands to demonstrate how large the ribs can be).
Grammie: oooo. This ribs are so good!
Sabrina: my ribs aren’t that big.
Me: no. But cows are bigger. And they are shaped more flat like this (I hold out my two hands to demonstrate how cows ribs lie flat and out instead of human ribs.)
Insert eye roll from my husband here. A BIG eye roll.
Zoe: what do human ribs taste like?
Grammie: we don’t eat human ribs.
Zoe: who eats human ribs then?
Me: dinosaurs.
Grammie: or lions, or tigers
Husband: or bears
Me: oh my
Zoe: I like pigs. They’re yummy.

It occurred to me when we were having this conversation that some people may find it strange. As a society, we are so far removed from where our food comes from that some people may have a hard time talking about it with their kids.

But telling kids where are food comes from – from the ground, from the ocean, from a cow – helps kids appreciate and respect food and its source.

Talk about the different parts of the chicken. Go to your butcher and have your kid ask where different cuts of meat come from. Go to a farm and pick your own berries. These things connect us to food.

And being connected to our food sources will help us all make better – more healthy – food choices.

{deena}