"grace"-type ritual?

[eirual]

I'm about to end 13 years of vegetarianism. (Thank you to whomever it was that recomended Jessica Prentice's Full Moon Feast- it was exactly what I was looking for and more!) I'd really like to have some sort of grace-like something to say before meals- not a religious statement, but something to acknowledge that I appreciate the source of nourishment and a respect of nature and that kind of jazz.

Any one do anything like this or have any ideas?

P.S. I felt this went in this forum because I'm not necessarily thankful to the supermarkets who provide packaged foods, I'm thankful that nature gives us all that we need and that mirrors more of a traditional foods diet.

[velcromom]

At our preschool we sing a blessing song before snacks and meals. I don't know where it came from but the words are:

Blessings on the blossom, blessings on the fruit
blessings on the leaf and stems, blessings on the root.

[mbravebird]

You could change a religious one to non-religious:

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
At this table we do raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

(I replaced "Lord above, to thee we raise" with "At this table we do raise")

[traceface]

Earth, who gives to us this food
Sun, who makes it ripe and good
Dear Earth, Dear Sun -- by you we live
To you our loving thanks we give