Next up for January’s submission of the Canadian Food Project is A Canadian Resolution. Immediately my mind starts spinning with foods and new cooking techniques I want to try, things I should perhaps let go of (the not so healthy stuff) or eat less of. But then everything in moderation, right? So I thought long and hard about what to write about in this post.
And then it came to me (with the help of my husband). Last year we started introducing the kids to new foods, cultures and cuisines. Well the kids, And the husband. The Calgary food scene has exploded in recent years…especially since early 2000, when I first moved to town and it was all beef steak, all the time. The diverse selection of food you can get in this City is both astonishing and exciting. We want our kids to grow up learning about new food and cuisines and as such we decided this would be a good way to make it happen. This is one of my food loves that I am happy to give and share with my kids.
Last year we had a family meeting to discuss this idea. Everyone was in agreement even after hearing the rules; 1) you have to try a bite of everything on your plate or on the table….and it’s OK to not like something, 2) no funny faces or rude gestures if you don’t like something, a polite no thank you works, 3) respect, respect, respect and manners always when dining in a restaurant. We are lucky in that we’ve taught the kids since they were young, rules about dining out and they do pretty good in restaurants.
Following the meeting, we all wrote down some of our favourite foods/types. From this list we each picked two cuisine types and they all went into a hat. Each family member gets to pull a name out of the hat when it’s time to try a new cuisine. We got to a few different restaurants last year and everyone enjoyed the experience. My kids have now discovered they love Peruvian food. Husband to. And I couldn’t be prouder.
This year my Food Resolution is to carry on with this goal of introducing our young children to new tastes, flavours, scents and foods from around the world. And I secretly am very excited about it. Another food resolution is to start cooking a meatless meal a couple times a month and see how the family does with changing it up a bit. I think in fact our next restaurant should be a vegetarian one!
Each time our family has one of these food adventures, I blog about the experience on our family blog, and I Yelp about it. This year my goal is to carry over that post to this blog to share the experience with every one of my readers.
I do not have recipes to share of the food we have tried, but the photos in this post depict our food adventures thus far!
The Canadian Food Project Experience was started on June 7, 2013 by Valerie Lugonja of A Canadian Foodie. It’s a compilation of Canadian Food Bloggers who are committed to sharing their time, unique regional Canadian food experiences, and recipes. We hope to bring clarity to our Canadian Culinary identity.
I love this resolution!
My husband and I don’t have children of our own but, when we’re lucky enough to visit our nieces, we always challenge their tastebuds! I’m completely inspired by your idea and think we’ll have to branch out a bit more. They’re usually up for anything so this could make for some exciting meals.
You’re lucky to have the choices you have in Calgary. We’re starting to expand in Grande Prairie but I’d sure like to see more ethnic options in the area.
Take care,
Shari
Thank you! The kids are enjoying trying different kinds of foods, and don’t always like the food…but at least they are trying it! I grew up in a small town in NBC and our food options were limited too.