Mindful Eating: Tips for Eating

Cook Your Own Food

Mindful eating can start with cooking. Knowing the ingredients you put into a meal can be a mindful experience. Often, when we order take out we fail to see the ingredients that are put into our food. Maybe there’s an excess of sugar to make food taste more delicious. Or unhealthy oils such as canola or vegetable are used to cut costs for food businesses. Ultimately, you fail to recognize the unhealthy ingredients that may be in your food. The process of cooking can also be mindful. You can become aware of how well cooked your food is. Maybe there’s smells that fill your home, which cause you to salivate. Notice all of these sensations that happen as you cook. Does your mouth water as you get closer to finishing the process of making your meal. Mindful cooking can help you create more nutritious meals and make the cooking process more enjoyable as well. 

 Notice What You Eat

As you begin mindful eating, it’s important to carefully notice what you are eating. For example, if you’re eating chicken and broccoli, it’s important to notice where your food once came from. Recognize that both the animal and vegetable were once living. You don’t need to get carried away from a political perspective. Every single person on the planet eats food that was once alive. Otherwise, we’d all be eating rocks. Plants, grains, fruits, and vegetables were once living too. Take a moment to appreciate their life as you eat mindfully. Recognize the sacrifice they made so that you too can thrive alive. And one day, you too will go back to the earth and give those plants life. 

Portion Control Your Meals

When we haven’t eaten for a few hours and the hunger pangs grow stronger, it’s easy to portion control with our eyes instead of our stomachs. We may overfill our plates because our eyes have made the decision that we need more of this food. However, with mindful eating, you need to put the amount of food onto your plate that your body actually needs. As mentioned earlier, we need to eat until we feel the sensation of fullness. As we portion control our plates, we need to start small and add more as needed. By adding less food to our plate, we’re more likely to save leftovers instead of throwing out uneaten food as well.

Mindful eating allows you to be in a meditative state as you eat your meals. While you may practice meditation regularly, taking the steps to eat thoughtfully is a great way to put your practice into action each day. Mindful eating can improve digestion, assist with weight loss, and allow you to enjoy your meals. You can practice eating mindfully by portion controlling, cooking your own meals, listening to yourself chew, and more.