Mindful Eating: Re-Thinking the Family Meal

Ever sit down to the table, devour your meal, and run off to the next activity? Amidst our busy lives full of rides to school, team carpools, and getting homework done, sometimes mealtime becomes just another necessary task on the list of to-dos. However, many parents have begun to re-think the importance of family mealtime by adopting a practice of mindful eating.

Mindful eating extends the ancient Buddhist practice of mindfulness (deliberately paying attention and being fully aware of what is happening both inside and outside yourself) to daily meals. Mindful eating can be practiced by slowing down, by paying full attention to the experience of eating and drinking including the colors, smells, textures, flavors, temperatures, and sounds of our food. Mindful eating can be practiced by attending to the feelings in your mind and body whilst you eat.

Slowing down (even if it’s only once a day during a family meal) can give you a sense of peace and joy. And what better time than mealtime to increase your self-awareness? Mindful eating can help you focus on your health, relating to your children, and your overall happiness. As you’ll learn, developing a practice of mindful eating is not about giving anything up (except for stress), but rather, it’s about enriching your experiences surrounding food and eating.

Hang on… paying attention to food, feelings, and thoughts seems inconvenient and time consuming, right? Isn’t it just easier to eat dinner and then move one with the evening?  While mindfulness can take some effort and some investigation, it does not have to take up a lot of time, and the benefits can be immediate. Here are some quick tips to begin a practice of mindful eating:

1. Have a seat. When we’re on the go our body secretes a stress hormone called cortisol. Too much of this sometimes-beneficial stress hormone can lead to health problems that affect our happiness, sleep patterns, energy, digestion and metabolism. Studies show that when meals are consumed in a relaxed or communal setting, the body releases other more helpful neurohormones that assist to enhance happiness and reduce stress. By slowing down physically, the body receives signals that it’s time to relax.

2. Be prepared. Mindful eating begins before actually digging into the meal. This is an excellent time to bond with your children and family. With childhood obesity still a country-wide epidemic, teaching kids about healthy eating and nutrition during meal prep time can extend its benefits beyond the home and into their school and social lives. Learning about where food comes from, how its grown, and fun ways healthy food can be prepared to taste good teaches children to respect the local food systems and creates more personal awareness.

3. Slow down. Breathe and express intention. Many families begin mealtime with a prayer or meditation where they express thanks that everyone has come together to enjoy a healthy meal. After a long day of play and school, your little ones might seem ravenous as they sit down to the table. Encouraging everyone to take a nice deep breath will help switch the brain over from a more sympathetic, stress-driven state to a more relaxed, parasympathetic state where happiness and rejuvenation begin to set in. Tip: try a mindful eating mantra, such as “this food is our source of life” or “we’re grateful for our opportunity to come together as a family each night at dinner.”

4. Happy digestion equals a happier you. Did you know that digestion begins by smelling the aroma of foods? This is why meal prep time and the expression of intention before eating are so important in developing a practice of mindful eating. The body will begin to secrete the acids and digestive enzymes necessary for the body to absorb maximum nutrition from food. By encouraging a discussion, we tend to put the fork down for a moment or two, further benefiting digestion. Pausing between bites allows everyone to reflect on their day.

Stress is by far one of the top concerns patients report in health care practices across the country today. The go-go-go mentality so easily adopted here in the states often filters into family life, making it increasingly more difficult for parents and children to spend quality time together. Mindful eating promotes the health of the whole family, and it gives a much needed respite from the rush of everyday life. So, when you’re laying out the place settings for tonight’s dinner, make sure mindfulness also makes it onto the table.

Olivia Roat is a reporter for GoStrengths!, a site which offers depression prevention programs for teens and their parents.