Post by Samana:
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
Virginia Woolf
I loved Beth’s post last week reminding us to make friends with food. After all, food is our fuel. It builds our bodies and gives us energy to do all we want to do. As moms, we stress the importance of food by trying to get our kids to eat regularly and to nourish them well.
It’s sad that food can often be a source of guilt for so many of us. Instead of savoring the experience of eating a cupcake and allowing it, we can feel guilty about it. I agree moderation is key to enjoying the foods we love and staying healthy, but guilt will only make us sick. How can our bodies fully allow something, if our minds don’t? The more we allow ourselves to eat our food with true joy and gratitude, the better we digest it.
Simple practices like taking a few deep breaths before we prepare to cook helps us to be fully present as we create the foods our families will eat. As well, giving thanks before each meal can help slow us down to appreciate fully the gift our food is. Chewing our food thoroughly helps us to digest it well. I try to chew my food twenty to thirty times. Not talking excessively during eating helps slow us down so we can savor our experience of eating.
Explore eating a few meals per week in silence without talking or reading. This is easiest when you eat alone, but you can invite your family to have one silent dinner a week if you like. Eating in silence helps us to totally experience our food.
Let food be your friend. Enjoy it and share it with those your love.
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