You take your mindful eating approach a lot further by using your food prep and cooking time as another opportunity to engage your senses and build a super strong appreciation for what you’ll be eating.
Bringing your senses to the party is a huge part of this. You’ll want to immerse yourself in the visual elements of your food and the delicious smells that fill the room as it’s cooking. Don’t forget about how food feels as you touch it and how the texture may change as it’s chopped or peeled too. Even sounds can be brought into the equation … think about things like the sizzle of onions or garlic in a pan or the fizz of water as it begins to boil. Any opportunity to bring all of your senses into play.
Before you even begin to prep and cook your food, it can be super helpful to set an intention about why you’re preparing the food and check in with your state of mind. How are you feeling as you get ready to engage in mindful cooking?
Think about the ingredients you’re using and how they made it into your kitchen. Where did they come from? What was involved in their journey to get to you? How many people were involved in this?
Cut all outside distractions as you work. That means no television or radio on in the background and no YouTube videos or podcasts. This allows you to give your full attention to being mindful and fully present in the moment.
Until next time!
Adrienne