Mindful Eating…Do you know what you’re eating?
How often do you eat in front of the TV, computer or your phone? It’s amazing to consider how distracted we’ve become. When I grew up our family of five sat around the table and ate and talked. It was required. My children had some of that, but then sports and activities got in the way and suddenly we were lucky to all eat at the same time, let alone the same place. When you eat with distractions it becomes mindless eating. You don’t pay attention to the sight, sound, taste, smell and texture, you’re unaware of what is in your food or where it came from.
Do you think you could try an experiment for one day? Take one day and look at all the ingredients in your food. Look up ingredients if you don’t know what they are or where they came from. Sit at a table and take one bite at a time, really noticing everything about it. Consider where it came from, the farmers who grew the food, the truck driver that brought it to the store, the grocery team that put the food out and helped you at the check out line. Think about their families and the importance of their job to support their children. Many people were involved in the process of bringing the food to your fork. Then consider how the food grew (I am hoping that most of your food was grown and not processed in a lab). Did it grow in the earth or above it on a vine or in a tree? If, the food was processed – what does that process look like?
Being mindful can be so much more than being aware that you are eating. It is being aware of our food sources, right down to the bees that needed to pollinate the food. It’s being aware of the sound as you crunch down on a piece of cabbage or carrot, the smell that can bring you back to your childhood, the texture, is the food light and smooth like pasta or firm with ridges like kale? The taste, do your tastebuds jump with eat bite? Is your fork filled with something spicy or sweet or does the bite have a flavor combination that each part of your tongue appreciates? And how does this food work with your body to heal you, fill you, support your good or bad health.
It’s up to you, are you ready for the challenge. Try it for one meal, one day, one month. Whatever works for you. Be mindful...Remove the distractions....Appreciate the food.
