Boomers or Bust: Family Dinner

Boomers or Bust: Family Dinner

October 28, 2015 • Blog, Culture, Health, In the Magazine, Social

“Eat your veggies”. This is a statement you’ve probably heard your entire life. If you’re like most people you get mixed feelings of nostalgia and annoyance reminiscing daily about family dinners with your parents. As professional adults, it’s easy top get caught up in your own ambitions, and neglect the need to eat healthy meals. We get it – it’s 2015 and the options are endless, but your parents were right, you should eat better.

Here are some facts:

Protein keeps you full for extended periods of time because it takes longer for the body to break down. In addition, it helps repair both the mind and the body. According to Northwestern University, tryptophan, a protein found most often in chicken, turkey, and soy products aid in repairing muscle, and is associated with better sleep.
Unprocessed carbohydrates, on average contain more fiber than processed carbohydrates – this also keeps you full for longer periods. In addition, more micronutrients are retained when there is less processing.

Actions speak louder than words, and your parents’ choices in foods probably spoke louder than their repetitive nagging efforts. The fact of the matter is that baby boomers, ate smaller portions with a greater amount of protein, and unprocessed carbohydrates. Does this mean that you should eat more vegetables? Not necessarily. It just means that you should pay more attention to the foods that you eat.

Protein and unprocessed carbs will keep you full for longer periods of time, and require smaller portions to make you full. In practice, this is simpler than you may think. Choose to upsize your main instead of ordering sides or appetizers. Sides generally have a higher ratio of carbohydrates (including processed), and less protein per gram. Eat colorful meals – the colors of foods are good indices of their nutrient breakdown. Read the ingredients and opt for snack with more proteins.

You may be wondering what this has to do with the boomers? The simple answer: it shows that they were uncompromising. They sought quality over quantity, and ended up better off. They weren’t all gym-heads and nutritionists, nor did they boast 500-pound PRs on deadlifts (maybe they did). Ultimately they taught all of us lessons about how to eat on a deeper level – those family dinners were invaluable. The boomers simply wanted to eat, and live well.

Words by Miki Fukushima

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