Food Rituals

I heard on NPR about some study regarding food rituals and that performing them actually makes the food you are eating taste better. They think it has something to do with normally eating food mindlessly while watching tv or eating right out of a box or something like that. And that performing the ritual gets you to focus on what you are actually doing. This is a modern scientific explanation of stuff like the tea ceremony and maybe even saying grace. But they used a lot of examples like eating the white part of an Oreo first, or breaking off a piece of a Hershey bar, unwrapping it a little, breaking of anther piece, etc. instead of just biting into it.

Then they made up a ritual with eating baby carrot sticks. Participants were told to knock on the table. It seemed like the more times they were told to knock on the table, i.e. the longer the ritual, the better they said the food tasted.

I didn't get to listen to the whole piece because of my kids getting into something or other. But I tried the idea out for dinner, making them do all sorts of weird stuff before taking a bite of ravioli.

They ate their whole dinner.

Or at least until Grace got home.

I tried the same thing today for lunch.

It worked for the first few bites.

I even made them say the lords prayer and then do the ten animals of Kung Fu before sitting in their seats.
But I give them a pass because on the way home from the library, they had already eaten a peanut butter sandwich and an apple and that had been my planned lunch for the day. So the leftovers of noodles and vegetables and sausage will be their late afternoon snack.