A Mindful Meal

Throughout the semester I have tried my best to integrate mindful eating strategies and techniques into my daily life.  Not only have I made a conscious effort though mindful recognition during mealtime, but I have also made an effort to have mindful sips of tea in the morning, walks to school, and moments of silence throughout the day.  Through embodying mindfulness throughout my daily activities and meals, I have come to recognize my increased attention, focus, and productivity.  Furthermore, I am more conscious of my eating habits and the process by which I go about things.  In other words, I am better attuned to my body and mind, and I try to eat healthy, fresh foods in moderation, rather than falling into stress-eating habits because, let's face it, the life of a college student is stressful.

Chopped scallions - aren't
the shades of green beautiful?

Recently, I suggested to my roommate that we have a mindful meal together.  Given that my roommate is also interested in mindfulness, mediation, and understanding the mind-body connection, I thought it would be quite thought provoking to engage in a mindful meal together. 

We agreed that our meal would be a pause in our busy lives, especially with finals on the near horizon, and that we would make a conscious effort to remain in the moment, take the time to enjoy each bite, and thoughtfully experience the tastes and textures of the meal.

In preparation for this mindful meal, I re-read “Chapter 2: Are You Really Appreciating the Apple?” in Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Dr. Cheung and Thich Nhat Hanh.  The chapter takes the reader through an apple meditation, encouraging mindfulness, being in the present, and embodying the process of eating by removing any and all distractions.  I hoped to share these steps with my roommate during our meal.

Together we cooked a delicious and healthy meal of my mum's famous sesame noodle recipe (which I have posted below with her permission!) and prepared a fresh, locally grown salad topped with rosemary-roasted carrots and parsnips.  A wonderful springtime combination, if you ask me :)

Sesame noodles topped with roasted
sesame seeds and chopped scallions

Once we had prepared the meal and set the table, we sat down.  Looking at the scrumptious meal we prepared, we set our intentions for the meal, recognizing the delight and nourishment that it will bring us and the fun we had preparing it.  We allowed ourselves to give the meal more than a first thought or glance, and in doing so, we ensured optimal fulfillment, nourishment, and enjoyment of the meal rather than quickly diving in.  In this sense, we focused ourselves on the process of eating and enjoying this meal: we gave the meal our full attention.

The spicy, ginger-sesame aroma of the noodles was enticing and the freshly cut spring onions and greens in the salad were a beautiful portrayal of nature’s goodness.  We served ourselves.  And then we slowly took the first bite.

Texture and flavor filled my mouth.  I chewed thoroughly and thoughtfully, savoring the bite.  I focused my mind solely on the bite, enjoying it for everything it was, and letting other thoughts pass by without judgment.  I chewed consciously.  I allowed myself to fully engage in the process of eating.

...The salad was crisp, and the balsamic vinaigrette provided a spark of flavor.  The rosemary carrots and parsnips were divine... The noodles were flavorful, and the sesame-ginger combination excited my senses...

Yum, mindful bites of salad :)

This eating experience was truly remarkable.  I noticed I ate less and felt better after the meal.  Before sharing my own experience, I asked my roommate what she thought about the meal.  She said it was interesting to take so much time to appreciate and mindfully approach a meal.  She also said that she plans try to practice increased awareness and mindfulness in future meals.

As a whole I found this exercise incredibly successful.  Given that I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with finals at the moment, it was really nice to be in the present and take the time to enjoy a meal rather than eating it at a desk in the library while reading research articles and writing one of my final papers.  I encourage you to try the same.  Give it a chance.  With practice, I guarantee you too will begin to embrace mealtime for more than just the process of eating, but rather the process of being mindful, appreciative, and enjoying the present.

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My mum's yummy Sesame Noodles Recipe: (guaranteed crowd pleaser!)

Serves: 6-8 

Prep time: 30 minutes

1 lb spagetti noodles

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Dressing:

3 garlic cloves

1 chunk of fresh ginger, peeled

1/2 c of each: peanut oil, sesame tahini, strong black tea, soy sauce

1/4 c of each: dry sherry, cider vinegar, sugar

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne

6 scallions (green and white parts) finely chopped

To sprinkle on top: roasted sesame seeds

Boil noodles until al-dente.  Make dressing in a blender: process garlic and ginger until finely minced and then add remaining ingredients, except scallions and roasted sesame seeds.  Drain noodles, transfer to a boil and toss with olive oil.  Toss dressing with noodles and add scallions.  Allow noodles to sit for at least an hour to soak up the dressing.  Enjoy!

Mindful Eating: Emory University's Perspective

With all the hype around mindful eating in the media recently, I thought it would be interesting to see what Emory University students, faculty, and staff thought of mindful eating.  The aim of this mini-experiment was to begin to understand the extent to which Emory-affiliated persons define mindful eating and the comprehensiveness of their responses.

Throughout the past week I asked multiple Emory students, professors, and campus staff what they thought of mindful eating and how they would define mindful eating.  I asked some of the Tibetan monks studying science at Emory, professors in various departments in the college, college students studying everything from psychology to business, and campus workers in the dining halls.

