How do you and your family have your meals?

[mutepointe]

Do you eat alone or together? At a table or in the livingroom? Watching TV, listening to music, talking or in silence? Does everyone eat the same thing or different things? Do you have balanced meals? Do you have dessert? Paper plates or china? Did I miss anything special for your family?

Growing up, my family ate "al fresco" weather permitting and it was a daily joke to say, "But we ate al fresco yesterday." Often our company was expecting to eat Italian.

[hyldemoer]

There's the Mr., the cat (she insists to be fed when we eat), and myself.
I plate the food on corning ware and we discuss life as we eat it the family room.

Since getting married my husband has lost all kitchen skills save for brewing beer. That makes me chief cook.
When its his turn to cook, we eat out. Nice restaurants. No "fast food".

In my cooking I try to maintain balance per Five Elements of Taoist theory with a high percentage of Raw Food Diet. The Mr. eats everything I put on his plate or in his mug (out of the Vita-mix which he calls "pond scum").
He tells me he's gained 6 pounds since the holiday season.

It must be the beer.

[HDSarah]

We (self, husband, two teenage kids) normally eat our evening meal together, at a table, using stoneware plates and stainless steel forks & spoons. We eat homecooked food, though often very simple (e.g., whole wheat spaghetti with sauce from a jar, grated cheese, a simple lettuce salad, and bread). Sometimes we have the radio on, but we don't own a TV so that's not an option. We talk, sometimes more than others. On weekdays we eat breakfast at different times because the oldest child has to leave home about the time that the youngest gets up. I often, but not always, cook a brunch on weekend mornings (a favorite is waffles or pancakes with lots of fruit) and we eat brunch together then.

From what I read in the paper, this is no longer average American-family behavior, but it works for us.

Oh yes, the family dog lurks under the table hoping that someone will drop food so he can do his job. He's named "Hoover" for a reason, and takes his floor-cleaning very seriously. We do foster care for our local Golden Retriever Rescue and, depending on the state of the current foster dog's house manners, the extra dog might be loose like Hoover, or might be confined in a dog crate in the same room.

Edited to address whether we all eat the same thing:
Two family members eat virtually anything, one (me) doesn't eat domestic animals but does eat wild-caught seafood, and one eats no animal flesh at all but does eat dairy products and eggs. So, depending on what is served, there may be accommodations made for the no-animals eater. Usually our meals are all vegetarian and we all eat the same thing.

[Walden]

We dress for supper, and eat around a table in the family dining room, using Grandma Nettie's Robert E. Lee china set.

Okay, no, we don't do that.

[Protean]

What an interesting topic.

When 'twas just the wife and meself, we generally sat on the couch and ate dinner watching TV. When our daughter came along, we took care of her and got her to bed, then ate our dinner about 2 hours late, still on the couch in front of the TV. Once little girl started eating food that wasn't liquid, we all sit 'round the dinner table, no TV, no music. Just the three of us, sitting, eating, talking.

Another critter will be underfoot here in about a month, and I have no idea what's going to happen to our mealtimes then. Should be interesting.

[missy]

Supper:

Tom usually cooks (I will on the weekends, occassionally) cuz he's home.

We eat on everyday dishes. We sit at a table in the kitchen, no TV or radio. On Friday, we wait until Noah gets off of work (7pm) otherwise we usually eat at 6pm.

The dogs are NOT permitted in the kitchen while we eat. They sit in the hallway watching until we start to load the dishwasher, then they come in and want a biscuit for being "good boys".

We all eat the same meal (not the dogs, they eat at 3:30pm) unless my oldest is home. Nate is allergic to dairy, so we may need to "tweak" a meal or offer him something different. None of us are picky eaters.

[chrisoff]

When I lived with my folks we all used to eat dinner together, at the same table. It would be a mix of fresh food cooked from scratch, food cooked from a jar or oven ready meals depending on how rushed my mum was that day.

Once I moved out into the world of shared flats I just cooked for myself and ate in the living room with the plate balanced on my lap or the coffee table, then I washed my dishes straight away and hid them in my cupboard away from the prying hands of my disgusting flatmates that never did the dishes. Most of my food was out of the freezer, open the packet and stick it in the oven. Terrible food, loads of calories and I piled on weight.

I taught myself to cook once I bought my own flat and for a while everything was cooked fresh and pretty healthy. Now I'm living with my girlfriend most of the food is still cooked from scratch but some bad habits have crept in, even the occasional bag of oven chips. I've also started eating dessert for the first time

Still eat in the living room though, but that's because there's no room for a proper table.

