I spend a lot of time making sure people know that I am wholly imperfect. When it comes to food [as it so often does], I praise the need for wine and bread and chocolate and ice cream and well, insert whatever your favorite supposedly less-than-perfectly-healthy-food is here.
However, just because I enjoy all of these things, it doesn’t mean I base my manner of eating around them alone. We know the cornerstone of that is simple: plants, plants, and more plants.
I’ve been thinking about how it is that I’ve managed to strike such a balance in my life. How is it that an extremist and perfectionist developed the ability to understand that basic concept of moderation?
It all comes back to one thing. I am mindful.
i find mindfulness is particularly appropriate at restaurants. there is so much to soak up: atmosphere, company, new flavor.
There is a line, of course, between being mindful and being obsessed. It is one thing to be aware in the present moment of what you are craving, what is available to you, and how hungry you are. It is another to be preoccupied with planning and balancing every moment of every day.
Here’s an example: I enjoy perusing restaurant menus – with flavor and food being one of my hobbies, reading a menu is akin to an introduction, the way one might watch a movie trailer or read the jacket of a new book. But when I scan menus, I am not thinking about ways in which I can balance out ordering the dishes I want through exercise or restriction. Instead, I’m on a hunt for the intrigue that causes me to add a restaurant to my “must-try” list. I save the decision-making process of what to order for the moment when I am seated at the table.
I often joke that my family and I take half an hour just to make it through a menu in a new restaurant. The reason, I believe, is that we are being mindful. We are thinking. We are considering. We are being in the moment.
one of the joys of dining is trying bites of other’s dishes, should they appeal to you. above: my sister’s pancakes smothered in fruit [including deliciously caramelized pears].
Mindfulness can appear in such a variety of forms. It came to me recently during an evening with my sister when we spotted the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, and right then, I knew I wanted nothing more on that warm night than a dish of soft serve [with olive oil and sea salt = amazing]. If I don’t have plans after work, it often comes on my subway ride home, when I mull what I truly feel like preparing for dinner [Raw? Cooked? Simple? Spiced?]. It came before dinner last night, when I stared in my pantry and thought, “Quinoa or couscous?” And then I realized: neither – I want some toast. It even occurred while I was contemplating a gorgeous antique bracelet yesterday and ultimately decided the $28 would be better spent on a theater ticket later this week.
my brunch at paprika: green eggs – scrambled with basil pesto – atop grilled polenta, with a mountain of tomato salsa. with an unpictured bellini, of course.
I’m not sure that mindfulness is inherent to our behavior. I think we have to learn it, to cultivate it with each new experience that we have.
I do know that practicing it has been crucial as I’ve worked on learning to trust my body and embrace my appetite. I try to tune in to what I crave, what does my body good, what I feel will satisfy me most. It’s an ongoing process, but I get better at it with each month that goes by.
How are you mindful? Do you strive or struggle to be?
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oh myyyy the fruit on there LOOKS SO GOOD! what a healthy and delicious sinful little meal hehe. i totally love it when i see menus like that! the fact that some companies search out local and organic foods when available proves to me they are concious is all they do.. how they cook and how the atomosphere is in the restaurant too. i strive to be mindful and so happy it isnt a struggle.. comes more effortlessly for me
when a big gay ice cream cone calls, you answer and indulge. i feel like this could be viewed as a dirty euphemism or analogy, but i’m not gonna go there. i’m simply talking about ice cream. anyway…
yes. i hear you on this. i still struggle from time to time with being mindful of what i truly crave and certainly celebrate the moments that i just “go with it.” take friday evening for example. after a small dinner of three guac samples and shrimp ceviche (uhm, delicious!), i was dying for a slice of pizza at 2AM. and so i got pizza. sure, i felt a bit guilty about indulging, but answering these cravings means i don’t feel deprived, which prevents bingeing and overeating later that day, the next day, or anytime in the future. simple brain science/ psychology is working on me. i like it.
The fact that an entity called the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck exists makes me happy indeed. Possibly the best name ever.
Mindfulness – learning to be mindful in regards to my own physical needs and hunger is still an evolving process. Truthfully, I’m horrible at it. I’m mindful when it comes to soaking in my surroundings and enjoying the nuances of places and people. I’m very much in the moment when I’m around others – I try to pick up on their vibes, body language, subtleties…I find that when I’m aware in this manner, I notice little things that make me smile, or make me curious, interested, warm and fuzzy…all sorts of emotions that I may not otherwise been privy to.
I wish my mindfulness was more consistent. On the whole I think I’m pretty mindful but I tend to have a harder time being mindful when in social situations.
1. ice cream with OLIVE OIL?! take me to that big gay truck! (please.)
2. paprika is great! have you had their dinner prix-fixe? $15 for two full-size courses!
3. i think i’ve finally struck the balance. i eat the foods i love- foods that nourish and energize (and also give me pleasure), and like you, can get lost in the anticipation -or prelude, if you will- of menu reading. of course, there are rare off-days when i just want to eat cereal all day, and others when all i want is seaweed. again, it always balances out. wholly imperfect, as you say.
hi leslie :)
this is a really appropiate post for me — i’ve found that i’ve been eating much too fast. my dad’s like, “chew your FOOD, chandra!” speed while eating always made me sort of anxious; i’m too fast, i’m too slow. but you’re right, what’s most important is that you are mindful of your own body + feelings.
on another note i love my cereal and ice creammmmm
<3
well put! I try and do the same thing.
What is this Big Gay Ice Cream truck?! I must know! Sea Salt and Olive Oil soft serve? WHAT!!!!!!!!!! NYC is clearly the best place on Earth. Teach me your ways!