Break Bread To Get Ahead In Your Relationship

New research by Old El Paso reveals that many modern relationships are in need of a good feed. In fact, the age old adage that; ‘people who eat together, stay together’ rings more true in 2007 than ever before. It’s time to get ready to switch from tray to table if you want to keep your personal relationships on track.

Nourish your relationship

Food is a vital life-sustaining source and yet it’s also an essential part of all human relationships. The Dalai Lama described the act of bringing food to the table as ‘one of the basic roots of all relationships’. But what does the food you eat and the way you eat it, say about you? Renowned psychologist, Donna Dawson reveals the positive benefits of sharing food and the advantages of informal eating in her report, commissioned by Old El Paso, titled ‘The Personality of Food’.

Why share?

The act of ‘sharing’ important resources such as food with family and friends has historically been absolutely essential for the survival of people and their communities. It was also a chance to bring people together to share ideas and feelings.

Dawson’s research discovered that mealtimes become events that bring friends, family, or even whole communities together. Dawson comments:

“Regardless of the occasion, it is the act of gathering together and the communication that is most important. The food itself provides the opportunity to pause, sit down, and share the general good will. ‘Sharing’ a meal encourages individuals to care for others, and to become aware of their needs, likes and dislikes.”

Touchy feely! Breaking bread to get ahead

Although, in days gone by, eating with your hands was an indicator of your social class, today it portrays a certain ‘carefree earthiness’. The benefits of this particular eating style are many: eating with our hands allows us to pay absolute attention to the food being eaten. It also quickly breaks down social or psychological barriers between eaters, because they are all eating in the same way.

According to Dawson, there is also something casually intimate about sharing food and eating with one’s hands that helps people relax and enjoy being with company more. A Mexican meal such as the Old El Paso Fajita Dinner Kit is perfect for a group of close friends, because it requires a lot of passing and sharing. And if you are with someone that you are attracted to then it automatically creates a more relaxed atmosphere, helping to eliminate any ‘first date nerves’.

And food that we “touch”, such as chopped up vegetables and tortillas, brings a sensuousness to the meal: we bring more of our senses to the act of eating, becoming more aware and appreciative of texture, sight, smell and taste, and how they all interact. This, in turn, makes us more open and receptive not only to the food, but to the people with us.

Dawson concludes: “Touching and sharing food makes us feel sexy and encourages us to want to act on those sexy feelings: you need look no further for proof of this than the famous food-seduction scene in the films ‘Tom Jones’ and ‘Nine and a half weeks’!”
In addition to the social dynamics of sharing a meal, the report also revealed a series of distinct food personality types.

What’s your food personality?

Since everyone must eat, what we eat becomes a powerful symbol of who we are. To set yourself apart from others by what you will and will not eat is a social barrier almost as powerful as the ‘incest taboo’, which tells us with whom we may, or may not, have sex. When we each choose something different to eat around a shared table, we make ourselves, ‘other’.

However, where food preferences are concerned, ‘other’ and ‘different’ can make us more ‘distinctive’ and ‘unique’. Mix ‘n match meals such as the Old El Paso Fajita Dinner Kits encourage this individuality, by allowing everybody to have their personal meal. The ‘sharing of food’ now becomes a learning experience about other people’s likes, dislikes. So ‘sharing’ leads on to an appreciation of what makes us each ‘individual’. Making room for individual differences within the greater whole of sharing and socialising encourages mutual understanding and respect.

Psychologists believe that our very personalities are formed alongside our eating experiences with our families, as the kitchen table is the very first arena where our ‘social self’ is allowed to develop. Dawson has developed 4 finger food personality types (see full report) to reveal what the food your most often choose and the way you eat it says about you. Here is a brief overview

PICKY PETRA

This ‘Old El Paso’ personality type is very choosy about what she eats. She believes in ‘quality’ over ‘quantity’ and so she chooses only small portions of the very best ingredients for her tortilla. This is a girl (or guy) who is very aware of first impressions and social niceties and she would be first to judge someone else on appearance alone.

Typical Celebrities: Kirsten Dunst, Victoria Beckham

SLOPPY SAM

This ‘Old El Paso’ personality type is the very opposite of Picky Petra: he could not care less about appearances and is only interested in getting as many food ingredients as possible into his “Mexican sandwich’. He is likely to be a teenage boy with basic food tastes and a huge appetite, unconcerned with manners or the impression he makes. In fact, his rebellious streak means that he doesn’t mind shocking a few people for the sheer joy of it!

Typical Celebrities: Pete Doherty, Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse

HEALTHY HELEN

This ‘Old El Paso’ personality type is full of energy and initiative. She is the one who usually cooks the meat-in-sauce, chops up the veggies and gets all the ingredients out. She loves raw vegetables because she knows they are good for her, and she nags and bullies the others to have more of them. She is the ‘mother hen’ in any group of eaters and she’ll sacrifice some of her own share of the food to make sure everyone else has had enough.

Although the others might get slightly annoyed with her ‘bossiness’, in their everyday lives they come to her when they need help and advice. This is because she is down-to-earth, loyal, honest and discreet. She is most likely the ‘mum’ or ‘older sister’ in the group.

Typical Celebrities: Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna

CREATIVE CAROL

This ‘Old El Paso’ personality type is a big ‘kid-at-heart’ with a colourful imagination. She (or he!) has a friendly, open, personality, a great sense of humour, and a strong curiosity about life. She also has an artistic streak and is very creative. As a child, she liked to play with her food, as this always stimulated her appetite and helped her to eat food that she didn’t particularly like. As an adult, she still likes to play with her food at times - and finger foods gives her more opportunity to do this.

Typical Celebrities: Charlotte Church, Dermot O’Leary

PRECISION PETE

This ‘Old El Paso’ personality type is usually male, because he has ‘engineering’ in his blood: as a little boy and now as a man, he loves to build things in an organised, meticulous way. He probably has a job that concerns itself with how things are made or put together.

He is much neater and tidier that “Creative Carl”, and he strives as much as possible to feel in control of things in his life. He is thoughtful and on the quiet side, and his movements are usually slow and deliberate.

Typical Celebrities: Sir Alan Sugar, Carol Vorderman, Tiger Woods

So, no matter if you are pickier than others, choose quality produce or are just interested in getting in as many flavours as possible, Old El Paso fajitas and tacos are fun and easy to prepare and you can really go to town to make them just the way you like them! Creativity comes to the fore – you can add virtually anything from fresh salsa and fresh guacamole to refried beans or green, red and yellow jalepenos for a really spicy kick!