Mindful eating is an approach to food where you pay full attention to eating. Research has shown that eating mindfully can improve digestion, help regulate appetite and helps us enjoy our food much more. Here we share some simple ways to incorporate mindful eating into your daily routine:
Preparing your food
For many people, cooking can feel like a chore but it doesn’t have to be a rushed experience or something we do on autopilot. Whether you’re chopping, slicing, or marinating, the art of being mindful when you are cooking is an ideal opportunity to focus your attention on textures, sounds and smells. If your mouth waters – you know you’re on track!
Slow down
Taking the time to eat and chew your food thoroughly will enable you to taste the essence of the food. During a meal, you could practice taking smaller bites of food and try to put down your knife and fork between mouthfuls. You may be surprised at all the flavours that are released that you may not normally notice.
Eating around the table
When life gets busy, it can be easy to slip into the habit of eating on the run and neglect taking time to sit down together. Trying to factor in time for sitting around the table can be beneficial for all members of a family or household. It can help everyone switch off from the stresses of the day and provide an opportunity to reconnect over a meal.
No distractions
We tend to eat more mindlessly when we are distracted. We also don’t taste and experience the food as much because our mind is elsewhere. Try eating with no distractions; this means eating without your laptop or phone, or when reading or watching TV so that you can relax and enjoy your food in the moment.
Mindful eating takes practice, and the more you practice, the more natural it will feel!
To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/
Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers: