A lot of research and discussion has been devoted to how people eat in groups. We already know that people
eat about 30% more when dining with friends and that
teen girls have a reduced incidence of eating disorders when they participate in family dinners and that
we eat more in "healthy" restaurants, among other interesting food-as-a-social-construct tidbits. But a new book (which I haven't read but really want to, thanks NPR!),
What We Eat When We Eat Alone, finds authors Deborah Madison and Patrick McFarlan on a quest to discover how people choose to eat if left entirely to their own devices.
The question du jour - what do I eat when I eat alone? - is one I have not given much thought to. This is probably because I honestly cannot remember the last time I ate alone. Having wee ones at home 24/7 precludes any semblance of normal dining, much less solitary dining. In fact, these days I'd settle for a meal where nobody regurgitates their food, throws silverware or insults my cooking while invoking their favorite potty word.
The last time I was alone at all, when I accompanied my husband sans children on a business trip, I was too busy relishing the fact I got to lounge around on a pillow-top mattress and watch all the MTV I could guiltily enjoy (what?) to worry about eating. I had a bag of trail mix, a packet of turkey jerky, instant oatmeal that I could make with the coffee maker, and a mint chocolate Luna bar to tide me over during the days until dinnertime when we'd go out with his coworkers to some crazy expensive restaurant and eat a lot of yummy food. Which brings me back, again, to the fact that I haven't eaten alone years.
Still trying to answer the question, I went way back in time to my pre-marriage college years. And you know what? Between living with 3-5 other girls (don't ask), dating and coworkers I don't think I ever ate alone even then! How weird is it to be a grown woman of 31 and to have never had a memorable meal alone? Thinking back on it, I came to an epiphany of sorts - I don't like to eat alone. If I am alone, I don't eat. I don't "forget" per se, like some people claim to do, but I'll put off eating until I can share a meal with others. I guess I've always been a social eater.
So my long-winded answer to what I eat when I'm alone is that I don't eat meals alone. I'll snack - or not - until the rest of the pack shows up dragging the wooly mammoth behind them. But someday all my kids will be in school (I know, I can't imagine it either) and ostensibly I will have at least one meal a day all by my lonesome. Will I make lunch dates with friends? Call my sister and eat on the phone with her? (Yes, we do that.) Or will I finally learn to enjoy the pleasure of solitary dining?
All of which makes me wonder what
you eat when you eat alone. Do you cook yourself a beautifully crafted, nutritionally balanced meal eaten off real china at the table? Lean Cuisine in front of the TV? Or do you just kinda snack like me?
Comments (57)
i eat better when i'm alone because i can control what's in my food. its boring to dine out by myself though,
Since I can't cook I'll eat whatever is microwaveable. Hot Pockets, Easy Mac, left over take out...etc.
Then again...I never really DO eat alone...there is always a hungry chihuahua lurking the halls as soon as the microwave chimes.
I like eating in large groups or with some good friends or even alone. It doesnt really matter for me. But i prefer eating with one or two friends or alone.
Theres just somethign about being able to really sit down and enjoy my food. When eating with one or two close friends I love the company and since were so close I dont feel as though im being judged when im eating....as the same with being alone. I can eat as much or as little as i want and not have someone glaring at me from across the room. I just dont find that a comfortable state to be eating in and I cant enjoy my food....and for me inorder for me to feel satisfied I must have really enjoyyyyyyyy my food lol.
but yeah i def eat differently when im alone if Im not on a diet day. Im what they call a closet eater im afraid of what some people may think so i eat sweets and stuff alone or in hiding lol
and like some have said I like eating alone also because I am able to prepare my own meal thats made the way i want it..since i eat pretty healthy
crackers with toppings. nutritious, efficient.
Hi,
I anm a french guy who lives in Germany, and during the year (except the holidays) I cook every day for my wife and I. When were are alone, we just eat one meal- I ccok with pleasure for friends. Then of course I prepare a apetizer, a meal, then (if I cook french style) salad and cheese and of course dessert.
So it means we eat more when we are with friends, we eat different, but we take more time and we drink more wine!!
Philippe
I absolutely hate eating in front of people so i would just go in a little corner somewhere(i dont go to restaurants). And i cannot cook either so when im alone i only eat snacks or nothing at all until someone takes pity on me and either come home and cook or order me something...:)