Slow Food

How do you interact with your food?

Where do you purchase your vegetables?

Do you turn on your oven or microwave?

Notice the colors on your plate?

Taste the food you chew before you swallow?

Share a meal with your family or turn on the TV?


I have struggled over the past few years with truly savoring my meals. Factors that contributed to my rushed food habits: I used to get home from work and be absolutely STARVING, so the quickest remedy was most frequently fried eggs or a PB & J sandwich. And I live alone, so it always felt silent, weird, and boring to eat without music or television to accompany my meal.

A dear friend who's dining ritual is punctuated with patience and care has suggested that I feed myself like I would feed a guest. She suggested lighting candles and spending more time cooking (finding a rhythm in the preparation and a meditation in the quietness). But I think the truth in my struggle has always been giving myself the permission to relax and enjoy. When I do take the time to carefully prepare my food and then elegantly serve it, I always photograph the meal, perhaps trying to capture the feelings it invoked inside me: the feelings of pleasure and self-care and respect for my body. I have a great respect for my dear friend and for the people who created the Slow Food Movement. I am so thankful for those treasured souls in my life who remind me to nurture myself with food and help me to slow down...

This summer I decided to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program in order to support my local economy. I have tasted new foods (including baby bok choy) and feel empowered by eating local, organic produce. There is something very romantic about picking up my basket of veggies and eggs every Sunday morning, and I am continually mesmerized by the bright colors: green lettuce and red strawberries to name a few.

The more happily and healthily you treat your body, the more fluid and strong your yoga practice will be, right? Just one more reason to slow down and enjoy good eats!

How can you slow down your experiences with food?


Choose love,
Grace

PS I love garlic! Anyone else love garlic?!

Food

Last night was Game Night- a monthly event that I initiated in January to encourage socializing and sharing amongst all my friends. It's a potluck and BYOB scenario, and there are always brownies that get devoured pretty much instantly. I munched on carrot sticks and a delicious vegan cheese dip as my friends eyed me with scrutiny and wonder (probably more of the latter since they ARE my friends!). I sighed and reminded them that I love food just as much as they do. But over the past few years, as I've practiced more and more yoga, I've become incredibly fine-tuned to my body's responses to foods. I prefer to nurture my body with foods that fuel rather than depress. I eat almost totally gluten free (which basically means no wheat products), as little sugar as possible (NO high fructose corn syrup!), and as minimally processed foods as I can. I try to eat organic, too, since I'd rather not eat nasty pesticides. I want to encourage you to think about the food that you ingest and how your body feels after you eat it. Personally, I want to feel alive and energized after eating: not depleted, tired, and irritable (sound familiar?!). My friends tend to take the defensive and insist that they are honest to goodness happier when eating an extra large ice cream sunday. I think the happiness from sweets is only temporary, and in the long run will probably make them gain weight and just have them craving more and more. As I always remind them, life is all about choices. Yes, sometimes it's more expensive or more "work" to eat the way that I choose to. But it's worth it for how amazing I feel!

How do your food choices make you feel?

Choose love!
Grace

PS Two foodie books that I recently borrowed from the library:
"Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes from and Why We Need to Get It Back" and "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto". I'm still reading them, so I can't quite give you a thumbs up or down, but I'm definitely intrigued...