MINDFUL MEALS

The other morning, rushing to prepare for a business appointment, I poured cold cereal into a bowl, added some fruit and nuts, and absentmindedly scarfed it down.

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If someone had asked me later what I'd eaten for breakfast, I could list the ingredients but little else. The flavor and texture were lost as my mind raced through a mental checklist: Was there time for a last-minute call? Had I answered that overnight email? The meal was merely fuel, consumed without awareness or enjoyment—a casualty of our culture of constant distraction, where even the simple act of eating goes unnoticed.

My experience is hardly unique. Perhaps you're at your computer answering a wall of emails while absentmindedly forking food into your mouth. Maybe you eat while scrolling on your phone, watching your favorite show, or grabbing fast food on the go.

“In the digital age we're always multitasking and are often not really consciously aware of what we're eating,” says Lilian Cheung, D.Sc., director of mindfulness research and practice in the department of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Food, she notes, is not just fuel for our bodies; it can also nourish our souls. When we rush through meals, we miss an opportunity to connect—with our food, ourselves, and the present moment.

The concept of mindful eating brings mindfulnessthe art of being present in the here and now-to our relationship with food.

Understanding these daily struggles we all face, Cheung, who coauthored Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life with Zen Buddhist master Thích Nhất Hạnh, suggests that learning to savor our meals rather than gulping them down can improve our well-being and our relationship with food. This mindful approach to eating, she explains, can serve as an antidote to our “epidemic of stress.”

WHAT IS MINDFUL EATING?