Do you enjoy your food?  I mean, really, really enjoy it?  The taste, the smell, the textures?

I’ve been reading another book (yes, I have complete book ADHD right now as I have three different books going and jumping from one to another.  GAH!) and came across a chapter on enjoying your food.  The chapter focused on the experience of eating and how to become satisfied by engaging all the senses when eating your meals.  It seems when you are “firing on all cylinders”, enjoying the smell, taste, texture and touch of your food, you are truly present.  Another exercise in mindful eating and to me, an utterly foreign one!

I can say that I enjoy my food.  I can remember eating meals and saying, “oh WOW, this tastes soooooo good!”in the first few moments.  Usually said in between giant mouthfuls of  shoveling this acclaimed food and/or multi-tasking (i.e.  doing laundry, washing dishes, talking, watching TV, etc.).  I realize I sound like a total Neanderthal when I eat, but I promise I do have manners and no, I do not talk with my mouth full <—- big, pet peeve!   Anywhoo, you get the picture.  That is how I would classify enjoyment.

It’s kind of ironic when you think of it.  If something  is really good, you want it to last longer, right?   You want to savor it, take it all in and experience every moment of it.  It creates a lasting impression, a full-on experience. 

I am realizing more every day,  how mindless I can get when it comes to eating.  When I’m cooking or preparing a meal, I may think to myself that it looks good or I may feel excitement in anticipation of how good a food is going to taste.  However, when it’s game time, I’m at an all-out sprint to the end zone.  I don’t often take the time to truly taste a meal.  I may be present for that first bite or two, but after that, I go on auto pilot.  And for as important as I have made food in my life, you would think I’d give it a little more respect than a “shovel and chew” session!

I know this is a contributing factor to not understanding my satiety level.  We’ve all heard that it takes 20 minutes for your brain to receive the signal your stomach is full.  I am long gone from the table in 20 minutes.  In fact, dinner often takes longer to prepare than it takes for anyone in my house to eat it!  Myself, included!

This is an area that I’d really like to work on.  Mainly because I’m very much struggling with the difference between satiety and fullness.  I still feel the need to eat to fullness.  Not stuffed, unbutton-the-pants full, but definitely more than satisfied and definitely overeating.

So, I thought I’d challenge myself to a week of “enjoying my food”. For the next week, I’m going to take the time to taste, smell and basically SEE my food!

My goals are to…

1. SIT DOWN.  I do generally sit while eating, however, I often begin my meal before I even hit the seat!  Either I’m taking bites before I sit or eating a little, then getting up to do something else.  This week, the meal is to begin when I sit and can be actively present.
2. LOOK.  You know how when you go to a restaurant, the waiter brings the food to the table and you stop what you are doing or saying.  You sit for a few seconds and take in the view of your plate, often marveling at how pretty the presentation is or how delicious the food looks.  You may even take a minute to smell the aroma or dissect the different components of the dish.  Well, that NEVER happens with my meals of which I eat 98%  of at home!  It’s “shovel and chew”.  I barely even see what I’m eating sometimes.  Even though I spend a few minutes plating it for pics on the blog, I usually wolf it down right after that, unknowingly.  For the next week, I will take a minute to really SEE my food.  As they say, you eat with your eyes first!
3. GIVE ME 20.  Since it is said to take 20 minutes to signal satiety, I’m setting the timer for each meal.  This will be my biggest challenge.  I know that not every meal will take 20 minutes.  Sometimes, it’s just not possible to sit that long when you’re busy.  I can’t see breakfast taking that amount of time, either.  It may not be a realistic goal for that meal, but for lunch or dinner, it is definitely do-able!
4. SAVOR.  Sometimes, I can’t even describe what a meal tastes like because I don’t remember.   Especially when I’m overeating and the auto-pilot kicks in.  In fact, I believe this is why the overeating occurs.  This week, along with looking at my food, I want to take the time to taste it.  I want to recognize flavors and textures.  I want the experience of eating, not just the mindless “eating to eat”. 

What I’m hoping to gain from this challenge is a better understanding of how being mindful of my food can influence my satiety and also give me an opportunity to slow down.  The challenge will begin on Sunday.  I’ll check in on Monday to let you know how Day1 went!  Anyone want to join me?  If so, feel free to post in the comments or send me an email.  I’d love to hear about your experiences if you decide to come along for the “enJOY” ride  

Have a great day, everyone!

I haven’t talked much about running lately.  Mainly because I haven’t been doing much of it!  I seem to go for these stretches of time when I just get burnt out.  This morning, I decided to hop on the treadmill and give it another whirl.  I wasn’t feeling very strong, so I opted to do 1:1 intervals to break in slowly. 

