Mindful Eating - What, Why and How (Recipes Inside!)
GUEST BLOG BY MADELEINE CULBERTSON, LA-BASED YOGA TEACHER AND COACH
One way to create habits for sustainable living is to bring more mindfulness into everyday tasks. This includes preparing the food that we eat, a la Thich Nhat Hanh. Mindful eating, specifically, is the practice of being consciously present while preparing and eating food in order to achieve a truly satiating sensory experience. Mindfulness applied in the kitchen and at the table is shown to help curb unwanted cravings, aid in digestion and weight loss, reduce food waste and make the overall experience more meaningful.
What is Mindfulness?
In the yoga tradition, we embrace the idea that we are all connected - part of the same whole. We believe that everything we say, think and do affects everything else. Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of these connections in our daily activities -- tuning into the present moment. So, if we bring this philosophy to meal preparation and eating, it follows that our thoughts, words and actions become infused into the meal we are preparing. They are ingested and digested by the body as much as any physical component of the food.
Why Practice Mindful Eating?
One of the biggest challenges we are presented with in life is staying present. The energy of a meal that has been hastily made and consumed will vastly differ from one that is lovingly and thoughtfully prepared.
Think about the differences between preparing and eating a microwaved meal versus a home-cooked meal. The microwaved meal feels impersonal, pre-determined and almost never tastes as good as the “real thing.” You didn’t choose the ingredients, painstakingly chop and measure or taste-test along the way. You are completely removed from the experience of preparing those meals, save the press of a button -- and how often do you feel satisfied after eating them? If you’re like me, not often. This is not to say that you can’t be fully present while eating a pre-packaged meal or one you didn’t prepare yourself -- you can follow the below tips to eat more mindfully and you will likely feel more satiated by these meals. This is simply an example of how the meal’s preparation influences its energy and how being present for the full experience will leave you feeling fuller -- literally and figuratively.
Additionally, setting the intention to be fully present while preparing and eating food goes hand-in-hand with sustainable living. By being truly conscious of our food consumption needs, desires and habits, we can adjust accordingly for ourselves and for the planet. By eating mindfully, we are fully aware of where our food comes from, how our purchasing habits affect the world, and how much is necessary for us to consume to feel full and satisfied. This consciousness prevents us from over-buying which leads to food waste, and from buying brands and products that don’t share in positive, sustainable intentions.
Mindfulness Exercises for Cooking and Eating
Whistle While You Work
Cooking the meal all by yourself (which is a great accomplishment!) doesn’t achieve mindfulness on its own. To help keep my focus and awareness on the act of preparing my food I like to sing while I cook. A prayerful song, hymn or mantra sung while preparing food can elevate the vibration of a meal to loving awareness (what I call God), and brings that loving awareness into our own bodies.
Here is a prayer I love from an anonymous Tibetan monk:
May I be at peace
may my heart remain open
may I know the beauty of my own true nature
may I be healed
may I be a source of healing in this world.
The Raisin Meditation
One of the most popular mindful eating exercises is the Raisin Meditation. This meditation helps you be completely present for the entire eating experience, helping you to increase enjoyment and deepen appreciation of the food you are eating, thereby satisfying your hunger. The link above gives a full explanation for the exercise, but I’ve outlined the steps below. You will notice by the sheer number of steps how present in the moment mindful eating requires you to be.
Holding: Hold a raisin in the palm of your hand or between your thumb and finger
Seeing: Give the raisin your full attention, like it is a completely foreign object. Explore every part of it with great care.
Touching: Explore the raisin’s texture in your hand (optional: close your eyes too).
Smelling: Inhale the scent of the raisin, taking careful note of your body’s reaction, particularly your mouth or stomach.
Placing: Pay close attention to your body’s movements as you bring the raisin to your mouth. Place the raisin on your tongue without chewing and explore it with your tongue, focusing on the sensations.
Tasting: When you are ready, prepare to chew the raisin, noting how and where you place it before chewing. Then, start with 1-2 bites, take stock of the aftermath (flavor, sensations), chew a couple more times, taking note of any changes in the aftermath.
Swallowing: Before you swallow, take note of how it feels when you “feel ready” to swallow the raisin. When you are ready, swallow.
