I think most of can relate to my topic. Food is central to many family traditions and beloved family memories. My family certainly bonds around food. Most traditional foods that come to mind center around holidays. However, we have many other special food bonding moments. There are three big ways that stand out in our home: Saturday morning waffles, Sunday evening popcorn, and family birthday dinners.

Saturday Morning Waffles:

One of my fondest childhood memories is my dad making us Saturday morning pancakes. As soon as I was old enough, I cooked the bacon and my mom slept in! It was a special time that my brother, sister, and I looked forward to each week.

Shortly after I was married, or perhaps even before, I shared this memory with my husband. I think it may have inspired him to make our own family tradition of Saturday morning waffles. Each Friday night, he asks me if I remembered to take some breakfast meat out of the freezer. Then on Saturday morning, he stirs the waffle mix (often with the assistance of one of our daughters) while the waffle iron heats up, and I cook the sausage or bacon. We use a large waffle iron by Hamilton Beach that makes four waffles at a time. It makes them fast so that we are able to eat together. On the odd Saturday morning that we are unable to make waffles, the girls are very disappointed. It is safe to say that this is a cherished tradition in our home!

Sunday Evening Popcorn:

Another fun food and family bonding experience is our Sunday evening popcorn. It is our family’s habit to eat our bigger meal in the middle of the day, after church, on Sundays. We fondly call it “linner.” On most Sunday evenings, we return to church for another activity. When we get home later in the evening, we end our day on the couch with popcorn and ice cream -or something sweet and something salty! It is a fun way to end our Sabbath Day.

For many years, we enjoyed eating microwave popcorn. Then someone gifted us an air popper. This rocked our world, lol! We really enjoy popping air popped popcorn. It is a bonus that it is much healthier cooked that way. This is the air popper that we use.

Birthday Dinner and Dessert:

Finally, we all enjoy choosing our dinner food on our birthdays. Whether it is from a restaurant or home cooked, it is a very big deal to the birthday boy or girl to get to choose what’s on the menu! They also get to choose the cake or dessert of their choice -yum!

Do you have family traditions that center around food that are not holiday related? What are some of your family’s favorite foods to bond with? Please share in the comments.