Appreciating Food

Appreciating food- it sounds so simple. Clean, wholesome, well-prepared food is enticing, inviting, fulfilling, rewarding, and so much more. Today we use food for many things. We use it to celebrate, to reward, to entertain, and to show love or affection, just to name a few. But how mindful are you of the food that you put into your body? Have you stopped to consider that the food that you put into your body will become, in some way, part of you? It provides fuel and gives us energy, or at least it should.

Before eating your next meal, stop. Spend a few moments, inhaling the aroma of your meal. Note the color of each item on your plate. Look at the shape of each piece of food. Continue to breathe deeply, allowing the aroma to entice you and draw you in. Think of the time and care that went into providing the meal. Imagine the flavor. Appreciate the food before you. Give thanks.

Eating is much more than putting food in our mouths. Eating the right foods, properly prepared nourishes the body and mind. It provides the building blocks for healing, repair, maintenance, and recovery. Food is vital to our existence.

Do you appreciate your food?