Here is a representative sample of the responses I got:

• Emory psychology student: “eating is not just shoveling food in your mouth without thinking but taking the time to enjoy and to consciously attend to the act of eating”

• COX dining hall worker: “it means eating foods in colors and making sure your plate is bright because if you got colors then you got fruits and vegetables too.”

• Emory business student: “thinking about what you eat and what you put into your body and being aware of your health”

• Emory anthropology student: “watching the types of foods that you’re eating and that they have proper nutritional value; also trying to eat more organic and local foods”

• Tibetan monk: “mindful eating is when you have a meal and eat more mindfully by paying attention to what you eat and listening to your body”

• Emory international studies student: “eating healthfully”

• Emory professor: “being conscious of what you eat and how you eat; eating like the French!” 

Here is another way of looking at the responses:

To create this word art, I used Wordle™ an online word cloud generator, which sizes the words in accordance to their use.  Therefore, eating, eat, mindful, enjoy, and food, were the most commonly used words.  Other significant words include: body, consciously, time, meal, colors, and thinking.

Although I must acknowledge the overly apparent limitation that asking about mindful eating implies that mindfulness is an essential component, I still believe my findings have significance in understanding Emory’s ideas on mindful eating.  In addition, all participants were affiliated with Emory, an academic institution with strong initiatives in sustainability, the local foods movement, and home to leading research on mindfulness.  For these additional reasons, I must acknowledge the possible recall bias within the responses I received.

This mini-experiment sheds light on the general understanding of mindful eating among Emory’s population.  Overall, I was impressed by the holistic, comprehensive nature of the definitions and explanations of mindful eating. 

Looking at the general American population, obesity ridden, sedentary, and supporting busy lifestyles, I can only hope that their understanding be as well-informed as Emory’s population.  We have a long way to go to promote mindful eating as a means to improving the health, wellbeing, and life of the average American.

Mindful Eating at Google with Thich Nhat Hanh

Book Review: "Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life"

Complementing grounded Buddhist philosophies of mindfulness with nutritional science of eating healthy, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, provides a healthy outlook on eating, moving, and living.  Thich Nhat Hanh, a very well respected Vietnamese Zen Buddhist philosopher, and Dr. Lilian Cheung, an innovative Harvard School of Public Health nutritionist, unite their wisdom and knowledge of the body and mind into a simple and holistic lifestyle plan to eating and living well.  Rather than counting calories through careful dieting and exercise regimes, Hahn and Cheung recommend thinking about your food and listening to your body.  By doing so, mindful eating enhances our body and mind’s relationship with food and, as a result, mindful eaters experience weight loss, energy gain, and an increasingly healthier lifestyle.

Through experiencing every moment to the fullest, raising awareness within each daily activity, attuning the mind and body, and practicing mindfulness, we can foster a more positive, healthy, and energized life.  In their book, Hanh and Cheung take the reader through three sections.  The first section, “A Buddhist Perspective on Weight Control,” examines personal weight struggles, calling for both reflection and action.  Following this, the reader has the opportunity to realize the simplicity within practicing mindfulness by meditating on an apple, and thereby coming to terms with their mind-body connection while attuning to the present moment. 

Part two explores the “Mindful Action Plans” of eating, moving, and living.  Mindful eating involves understanding the nutrients our body needs, what healthy foods are and how we can incorporate them into our diet, and how to integrate mindfulness into our eating patterns.  By honoring the food, engaging the senses, eating in modest portions, savoring small bites and thorough chewing, eating slowly, not skipping meals, and eating a plant-based diet, Hanh and Cheung reveal their seven practices of mindful eating.  They explain that:

“Living as we all are in a society that spends so much time and money to promote unhealthy foods and mindless eating, and to limit access to healthy foods, it takes a dedicated, mindful effort to be able to focus on and choose the foods that are best for our bodies and best for our planet” (145).

Likewise, mindful moving discusses the importance of exercise, movement, and activity to ensuring healthy living and a strong body.  Hanh and Cheung go through typical daily activities and illuminate the simple, convenient ways to incorporate mindful exercise.  Finally, the mindful living plan explains the easy ways we can use mindfulness in our daily activities and movements such as cooking, walking, and traffic-jam meditation.

Part three discusses the “Individual and Collective Effort” of living in a mindful world.  This section brings the reader to realize the interdependence between the self and other, the individual and collective, and the inside and outside, while complementing such philosophy with real-life examples of actors of positive change.

“Transforming the world starts with oneself.  It is through attending to our own well-being and staying in touch with what is happening in our own personal lives that we can have a greater capacity to understand and address the world’s suffering.  We are then on a sturdier foundation to contribute to improving our world” (224).

Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life is an innovative, comprehensive, and incredibly relevant book to addressing today's eating habits and lifestyle practices.  By presenting an approach and lifestyle that anyone can adapt to and practice, this book has the potential to promote positive eating habits throughout our fast-paced society, and thus mindful eating has the ability to change how our society views food, eats food, and lives.

"Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life"

Mindfulness as a Foundation for Health with Thich Nhat Hanh