Check out my progress on My Jeopardy Habit
Ever since I was a child, there has been one strict dinner-time rule: No television allowed. With the exception of the Miss America Pageant, we Yoder girls were not permitted to watch any TV show as we gathered around the dinner table; meal-time was (and still is) a time for intrafamilial communication.
As it turns out, this practice of my parents’ was more beneficial than even they knew—research has demonstrated that structure at meal-time can have a considerable influence on the development of a child’s eating patterns as an adult.
Recently, however, I’ve been violating this supper-time standard. I just love Jeopardy! too much.
Here in Raleigh, Jeopardy! airs every weekday at 7PM, right as I sit down to dinner. Once I hear that notorious theme song, I just can’t turn it off. I attribute my new habit to two factors:
1) It keeps me company. I eat dinner alone nearly every night—quite a contrast to the family dinners to which I am accustomed. I don’t even have a dog to keep me company as I chew. Alex Trebek is better than nothing.
2) It’s an ego boost. In light of my recent struggles with organic chemistry, answering Jeopardy! questions correctly gives me the intellectual reassurance that I need. I may get my conjugate acids mixed up, but I know my George Eliot, dammit.
Were you allowed to watch TV during dinner-time as a kid? Do you love Jeopardy! as much as I do?
Onto the grub!
My poor blender is been so bored this winter. I decided to give him a workout this morning with a Green Monster, featuring one of my favorite combinations.
For lunch, I packed my beloved Curried Tofu Salad.
Once home from a long day, I fired up the oven to roast some spaghetti squash. Not only was my homemade sauce pretty killer, but the squash itself was pretty rockin’—definitely the best squash I’ve had in months!
Alright, I am off to relax my brain for a bit. Later, lovelies.
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
We ALWAYS watched TV at dinner! Now I just get on the computer and read blogs or tweet
We never watched TV during family dinners as a kid. I reinforce the same rule with my family. I think it’s time to talk and connect. When I was a single girl I always just parked in front of the TV though. Once you have kids everything changes.
When I was really young we never did but through high school dinner time quickly became time with the additions of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to the family! And I’m now totally with Matt on the TV on computer/ blog approach =)
The squash looks super delicious!! Recipe of the homemade sauce to come??
Sometimes you get the spaghetti squash JUST right….Love it!
I tend to get it out underdone and then stick it in the freezer to shock it….I love hen it comes out al dente.
“The only work published under this author’s real name of Mary Ann Evans was the translation of ‘The Essence of Christianity’”
Who is George Eliot?
Trebek and I have afternoon tea every day at 3:30. :]
Honestly, my parents didn’t really care if the tv was on during dinner- sad, I know. I wasn’t one for needing entertainment during dinner, so I kept it off. Now I never eat with the TV on, as I know of studies done that having the TV or other sound on during meal times is distracting and not mindful.
jeopardy is sometimes an ego boost for me, but more often an ego downer haha
We started out eating all of our meals at the dinner table… now we sit at about 80% in front of the TV and 20% still at the table.
i just bought a spag squash today! i can’t waaait to top it with tjs vodka sauce
mmmmmmm
haha i always watch tv when i eat dinner! e! news it is
when we were younger though we used to eat at the dinner table and no tv of course but instead family talk but now we’re all on different schedules so e news and deej keep me company for the most part
We weren’t allowed to watch tv during dinner, either! I rarely watch tv at all anymore, but I do read blogs, which is kind of the same thing.
We used to always eat at the dinner table when we were little. The older we got though that changed since we were all home at odd hours. Right now its just me and my husband and I end up eating at work most of the time. Interesting how things change!
lol you are so cute! I could never get in to Jeopardy. Not my game. Deal or No Deal however my family ROCKS (;
I never ever watched TV while eating din when I was a kid!! I really have only done that with boyfriends, actually!!
Usually my family was strict about only keeping food in the KITCHEN, so that was the main concern!!
P.S. Another blogger was having all of her comments go to spam, so she asked me to check my spam folder, and sure enough there were all of her comments that I had never “received” before. And along with them were yours?!?! I’ve gotten comments in the past from you, so I’m a little confused why yours were sent there too?! Humph.
Just letting you knowww!
My dad was super strict at the dinner table. Absolutely no tv! His biggest pet peeve was if we sang/hummed during dinner. Now that I live alone, I switch it up a bit. Sometimes I eat while surfing the net or catching up with Netflix, but on occasion I like to sit at the kitchen table and have a nice quiet meal…in which I hum between bites!
When I was growing up, the TV went off before we sat down at the table because we were to help set the table and then while we ate we were supposed to “chat”! Then as I got older and I had after school sports and so did my brother we started eating at different times. Now, most of the time I eat alone and I usually watch a movie with dinner!