I Am What I Eat and I Eat What I Think: Mindful Eating

I couldn't say it better if I tried...check out the NY Times for an article on the new trend (and helpful practice) of mindful eating!  

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/mindful-eating-as-food-for-thought.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=mindless%20eating&st=cse&scp=1

Some of our tips as well:

1.  Start mindful eating with simple foods and a few ingredients - It will help you focus and keep you from being too overwhelmed, especially at the start!

2.  If you like mixing foods on your plate, first try to eat each ingredient separately.  Notice the flavors and textures in each individual food.  Then mix the foods together and see how the flavors meld.

3.  Try a fun guessing game:  First, use a blindfold and cover a friend's eyes.  Have them smell different types of food and try to identify each one.  Then, use a clothespin to block the sense of smell of your friend while keeping the blindfold on.  See if they can recognize the foods now!  Finally, let them taste the foods with the blindfold and clothespin on - it may be harder than you think.  These exercises will tune you into how much of eating and taste is actually the senses of smell and sight.  

Good luck!