Continuing on the theme of mindfulness, it is amazing how eating mindfully can really enhance the enjoyment and the experience of having a meal or snack. There is often so much going on in our lives that we don’t give eating the time it deserves, becoming distracted by the many outside influences and not even noticing the food or enjoying it as much as we could.
Have you ever noticed your empty plate and realised that you must have eaten the meal on autopilot, not really noticing it at all? Sometimes, deciding not to even have a conversation whilst eating can help the focus to be solely on the food on your plate.
From now on, give mindful eating a go. It will certainly aid better digestion and make food so much more tasty. Honouring your food and being in the present moment will help you notice how appetising it looks on the plate. Tapping into all of your senses as you eat and realise how much more you’re enjoying it. Maybe even take some time to close your eyes as you are eating to really fire up those senses that don’t often get noticed so much.
Notice the smells, colours, textures, sounds, flavours, shapes – as many aspects of your plate of food as you can – and this in turn helps slow down the eating process too, so that you chew the food completely aiding much better digestion. Of course it depends on what you are eating, but it is thought that the optimum number of times we should chew a mouthful of food is 30. That is quite a lot and of course wouldn’t apply to soup! Give it a go and notice how the flavours change as you really chew the food.
The digestive process begins in the mouth with the enzymes therein, which mix with the food to aid breakdown of food and absorption of nutrients, so chewing properly really does help get the most out of your food. It also slows the rate at which we eat the plate of food and helps us to recognise when we become satisfied and pleasantly full, rather than getting to the over full and uncomfortable stage and regretting over eating.
The more we practice this, the easier it just becomes the norm to eat in a mindful way. Eating like a gourmet and noticing all of the flavours and textures is truly wonderful.
It feels as if all of your tastebuds have woken up and your food tastes so much better. You become aware of flavours and for instance you will find that sweet food taste sweeter, which can help us to choose to have sensible amounts, rather than being distracted and eating mindlessly which can sometimes result in unwanted eating habits.
Maybe select one item from your plate and notice everything about it on it’s own, then in the next mouthful team it up with another item. Really enjoying every mouthful of food, knowing it is our fuel and nourishment.
Looking at the photograph maybe imagine how each item on the plate might taste, sound or smell. Which would you team up with the other items on the plate and how might that affect their texture. Which items would you eat first and which ones might you not eat at all.
(If this isn’t the type of food you’d choose, find a photo which appeals and imagine how you would mindfully eat it. This photo was one I knew I could use without any copyright issues)
