Importance of Family Kitchen Traditions

Guest Blogger - May 08, '21 - Guest Blog

Even the simplest or easiest family kitchen traditions can mean so much. Taking time to willingly share key moments with loved ones will undoubtedly increase the moral strength of your family members in more effective ways than one. I reflect on the importance of family traditions especially in the kitchen where one is able to bond and grow while learning how to master exceptional foods. If organic family time is hard to come by, you can always schedule doing dishes together or eating a meal as a family. Time is brief and with the remarkable rise of social media and the recent COVID pandemic, people have not had a chance to really keep up and spend that extra time in person. While recent circumstances have definitely made face-to-face family time more difficult, we can't forget to utilize video services that will give us the experience of the next-best-thing to seeing people in person.

Growing up I never liked to be in the kitchen because hanging out with friends was more exciting. We did have one very special tradition that no matter what, we were to all be home before the streetlights came on just in time for dinner. We would all sit, and my grandfather would silently bow his head and pray, just above a whisper. I know it sounds like a tiny thing, but to this day I am forever blessed by the meals we shared. (And trust me, they were nothing fancy as we had many mouths to feed on a budget.) My beloved grandfather passed on what undoubtedly feels like decades ago and our united family just moved apart.

Enabling people to enjoy each other and make time for great kitchen traditions can retain so many benefits. Keeping kids out of trouble by bringing them into the kitchen to learn or talk and really connect is another cool idea. So many youths are struggling with issues and might not want to open up for discussions. You will instantly see the spark light up in people's eyes when you instill a genuine value to their lifestyle, and being able to pass that on with time is a special moment of joy. Lastly, a great idea is cooking for a food bank or church if you can afford to make some extra meals because so many youths are going hungry and this can become a wonderful new tradition to pass on while helping to benefit the community in a positive way.

Happy cooking!

- Cassandra 💕

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