I Tried Eating Like A Real Dutch Family For A Week — Here’s What Happened

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I tried eating like a real Dutch family for a week — here’s what happened. Discover the joys, struggles, and biblical lessons behind Dutch bread breakfasts, cheese-filled lunches, and hearty dinners, with Messianic Jewish reflections and Old Testament + Gospel verses.

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The Experiment That Changed the Way I See Food and Faith

I tried eating like a real Dutch family for a week — here’s what happened may surprise you. What started as a simple food experiment quickly turned into a spiritual journey about gratitude, simplicity, and the biblical meaning of breaking bread.

The Dutch are known for their practical approach to food. Their meals are often simple, straightforward, and communal — built on bread, dairy, and hearty soups. Yet beneath the surface, this way of eating carries profound echoes of Scripture: gathering daily bread, blessing food, and enjoying hospitality together.

Yeshua said in Matthew 6:11, “Give us this day our daily bread.” When you eat like the Dutch, you suddenly realize how real this prayer is. It’s not about feasting on luxury but receiving with thankfulness the bread and cheese, the soup and vegetables, the nourishing simplicity that God provides.

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Day 1–2: The Bread and Cheese Life

Dutch families often begin their day with slices of bread topped with cheese, cold cuts, or sweet sprinkles (“hagelslag”). At first, I thought, Really? Bread again? But as I sat with it, I felt something stir inside.

Eating bread daily felt repetitive — until I remembered Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

The repetition itself became a lesson. The Dutch don’t chase exotic breakfast trends. They embrace what sustains them, much like Israel in the wilderness learned to trust in daily manna.

And in the Gospels, Yeshua multiplied loaves for the multitudes (Matthew 14:19–20). Bread is not just food — it’s a symbol of God’s provision.

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Day 3–4: The Soup That Heals and Strengthens

By midweek, I found myself immersed in the Dutch love for soup. Whether it’s pea soup (“erwtensoep”) or chicken broth, soup isn’t just food in the Netherlands — it’s comfort, healing, and togetherness.

I couldn’t help but think of Exodus 23:25, “You shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.”

Every spoonful felt like a prayer of healing, strength, and renewal. I realized that in many Jewish homes, as in Dutch homes, soup carries generations of memory — the recipes passed down like stories of survival, faith, and family unity.

Yeshua Himself ate with His disciples, sharing simple meals that nourished the body and spirit. The Dutch soup table reminded me that food is never just food — it’s covenant fellowship.

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Day 5–6: The Cheese, Milk, and Land of Plenty

It didn’t take long before I noticed how much the Dutch love dairy. Cheese at nearly every meal, milk on the table, yogurt for dessert. At first, I laughed at how much dairy they consume, but then it hit me — this is a people living in a land flowing with “milk and honey.”

Exodus 3:8 speaks of God bringing Israel into “a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

The abundance of dairy on Dutch tables felt like a modern echo of that biblical promise. It reminded me that God not only feeds us but also establishes us in a land where His provision flows.

And in John 6:35, Yeshua said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” The Dutch dairy table pointed me back to the deeper truth — that ultimate nourishment is not in milk or cheese, but in Messiah.

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Day 7: Rest, Gratitude, and Shabbat

The final day brought me face-to-face with what food is really about — rest and fellowship. Dutch families gather around the table not in haste, but in shared enjoyment.

This made me think of Exodus 20:8–10, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.”

Eating like the Dutch helped me rediscover the joy of slowing down. Meals became less about filling my stomach and more about filling my soul with gratitude.

On Shabbat, breaking bread with family mirrored the meals Yeshua shared with His disciples. Luke 24:30–31 tells us that when Yeshua broke bread, “their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him.” Something sacred happens when we pause, give thanks, and share food together.

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What I Learned After a Week of Eating Like a Dutch Family

By the end of the week, I realized this experiment wasn’t about Dutch food at all. It was about rediscovering God’s heart in daily bread, simple meals, and shared tables.

• The bread and cheese reminded me to be content with daily provision.

• The soup pots taught me that food is healing when shared in love.

• The dairy abundance echoed the promised land flowing with milk and honey.

• The family table on Shabbat showed me the holiness of slowing down and giving thanks.

Yeshua’s words in Matthew 6:25 ring truer than ever: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink… Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Dutch meals may be plain compared to gourmet dining, but they carry the quiet strength of faith, gratitude, and community. That is the true feast.

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Final Reflection

I tried eating like a real Dutch family for a week — here’s what happened: I became more grateful, more mindful, and more connected to the biblical truth that food is not just nourishment but a reminder of God’s covenant care.

When we eat with simplicity, bless our bread, and pause to remember the Giver, even the plainest meal becomes a holy encounter.

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