I’ve never once been toldnotto eat when it came to my Jewish family. In fact, the opposite holds true. I’m usually not eating enough.
Have some more无酵饼球.
Did you try thestuffed cabbageyet?
Here, take a little bit moretzimmes.
There’s never enough food. The food itself: warm, rich, and soul-satisfying made me feel loved and taken care of, just like I felt about the women and men who prepared it all for me growing up. I’ve taken many of the food-focused life lessons I learned in my Jewish household and have continued to practice them in my adult life.
I absolutely love to host dinner parties, and of course I always cook way more than needed… just in case. My go to cold remedy is homemadechicken soupand matzah balls. And, whenever anyone is in need, one of my first thoughts is, can I help by making dinner?
So it shouldn’t be any surprise that I’ve totally gotten into the whole “meal train” trend that is happening all over, especially when it comes to families welcoming new babies. Meal trains–when somebody organizes a month or two worth of meals to be delivered to a family–isn’t anything new. Generations before us have participated in similar things, they just didn’t have the snappy name, email sign-ups, or virtual calendars keeping track of everything. Instead, the it-takes-a-village mentality was in full swing and people would drop food off with their neighbors.
Today, in an age where we’remore spread out孤立在哪里，故意村庄创造需要更多的努力，膳食火车是建立这些联系的美妙方式，以及食物 - 所以每个人都赢了。
We had moved to our current community only a few months before my son was born. When he finally arrived, we had made less than a handful of friends, and we could feel that lack of community. While we certainly appreciated the friendswho traveled far distancesto visit and meet our new son, and of course our families who came up, especially my mother who came to stay for a bit (and cook and clean…my own postpartumdoula），仍然有一些缺失的东西。
It wasn’t until we had established ourselves in the community and had built up a core group of close friends, that I understood. At some point, one of our friends had a second child and I was introduced to the concept of a meal train. We set it up so the family would not have to worry about food (or laundry or play dates, depending on what folks signed up for) for two months. Two whole months without wondering if you used up the last of the frozen casserole stash. Two whole months of nourishing, lovingly-prepared, delicious food. Two whole months to allow the family to focus on each other rather than what was for晚餐that night.
我喜欢这个概念，每当朋友生下一个朋友，我都会赶紧注册以准备一顿饭。我发现自己将更多的时间和努力投入了这些特殊的，产后饭菜，然后是我自己的大部分晚餐。我觉得我的母亲和鼓泡在我的肩膀上，让我想起我在我长大的传统中用爱注入每餐。
Only two weeks ago I hauled out my big soup pot and started the base for what would be akale and white bean minestrone. It cooked low and slow and my entire house smelled divine. I rolled my sleeves up and formed some dough for the fresh bread that would accompany it. I ended up wrapping up some mint chocolate chip cookies in waxed paper. After making our way through the freshly fallen snow to our friends house, we were welcomed with open arms and huge smiles. My friend’s son was acting silly on the couch and her new daughter was sleeping snugly in a sling strapped to her mama. Our food delivered, we also provided some conversation and playtime–much needed for both mama and older brother, it seemed.
While we didn’t overstay our welcome, I left knowing that not only would they be enjoying my soup later that night, but that two days later somebody else would be at their stoop, providing another delicious meal and perhaps offering to fold some laundry or share some conversation over tea. Community in small doses–enough to be enjoyed but not overwhelmed.
Now, I wait, wondering which friend will give birth next so I can access my own roots to help nourish both belly and soul.
For some recommended recipes for your next meal train, check out ourrecipes to bring to new moms. BesidesMealtrain.comwe also recommendTake Them a Meal,Care Calendar,lotsahelpinghands,粮食派对, andMealBaby.