And before I knew it, I finished up a little over 2 miles!

The GYMBOSS was happy to be back in action!  I ended my workout with 10 minutes of weights – biceps, triceps, front lateral raises and shoulder presses.  I’m trying to be consistent with strength training at least twice a week!

After the workout, I whipped out the blender for a Green Monster breakfast …

In the mix …

• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 scoop Pea Protein Powder 
• 1/2 banana, frozen
• 8 strawberries, frozen
• 2 BIG handfuls fresh baby spinach

I forget how much I like these!!

Then, it was off to my niece, Nikki’s apartment for a Girls’ Lunch.  She kindly invited the Aunts and Grandmoms, along with her Mom and sister for a delicious healthy, homemade lunch.

We started with Spinach and Artichoke Dip, pita chips and almonds while we toured her apartment…

For our lunch, Nikki made White Chicken Enchiladas adapted from this recipe …

Served with mixed bean salad…

Yummy cornbread …

And a fresh citrus salad made by my SIL (her mom)…

I devoured everything on my plate!  It was all so good…

The gang…

Our get- togethers never seem complete without some kind of dessert!  Nikki knew this, of course, and made these beautious chocolate mousse cups …

And my SIL made an Apple Pecan Cake, too …

Decisions, decisions!  I actually felt very satisfied with my meal, so I just indulged in a small taste of cake …

Delicious and just enough to satisfy my curious taste buds.

Thanks to the hostess for a great lunch!

I’ll be back tomorrow for leftovers.

After such a lovely lunch, I wasn’t into making much fuss for dinner.  Pasta and salad is the best fuss-free option…

The husband and daughters wish EVERY night was fuss-free!   No such luck… it’s my job to torture them with “fancy” food. 

Have a great day, everyone!

What is your favorite fuss-free meal?

Hi guys!!  Thanks for your supportive comments on my last post.  I know many of you could relate to the holiday food struggle.  I was a little harder on myself than I have been in a while.  I have learned so much and moved forward in dealing with emotional eating in many ways that it was defeating to take such a big step backward. 

The difference this time is that I didn’t stay in that negative place for too long.  I have collected a strong arsenal of tools the past few months to help pull me back together and back on track of eating mindfully.  I’m using those tools and, in some areas, starting at the beginning to familiarize myself with the processes again.  I’m calling it a “reboot”!

Starting my day off with a good breakfast is the first step in a reboot!  Boy, for a few days there, cookies were becoming my breakfast of choice.   I’m happy to say that all cookies have left the building.  Sayonara! 

And eggs and veggies have reappeared …

Scrambled egg whites, baby spinach and sauteed mushrooms topped with lite mozzarella along with a slice of Ezekiel toast …

Breakfast of champs.

I wasn’t much in the mood for exercise today.  I normally take the weekend off from formal exercise, but decided I could use a dose of sweating.  I headed to the basement and did an easy 25 minutes on the elliptical with a few crunches thrown in at the end.  Workouts are often hard to start, but I’m always glad to get them done.  You never regret a workout!

After getting worked up at big daughter’s basketball game, I came home for lunch.  The fridge and pantry were in need of a restock, but I managed to put together a decent lunch.  Turkey, hummus and baby spinach on an Ezekiel sesame bun  …

Along with carrots and a beautiful red pear …

Reacquainting with my hunger cues has been really hard the past few days.  It’s amazing how quickly I got back into being snacky in the afternoon.  I have to constantly check in with myself to discern whether I’m experiencing true hunger or just having  food thoughts.  Today was one of those food thought days, so I worked myself out of those and focused on other tasks that needed to get done.

Before I knew it, it was time for dinner!  I’ve been feeling like I’m coming down with a cold or something for the past few days.  I keep downing Vitamin C tablets, B12 and doing the neti pot to try to outrun it.  A big bowl of soup couldn’t hurt either, right?

Chicken soup is supposed to be good for the soul, but I think  Lentil Pastina Soup is even better!  I made a big vat of it on New Years’ Day;  swapping out the pastina for a hearty whole wheat elbow pasta for this batch.  So hearty and nourishing!

Served with roasted sweet potatoes for a little extra Vitamin C and beta carotene …

Do your work Vitamins and give this cold the boot!

Have a great day, everyone!

What is your favorite remedy for warding off a cold?  I’m a big fan of the neti pot!  If I hit it at the right time, it often kicks my cold to the curb or at least, shortens the duration of it!