[emmline]

We dress for supper, and eat around a table in the family dining room, using Grandma Nettie's Robert E. Lee china set.

Okay, no, we don't do that.

But I so wanted to believe it.

When we (and by "we" I mean "we") rebuilt parts of the house a few years ago, the kitchen expanded, but we kept it so the only dining table in the house is still a part of the greater kitchen. There's no dining room.
When the kids were small, and the spouse ran the hardware store, we often ate together at the kitchen table, when he got home.
As the kids became teens, that only happened a few times a week because usually several people had places to be.

At the moment, all that are here are the husband, the 16 yo kid, and me.
I take husband on lunch outings often, to get him out of the house and entertain him. As such, we are often not hungry at dinner.
So, I feed the kid something, but we are generally in the kitchen either snacking, working or reading, so conversation happens.
(and yes...it's often about zombies or video games. sigh.)

When any or all of the 3 girls come home, we may collaborate and actually produce something resembling a meal, and all sit down at the same table. Although, since we may not have cleared the day's projects off that table, someone sometimes sits at the kitchen counter.

It is usually vegetarian. Although we had fish for practice a couple times before daughter #2 left for The Gambia last week, because she had concluded that a strict veg diet would be difficult there.

We use the same blue & white heavy dishes I bought from Crate & Barrel years ago. Everyone grabs what he/she needs, unless it's one of those nights where I actually was a little prepared and made a stack of plates near the stove, for serve-yourself efficiency. Paper napkins. Usually I toss a handful in the middle of the table. If I leave them there the cat shreds them for fun.

If we have more people--for holidays, for example--the table expands to accommodate 10 and there's room in the kitchen for a couple card tables. In such rare cases we will actually use tablecloths and set the table, but still serve buffet-style.

[izzarina]

I will assume (based on the other answers) that you are referring to dinner primarily. So based on that...

We almost always eat dinner together. There are those off times that Mr Izz is working or at school, so he is unable to join us, but the rest of the brood still eat the meal together, at the dining room table (which is in my kitchen, snort), on just regular, everyday, nondescript, mismatched type plates and just regular stainless flatware. We sit at a table which, with the breadboards, can be extended to I think 107". And yes, we use the breadboards each time we sit down or else we wouldn't fit at the darn thing

As for food, more often than not, it's something that has been prepared from scratch. I don't do convenience foods unless it's someone's birthday and they want something gross like "Hot Pockets" (yes, this has happened). But typically, I have cookbooks out and I have to start dinner by around 3 to get it on the table between 5-6. Unless it's something which takes longer, like spaghetti sauce, which needs to be started in the morning. We fluctuate between meals which revolve around meat and those which are more vegetarian. We never have the same meals twice in the same month, unless it's something like chili or spaghetti, because I make up a menu each month and make sure there are not many duplications. This means we try new things on a regular basis, and it keeps dinner a bit more interesting.

I usually put the food right on the table, and we pass each component around....each older child is responsible for getting their "charge's" food, meaning each older child has a little guy they are responsible for, so I am not trying to get every person's food. This way, when my children are writing their memoirs, they won't be able to say that I haven't had a hot meal for myself if 15 years, like the mom in a Christmas Story. We also usually have a pitcher of water on the table so no one has to get up to get a drink. And we listen to music often during dinner, although sometimes just our conversation is enough to keep all entertained.

[dwest]

We have a large oak pedestal table, looks just like the one Charlie Rose uses. It was the first table my in-laws owned when they immigrated after the war. We refinished it back in the '70s. We use it every day. Originally we used it for meals, now it is the catch all. We eat in front of the tube. I usually fix two meals for each supper except when the boys are home, then it is three different meals. My wife and mother have their own chairs with attached fold away tables, very fancy. I sit on the dog's couch, when they share. We eat on stoneware some of which I threw, some by a BIL and some by friends. I use my MIL's favorite bottle opener for my beer everyday, helps me remember her. We still use the flatware we got as a wedding gift back in '74.

