Reading the “binged tv” thread has me thinking… are you a tv watcher meal eater or snacker?
If you enjoy a snack while watching tv do you have a go-to???
I used to catch my H in his tv watching area with a bag of chips in hand. Probably still does it when I’m not home. Tried to advocate to pour some in a bowl and not eat out of bag, but I think I lost!
Popcorn?
Ice cream?
Not a snacker???
I admit to enjoying an evening tv snack. Why I’ll never be a fan of intermittent fasting, lol. For me generally it’s something sweet. Baked good like cookie, brownie, pie. In warmer weather, some ice cream. Every once in a while if dinner was light or a while previous, a real indulge but dearly loved, chips and dip.
I do pretty good at controlling portion size. I don’t need a lot but a something I can savor. I also often enjoy in the winter months an old childhood standby, warm milk with a dash of sugar and a tad of butter. YUM.
We don’t eat meals in front of the TV. Sometimes we have snacks. Usually something like popcorn or chips. On Christmas morning, we have hot chocolate and sticky buns while opening gifts.
We have always eaten all meals at the kitchen table (unless a holiday, then dining room). Even pizza is at the table. I know people here eat ice cream in the living room at night (after I go to bed). However, my husband and I, now almost empty nesters (but still have 2 at home), just started a Friday night snack dinner on a snack tray in the living room. Cheese and crackers, hummus and pitas, frozen dumplings (not all at once) - I kind of like it. Right now our 26 year old is back (she’s going to start looking for a place after tax season), because she’s a CPA, she is overwhelmed with work, and she works in her sister’s bedroom (sister is away at college) and she eats/drinks in the bedroom, which I can’t stand, but I do know why. The only thing I’ve ever consumed in our bedroom is water, and even that is rare.
I sometimes wonder if snacks at night or a meal in front of a tv is a product of what you grew up with. We were almost always offered a snack at night growing up. My kids LOVED the occasional night we would eat a meal on a towel on the floor or on the coffee table watching something together like American Idol.
We don’t own any tv trays but I did put that there for a nostalgic reason as many of us probably had them growing up!
Off topic…but NO food allowed on the bedroom level at Purdue house unless some was getting a breakfast in bed treat…or was too sick to come to the table.
Generally, we always eat in the dining room. I grew up eating plenty in front of the TV. H did too, but for some reason started this rule. And it does keep the house cleaner with no food scattered about. That being said, we do sometimes eat pizza in front of the TV if football or another sporting event is on. And sometimes we do snack while watching TV at night - ironically it’s more H than me! I eat a bedtime snack after we are done - a pack of peanut butter crackers lately. I can’t go to bed without eating SOMETHING. It’s psychological.
And I confess if for some reason H wasn’t home at night (school performance, PTA, etc), the kids and I would order pizza and eat it in front of the TV! What he didn’t know won’t hurt him!
H is the same about eating in the car. I think it’s mostly because his Dad always did and his cars were a sticky gross trashy mess. I grew up eating in the car (fast food burgers and all!) and love it. I don’t eat meals anymore, but I have to have snacks. But now they have to be non-messy snacks - unless we are in my car and I still get the “you better be careful” spiel. Or unless I’m alone and I’ll do whatever I want.
Husband is the only member of the family who regularly snacks in front of the tv. The rest of us sometimes have popcorn while watching a show or movie. More typically, snackers eat at the table. On days husband works from home, he may eat lunch at his desk. All other meals are eaten at the table.
When the kids were little, no eating in front of the TV. Since they left? H put a TV in the kitchen so he can watch basketball and a few other sporting events while we eat. Sorry kids!
If it is just me at home, I will sometimes eat meals in front of the TV, snacks rarely, wine or hot cocoa more often.
Oh yes! My dad always struggled with his weight so late night snacks were discouraged. However, on weekends my mom would pop popcorn in an old oil popper and we would each get a bowl. We kids each got kid-sized bowls and my dad has his own, reserved for him, poppa-bear bowl.
The occasional popcorn when we want to make movie night a little special.
But if you’re asking what DH snacks on in front of the computer screen during his late night gaming binges, anything from hummus and chips to ice cream. He starts playing after I’ve gone to bed and usually manages to lose track of time, sometimes until sunrise.
Ah, this thread triggered a Gen X latchkey kid memory here - being home alone after school, planted in front of the tv from 4-6pm (reruns of Little House on the Prairie followed by Charlie’s Angels) just STUFFING my face with snacks all afternoon. Then, having no appetite for dinner my mother would frantically throw together once she got home from work (sorry, mom!).
Anyway, I don’t generally snack in front of the TV anymore. Once dinner is over, I’m done eating for the day. Every now and then if I’m in the mood to nosh, I’ll have a piece of fruit.
My H, on the other hand, eats like a bird all day and then seems to consume the majority of his calories from about 7pm-11pm in front of the TV. One snack after the other…second plate of dinner…dessert. It is endless. Lucky for him, he doesn’t struggle with his weight. I would be 400 lbs. if I ate like that.
We don’t eat any meals in front of the TV. The only thing I can think of we eat in the family room is popcorn. We are allowed to have wine outside of the kitchen, but when 1 particular kid is here the kids are not. We never have food in our bedrooms either.
Popcorn if I really want something or a really good movie is on. Other than that occasionally ice cream–we split one of those small individual cups. We don’t buy cartons anymore. All about portion control. Now big football games–all bets off–appetizer city.
We eat all meals at the kitchen table in front of the tv. And talk over whatever is on - either about what is on or about something unrelated. We don’t watch anything that someone really wants to pay attention to. They can go elsewhere for that after we eat. Usually it’s a sport event or news with the sound very low. That’s for H and I. When I eat alone, which isn’t usually, I read.
My tv snack is herbal tea and kettle corn. Tea almost every night. The kettle corn was getting too frequent so now I knit to keep my hands busy, stopping occasionally to sip the tea.
We often eat supper in front of the TV. Moreso now that we are mostly empty nesters. (Oldest kid has an apartment about 15 minutes away, but is over often.) We also put our elbows on the table and don’t ask “May I please be excused?” before we get up, too. We don’t hold on ceremony over here. I could lose a few pounds, but I’m decently fit (BMI is upper end of “normal”). DH is a big walker/runner and gets out and exercises pretty much every day unless he’s sick or injured. I really enjoy our TV meals. It’s a nice shared moment.
For snacks DH prefers hot air popped popcorn with a little olive oil and salt. Sometimes I will have some Baked Lays or 1 or 2 squares of a chocolate bar and a little hot tea in winter/iced decaf tea in summer.
I’ve noticed that I’m less inclined to keep getting up to grab more snacks if I’m watching something with subtitles (can’t be out of line of sight for even a moment). I mean, I still want a constant stream of snacks but there’s a price to pay if I act on the impulse…
