Making Mealtime Meaningful

Anne Marie Canlis, member of MOPS and SELAH, whose family owns Canlis restaurants, shared insights from her personal research and theology of food course. Her spiritual and poetic presentation highlighted not only eating real foods rather than processed, but also how to interact at the dinner table in order to build relationships and share in fellowship. She shared resources and provided practical ideas to create rituals for families.

Citing her research, Anne Marie said that family dinners are a greater protective factor than church attendance and good grades at school. But it is not just dinner, but what happens at dinner that makes difference. The tables with complex conversations, family narratives, and story telling were the most effective. She shared ideas to broaden invitations to conversations for small children:
* Instead of asking open-ended questions (which are hard for children to answer), share your own thoughts or insights as a way to invite a response. Examples include:
      - "I was thinking of you today..."
      - "I had a hard morning... (tell your story). What about you?"
      -  "I saw a bird this morning flying to its nest..."

Anne Marie also expressed, "Mealtime is a divine opportunity to inspire gratitude."Rituals like having each person go around the table to share something they are grateful for can be the start of the blessing for the meal. 

Resources:
Good Reads
- The Stories That Bind Us by Bruce Feiler, March 15, 2013, New York Times
- Surprising Power of Family Meals by Miriam Weinstein
- Supper of the Lamb by Robert Capon
- In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen
- Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen
- Food Rules by Michael Pollen
- Cooked by Michael Pollen
- The Rituals of Dinner by Margaret Visser
- A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenburg
- The Secrets of Happy Families by Bruce Feiler
- The Everlasting meal by Tamar Alder
- How Children Succeed by Paul Tuft

TED Talks
- Mark Bittman: What's Wrong with What We Eat
- Ann Cooper talks school lunch
- Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food
- Jonathan Foley: The other inconvenient truth

Children's books
Pancake, Pancake by Eric Carle (great for realizing sources of simple foods around the house)

Table Aids for Mealtimes
- Table Topics - Family
- Kid's Chat
- Melissa and Doug's Family Dinner Game
- DIY - Make your own! Have each family member come up with 10-20 questions. Type them up, cut it up and keep it in a mason jar close to the table. Bring it out for dinner parties or guests to keep it interesting - maybe even have the guests write some to keep your question collection growing.