[jsluder]

1. Do you eat alone or together?
Yes.

2. At a table or in the livingroom?
Yes.

3. Watching TV, listening to music, talking or in silence?
Yes.

4. Does everyone eat the same thing or different things?
Yes.

5. Do you have balanced meals?
Mostly.

6. Do you have dessert?
Sometimes.

7. Paper plates or china?
Pottery.

8. Did I miss anything special for your family?
Nope.

We have no set mealtime tradition. Sometimes we have home-cooked-from-scratch meals together at the dining room table, and sometimes we each fend for ourselves and sit on the couch using trays in front of the TV. No fast-food, though. Even when we fend for ourselves, it's leftovers or cold sandwiches or something, and always relatively healthy. (My wife bakes whole-grain bread every week. No bland, store-bought white bread for us!)

The one hold-out is my mother-in-law, who moved in with us this past Fall. She's diabetic but still loves salty-sugary-fast-junk-food, and generally refuses to even try anything new. (And heaven forbid it be remotely spicy.) We're having a rather difficult time convincing her to eat a healthy diet. There had never been a can of Spam in our house until she moved in...

[devondancer]

At home, we eat together. When Lesley is well, she cooks, and we eat very little convenience food. We have stoneware plates and stainless steel cutlery. Our dining table is in our conservatory, which is freezing in the winter, so it tends to be used for storing the apple crop instead. We eat there when we have friends or family stayong, but not when it's just us.

In winter we eat in the living room, with a tray each on our laps. We talk and / or listen to music, or the radio news, but not television while we eat. In summer we often have most of our meals outside, on the patio in the back garden. We also take picnic lunches out with us regularly in summer, and sometimes in winter too, for a "car picnic".

We eat mostly the same things, but if Lesley wants something I don't like (pasta or sausages are examples) then she will cook two different meals, or do me some potatoes and veg instead of the pasta, or chicken or pork instead of the sausages. She likes vegetarian meals but I like there to be meat on my plate! In winter we eat a lot of stews and casseroles, slow cooked meals that can be started in the morning and left on all day. In summer it is nearly always salad with something.

I usually have a pudding, Lesley does not, but she often has icecream after her lunch.

Ro

[chas]

We eat together, home-cooked food. I always cook; it's often a one-dish meal like chili, burritos, stir-fry, pealla/jambalaya, etc. Usually in the living room, often in front of the Simpsons or Jeopardy. If we have company, it's on the kitchen table, if more than one other couple, in the dining room (which is usually the sewing room, so having dinner there means cleaning up and removing stuff).

[Innocent Bystander]

Remember that this is a very ASD family.

The children eat separately. Ben eats chips. Niamh eats chicken-burgers. You might think that on a diet like this they would be morbidly obese. They are not.

Siobhan and I eat on the sofa with the plates on a large footstool. We generally watch TV either as we eat, or afterwards. Sometimes we have the same vegetarian meal, sometimes Siobhan has chicken or Tuna and I have vege-bangers or a fried egg. If I have a choice, I'll have whatever it is with brown rice. We have ceramic plates. If we have a Chinese take-away I use chopsticks but Siobhan prefers a spoon.

Currently there is little to interest us on broadcast TV so we are working our way through a Boxed Set of "House". It's not my favourite, but it's bearable.

[mutepointe]

When it's just my wife, me, & the dog, we eat in the livingroom actively watching and discussing our day and TV, usually the news. Overall, our meals are balanced but we're going to be really really bad today. I'm making home made french fries from scratch and a side salad. We'll have some type of dessert later this evening and that's where are dietary choices fork. The wife thinks all desserts are chocolate, I think fruit. I have been building a mismatched set of blue & white china at yard & rummage sales, flea markets, and clearance bins for 20 years. We've had to restock the spoons in our silverware. I have a guess what's happening to the spoons. There is a line from a Tom Robbins' book that describes my wife and our drinking glass situation, "Those are the hands where glass goes to die."

Our house is really small. Our only table is in the kitchen and with careful seat selection, we can sit 6 people. We've had 8 people and we ate buffet style in the livingroom. Then we'll use my wife's grandmother's wedding china. It's service for 12. I keep a nice play list of dinner music on the computer that will last through an entire dinner party. When I was a kid, I started stealing cloth napkins from receptions. With napkins that people have given us as presents, we have over 70 napkins rolled into florettes in a basket that looks like a flower arrangement. I only know the number because we used them at a retreat. When you're an overnight guest, we ask you to remember the color/pattern and reuse your napkin unless your totally trash it, then you can have a new napkin. We live away from our families and we've moved around so much that we get a lot of overnight company.

We only say grace when we have company that says grace. Our lives are our prayer.