Serving Up More Than What’s for Dinner

We spend so much time thinking about what happens “out there”: at school, at work, in the world our kids are growing into.

But over and over, through My Mindful Kitchen, I’ve seen that some of the most important lessons don’t happen in classrooms or offices at all… or even in “big” moments or lectures.

They happen in the kitchen.

I was recently invited onto a podcast to talk about how the kitchen teaches leadership, legacy, and love, and the conversation’s been on my mind ever since. We dove deeper than recipes or meal plans, and before I knew it, we found ourselves talking about how the everyday moments quietly shape what our kids experience about home and family.

One story I shared with Sid Bensalah, the delightful host of Pre-Zero Sports Talk, has been on my mind again this week.

If you’ve been around a while, you might remember that years ago, when my son was applying to college, I stumbled across his admissions essay. In it, he wrote that his dad worked for a food company and his mom owned restaurants… yet there was rarely food in the house or dinner on the table.

Talk about a wake-up call.

I had been working hard: providing, setting an example, doing what I thought I was supposed to be doing. And yet what my son remembered was my absence… not all the rest.

Now, there’s a redemptive arc here, too, because my son and I also, just last year, had a conversation where he shared (with real emotion!) what he remembered about the times we were together. He remembered planning meals together, going grocery shopping side by side, and cooking as a team.

That’s where it clicked all over again: the kitchen is so much more than where meals are made. It’s where we model values and teach core skills.

When we invite our kids into the process, we’re not just feeding them. We’re teaching them: teamwork, responsibility, gratitude, and awareness. We’re showing them: what does it look like to model leadership in real life?

This’ll beat those “big moments” and long lectures every time.

And the best part, as I shared with Sid, is that this doesn’t actually require more time, more planning, or more pressure. It just requires letting them in.

DO ONE SMALL THING

Most of us are looking at having more time home with our kids in the coming weeks, so here’s a great Small Thing to pilot if you haven’t already: teach a child to help with dinner.

Remember, “help” can look like anything, and it’s actually best to start small! You could try:

-> Washing veggies

-> Stirring what in pot or a bowl

-> Choosing between two dinner options

-> Checking the fridge to see what needs to be used up

One day, maybe next week, maybe when your kids are 36, like the conversation I had with my own last year – this might be the part they remember most.

If you’d like to listen to the full conversation with Sid Bensalah that sparked this reflection, you can find the episode here:

More Than a Meal: How the Kitchen Teaches Leadership, Legacy, and Love