C.R.E.A.T.E Your Plate
13: E – Engagement
Most of us eat ‘mindlessly’ – at least some of the time.
Mindless Eating can be ‘quickly slamming some food in’, or eating a family bag of Doritos without noticing them touch the sides.
Or in the case of Christmas dinner – not noticing quite how much we’ve eaten… until we have to have a lie down on the settee… so we can breathe!
So here we move on to the first E – Engagement.
Engagement is the cornerstone of the C.R.E.A.T.E framework.
The idea is to engage with the whole ‘food experience’.
We do that through Mindful eating.
This is what transcends an everyday necessity (eating food) to a rich, present, sensory ritual.
It’s a shift from just ‘eating’ food to truly ‘experiencing’ our meals.
Mindful eating means savouring the flavours.
Noticing the textures.
Appreciating the colours, and taking in the aroma of the food.
What this does, is slow things down.
You can’t wolf down your food and Mindfully eat, at the same time.
It brings you back to the present, as you notice everything your senses are feeding back to your brain.
Mindful eating helps you be fully ‘in the moment’ with each mouthful, and completely immersed in the act of eating.
You pause to chew more thoroughly, put down your cutlery, talk to other people, and take in your surroundings.
Why is this good?
- Mindful eating increases your enjoyment of eating, which we can miss out on in our fast-paced lives.
You find that this accentuates flavour, texture and enjoyment.
It’s like you’ve turned up the dial so you can eat in technicolour. - It’s incredibly effective for portion control.
You tend to eat less.
There is a gap (maybe 20 minutes) between swallowing, and that food hitting your stomach.
If you eat more slowly, you actually get a chance to feel full. - It helps you digest better, and gives food an opportunity to ‘hit the deck’
Often we carry on eating when food is still in transit (and are piling things on top of what will be an already full stomach)
So slower, more purposeful eating leads to better digestion and satisfaction with smaller portions.
If you are prone to overeating, this one technique could be your best solution.
You’ll eat the right amount, with no calorie counting or deprivation.
Practice it enough and it will be second nature.
By engaging mindfully with food, we transform eating from an ‘act of consumption’ to an enriching experience.
It nourishes your body as well as your mind.
It’s another step towards a more conscious, fulfilled relationship with food.
It can be quite an eye opener to connect with your eating experience in this way – transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
This is what restaurants do very well – provide theatre – the whole experience.
The table cloth, flowers, candles, beautiful crockery, ambient music, friendly serving staff – the whole experience has you enjoying your meal before you take a mouthful.
You tend to take more time when you’re at a restaurant and really appreciate things.
Have you ever ordered restaurant food to be delivered?
In lockdown lots of people did, and found that their ‘special’ restaurant actually served perfectly ordinary food when they were tipping it onto plates out of plastic boxes.
It was the ritual, the setting and the attitude of being in actually in a place purely for the appreciation of food that made everything taste so much better.
That’s what we want for you every day.
Action:
Mindful Meal Ritual:
Choose one meal today to eat mindfully
Try this exercise alone, for the first time.
Remove distractions:
Turn off your TV, put away your phone, and eat at a beautifully laid table.
Make yourself something you love eating.
The aim is to focus with present awareness on each bite, with each of your senses in turn:
- What are the colours and shapes – how does it look presented on the plate.
- Is it sizzling? How does it sound when you cut, chew, swallow…
- What are the aromatics? How does it smell?
- How does it feel to touch? What about in your mouth? Temperature? Is the texture smooth? Soft? Crunchy?
- Notice the flavours – how does it taste?: Sweet? Salty, Spicy, Creamy? A combination?
Try to notice every tiny detail about the first mouthful.
And then the next.
Take time to eat your entire meal mindfully and respectfully.
Meal Reflection:
After your meal, take a few minutes to jot down your thoughts in your journal.
Did eating mindfully change how you felt during and after the meal?
Were you more satisfied, less rushed? What else did you learn?