Following: Pay close attention to what you feel as the raisin leaves your mouth and travels to your stomach. Consciously check in with how you feel after you complete this exercise.
Mindful Eating Tips
While the Raisin Meditation is a wonderful introduction to mindful eating and mindfulness in itself, we know it isn’t feasible to sustain on one raisin alone, or repeat the steps bite-by-bite for full meals. However, there are tons of great ways to ensure you are staying present for each meal. I’ve outlined some of my favorites below:
Slow Down -- This is a great practice for mindfulness in general, as it is difficult to be in the moment when moving at a breakneck pace. Eating quickly doesn’t allow your brain to tell your body how it’s feeling -- and it can take up to 20 minutes for your brain to register that your body is full. You can slow down by sitting down, chewing for a set number of times and setting your utensil down between bites. Practice a mini Raisin Meditation while you enjoy the meal. When grocery shopping, slow down and be present while you make decisions — when time and affordability allow, try to be aware of opportunities to buy local and/or organic produce, and choose brands you’ve educated yourself about that you know are making a positive impact. I promise that when you are eating, you will feel the positive energy of your purchasing decision.
Set a Routine & Meal Plan -- Whenever possible, having a set meal time with a meal decided upon is a great way to eliminate mindless eating. Having this pre-awareness allows you to concentrate fully on your daily activities before and after eating, therefore allowing you to fully concentrate on your food at meal time, since you were so productive and focused earlier!
Eliminate Distractions -- When your predetermined meal time comes around, be sure that you and your fellow diners silence your phones, put them out of sight and turn off the TV. These devices only serve to keep you out of the present moment that you set an intention to enjoy.
Practice Portion Control -- Remember the dad joke, “I’m on a ‘see food’ diet. I see food and I eat it”? Unfortunately, so do I, and unfortunately it holds water. When we make and buy food, we put pressure on ourselves to eat the quantity we are presented with. Before you plate your food or sit down with a pre-packaged snack, take a few moments to really engage with your body. Why are you eating? How hungry are you? And make proportionate portion decisions (say that ten times fast!) -- serve yourself a smaller portion, or grab a few morsels from the bag and put it back in the pantry. This step is crucial in food preparation to help reduce food waste and integrate mindfulness with sustainability.
Try This Out — Belgian Waffles with Cashew Cream
Another way to be mindful and eco-friendly is to take careful stock of ingredients you already have and use them to create delicious meals. I’ve been cooking a lot more during this “safer at home” order in California. One thing I love to make is a delicious brunch. So, the other day I cooked up some of the best waffles I've ever had using some yogurt that needed to be used. The recipe I will give you calls for a thick (refined sugar free) french style yogurt, but the beautiful thing is this recipe can be adapted to use what you have at home like buttermilk or kefir. You can even use a teaspoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar with 8oz of your favorite milk! Just be sure to keep the ratios the same.
I topped my waffles with fresh cut strawberries and cashew cream. This brunch was delightful — proof in the photo below!
Happy eating to all!
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Cashew Cream (Serves 4)
1/2 cup raw organic cashews (soaked overnight or for 8 hours)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon honey
Directions: Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until thick and creamy, chill in the fridge before serving.
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Organic Spelt + Yogurt Belgium Waffles (Serves 4)
1 cup yogurt (I used french style sheep's milk yogurt)
1 cup water or nut milk.
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 cup avocado or grapeseed oil
3 large eggs
2 cups spelt flour
2 tablespoons coconut sugar (if all you have is honey or maple syrup than combine with liquid ingredients)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions: Preheat your waffle Iron. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine yogurt, water or nut milk, and lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, stir to combine and let sit for 1-2 minutes. Add in the oil and eggs and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and stir to combine. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry slowly until just combined, being careful not to over work the batter, lumpy is good! Pour 1/4- 1/3 cup batter into the center of your waffle iron and cook for 5-7 minutes. Serve with cut strawberries or any fresh fruit on top and top with chilled cashew cream and maple syrup.
My <3 and I enjoying the waffles together!
Et voila - YUM!!
For more tips and recipes from Madeleine, follow her on Instagram at @Being.Madeleine
