Trust Your Gut - Eat for Satisfaction Do You Feel Joy When You Eat?

Quick Disclaimer: This series explores Intuitive Eating from a chef’s perspective. This is not meant to provide specific medical advice. If these topics interest you, please consult a registered dietitian and/or healthcare provider for personalized guidance and education.

Yes, we all must consume nutrients in order to sustain our lives. Eating is an activity we have to do every day as a basic requirement for life. But, it can also be one of the most wholesome, satisfying parts of our days. Each meal or snack is an opportunity to feel connected with our bodies, show ourselves love and gratitude, express our creativity and originality, and embrace joy and fulfillment. That feels like a tall order for some of us… and that’s ok. We show ourselves grace and we remember that diet culture has been working very hard for very long to distort these positive feelings. When you’re ready, join us to explore the beauty of the Satisfaction Factor.

What is the Satisfaction Factor?

Mindfulness

As a form of meditation, mindfulness leads us to focus our attention on just the one activity, eating. By cutting out distractions and becoming more in tune with our bodies, we will begin to feel sensations that went unnoticed before. When we are eating mindfully we notice each texture, appreciate all the aromas, and explore each flavor as we chew and interact with our food. We also give ourselves the space to connect with our true feelings and opinions of the food we are eating.

The Environment In Which We Are Eating

Just like mindfulness, this encourages us to minimize the distractions around us. When we are looking for the Satisfaction Factor it is important to turn off the TV and Radio, resist the urge to scroll through our phones, stop adding to the never-ending To-Do List in our heads, and spend this time sola if possible. Dining with others is a beautiful experience and we should invite that into our lives as well. However when we are first searching for the Satisfaction Factor undistracted, alone time is crucial. We can create a calming, soothing ambiance around us to heighten our mood while we eat.

Eating What You Really Want

When we sit down to eat and we are excited to dive into the dish that awaits us, we are well on our way to finding the Satisfaction Factor. There are times when convenience and accessibility dictate the meal in front of us and satisfaction can be found. However, when we begin our journey to finding the Satisfaction Factor, practicing with our favorite meals can create the most rewarding experiences.

How Do We Find It?

1. Set The Mood

   1. Remove Distractions

      1. Turn off Audio/Visual distractions like the TV, radio, Clubhouse, Instagram.

      2. Remove physical clutter from your dining area.

         1. Do you have a pile of papers on the dining room table? For now, place them in a box and move them to another room of your house so that your space is clear and calming.

      3. Consider turning your phone on airplane mode while you eat.

      4. If you have kids and a partner, ask your partner to take care of mealtime for the little ones so that you can have undistracted, alone time.

   2. Sit and Eat

      1. Do not stand and eat or eat on the move.

      2. Find a comfortable seat in which you are not tempted to get up from quickly.

   3. Add to your ambiance

      1. Consider enjoying your meal outside in the fresh air.

      2. Maybe turn on some soft, instrumental music.

      3. Light some unscented (or lightly scented) candles. You don’t want to burn very strong aromas because the candle could overshadow the smell and taste of your food.

      4. Add a bouquet of fresh cut flowers and living herbs as a centerpiece.

   4. Create a space in which you’d like to spend hours and hours on end.

2. Prepare Nourishing Food

   1. Confidently prepare a meal using cooking techniques with which you are familiar and comfortable.

      1. If you are interested in learning new cooking techniques and want a helping hand along the way, call us! Our chefs love to educate home cooks and provide support.

   2. Search for Variety in your Food

      1. The most satisfying dishes balance different flavors and textures to create an adventure for your palate.

      2. The 5 basic flavors are sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. But don’t stop there with flavor. Consider flavors like spice, earthiness, herbaceous, richness, tropical, floral, oaky, or sulfidic and how they may elevate your dish.

      3. Stimulate your palate further by incorporating various textures throughout your dish. Some to keep in mind are chewy, juicy, tender, mushy, creamy, crunchy, crispy, silky, gelatinous, soft, and lumpy.

   3. Consider the Temperature

      1. On a hot day, you may want a refreshing dish like a cold salad, frozen dessert, or blended drink.

      2. On a cold day, you may feel comforted by a warm soup, melty sandwich, or hearty casserole.

      3. You can also find variety in your food through temperature by creating your meal using some cold elements and some hot elements.

   4. Visual Interest

      1. We eat with our eyes first, right? Try to create a dish that makes you smile as soon as you look at it.

      2. Add a fun garnish to feel that extra level of care and pampering.

         1. You could also add a silly garnish (draw your sauce in a smiley face).

      3. Prepare a colorful meal.

         1. Many of our foods boast vibrant, beautiful colors, so take advantage of nature’s color palette.

3. Eating for Satisfaction

   1. Take some deep breaths and get centered.

   2. Practice the 5 Senses Scavenger Hunt

      1. List 3 things you see, 3 things you hear, 3 things you smell, 3 things you taste, and 3 things you feel

   3. Notice as flavors, textures, and temperature sensations change throughout your meal

   4. If you have a flavorful beverage, explore how the drink enhances different flavors within your meal.

   5. Take some more deep breaths.

   6. Take your time.

   7. Allow yourself to relax and become fully enveloped in this dining experience.

What have we discovered?

We may immediately feel a deep satisfaction and joy, but for many of us this will take practice. Remember, Intuitive Eating is all about progress, not perfection. The more often we can create these dining experiences centered around mindfulness, the more in tune we will become with our bodies. In turn, we will be able to find that satisfaction and feel wholesome nourishment. Food gives us energy, but it also feeds our soul. When we can feel satisfaction and pleasure in our food, each mealtime can become an opportunity for a mini-retreat and healing reset during our day.

The result is so worth it but yes, this sounds extremely time consuming. Who has time to do this three times a day, once a day, or even once a week? It’s ok. In the beginning, discovering the satisfaction factor isn’t always accessible. How do we get started when it feels so time consuming? We can schedule one meal next week with which to practice mindfulness and go through the whole process. Until that time, we can begin practicing little pieces when they make sense in our days. For example, we could commit to not looking at our phones at all during lunch. Or we could take a moment while we eat breakfast to notice the different textures that we feel in our food. Once we schedule and execute the whole process, we could create a recurring date with ourselves to continue practicing. The more we practice and find that satisfaction factor, the easier it will be to find it - even with distractions around. This will allow us to discover the satisfaction factor more often and in more meals that we enjoy. Progress, not perfection, is the key.