Food Rituals

One of the things that I have come to learn lately is about the importance of rituals when it comes to eating.  If I don’t have a certain level of consciousness and even reverence at mealtimes, I will shovel down food and end up overeating and feeling terrible.  Last night, I hopped on Facebook for my very first Facebook Live to chat with you guys about some of things that I do to create ritual with my food.

Watch the video here, and/or continue reading below.

Taking some time and pausing to really savor our food can help digestion, and also make it less likely that we will overeat.  When we take time to chew our food, and express gratitude, it really can affect our entire day!

So what are some tips for how to add ritual to your meals?

1. Choose a special food item to take your time with and savor.   I have a little gluten free loaf of bread that I purchase from a local gluten free bakery, and it’s about the size of a roll.  I take out one of my special small bowls that I love because they are pretty, and I fill it with some of my favorite olive oil, some freshly cracked pepper, a little salt, and maybe a dash of garlic powder or fresh garlic.  I heat up the mini loaf in the microwave for a few seconds so it’s nice and warm, and then I sit down with the loaf and olive oil, and take a moment to thank God for that food, and I literally will break bread and then savor each bite.  I notice the warmth of the bread, the texture, the colors of the oil, the smells…everything.  And for those few minutes, I’m truly present to the food, and grateful.
2. Share meals with family or friends.  Spending time with loved ones over a meal is a great way to bond and spread eating over a period of time…assuming you all actually make time to do that and don’t just shovel down your food as fast as you can!  The Mediterranean diet doesn’t just work because of the foods; the fact that Mediterraneans spend hours at their meals aids in their digestion, and they learn to savor life!  Additionally, when I eat with my family, we always say a blessing.  This helps to remind us to be grateful for the food and for each other (and is a great way to have our daughter practice this too, since we have her say the blessing!).
3. Have a cup of tea (or coffee).  A warm cup of tea or coffee (I don’t do coffee and don’t advocate it for Chinese Medicine reasons, but if you’re going to drink it, then take your time with it!) in a favorite mug can be a great ritual and reminder to take it easy.  Now that the weather is getting cooler where I live on the East Coast of the US, it’s an automatic to want something to help warm me up.  It’s great to slow down and just feel the warmth on my hands, and it’s also nice to take some time with co-workers and chat over tea about whatever issues we are working on.  It makes things a little less tense. Maybe I’m also just mentally retreating a little to my grad school days when my friend Liz and I would rent laptops from the library and drag them to the local coffee shop and work on our homework or a thesis, and fuel ourselves with whatever the coffee special was (mocha Mondays, white chocolate Wednesdays…)…(as an aside, that was the one small period of my life in the late 90’s and early 2000’s where I did drink coffee some)…or maybe to when my co-worker Kim and I would meet in a secret location after stopping off at the cafe for some tea or coffee, and we’d go vent about our work situation.  I don’t know, there’s just something about sharing tea and talking about troubles or concerns that makes it a little easier to bear for me.

These are just some of the things I do.  What kinds of things do you like to do for a ritual with your food?  I’d love to read your comments!

xo,

Jen