IN MY OWN WORDS Zooming through dinner may be a new healthy eating plan

I didn’t write a column last week because I was in recovery.

I’m addicted to family gatherings and suffered an overdose from a houseful of young people.

Youthful vim and vigor can be toxic, and it took me a while to recover.

Yep, I had kids, grandkids and great-grandchildren visiting.

These large family gettogethers occur every two months when my daughter Kathy flies four hours to Denver from New Hampshire.

Her sisters and I have set the ground rules for her visits.

Kathy has strict orders to buy a box of See’s Chocolates at DIA before arriving in Loveland.

Otherwise, we don’t let her in the house.

Kathy arrived at 4 p.m. — See’s Candies and suitcases in hand.

Her sisters — Claire and Sharon — assembled bowls of olives, nuts, English cucumber spears, a spicy vegan snack and apple slices.

Eileen usually joins us and brings some goodies, but she was in Mexico that week.

Our well-loved routine for Kathy’s visits goes something like this. We sit, talk, eat and watch a movie together.

My kids love to cook, but recently I put the kibosh on cooking in my kitchen. I no longer like busy kitchen activities because I’ve embarked on old-age grumpiness.

The kitchen hustle and bustle is as offensive to my ears as firecrackers are to a dog on July 4.

A friend gave me a set of coasters that reads, “I Only Have a Kitchen Because It Came With the House.”

That’s my old-age motto, and I’m sticking to it.

At six o’clock, we order pizza — some with pepperoni and one vegan pizza.

You may ask, “What’s a vegan pizza? And how do you order one?”

Simple. You ask for lots of sauce, mushrooms, olives, and artichoke hearts, and there you have it. And it’s darn good.

After dinner and more “catching up,” we head down to the basement at about 8 p.m. to watch TV.

My great-grandchildren — ages 3 and 1 — arrived the next day — providing a heaven of cuddles and blankies.

After four days, most of my family left, and I stepped on the scale.

It was a weekend of indulgent take-out dinners and highly processed — so

I braced for the worst.

After four days of extravagant eating, I lost weight.

How did this happen? It happened because I was involved in conversations, ate more slowly, and savored my food more.

I wasn’t mindlessly gobbling food while watching TV.

When we eat with others, we eat more slowly, savor our food longer, and talk with each other. At least, that’s my experience.

Would lives and our waistlines be better if we dined more often with friends?

What if we set up Zoom Dinner Dates with friends?

I will run the idea of Zoom dinners with a friend I don’t often see because of distance.

Here’s the plan I’ll run by her.

1. We’ll find a day and time that will work for both of us.

2. Fix plates as we would from a buffet.

3. Have utensils and something to drink before we connect by Zoom.

4. Try this weekly for six weeks.

5. It may initially seem awkward, but I hope we’ll stick with it.

6. We’ll reevaluate after six weeks.

Readers. would you be willing to try this?