You’re winding your way home from work on a jam-packed freeway, all the while creating a mental to-do list: The clothes in the overstuffed laundry hamper need washing, the holiday shopping list needs checking off, the dog needs an appointment with the vet — the list goes on. Eventually, you land, once again, on the most pressing to-do item: The dinner that needs to be made — tonight. If you’re like many, the question of what to make evokes a symphony of feelings, including stress, dismay and disgruntlement. But I’m here to present a new way of thinking about your nightly dinner duty: As a meditation. Here’s how:
[See: 10 Healthy Meals You Can Make in 10 Minutes.]
1. Recognize that eating at home is healthier.
Let’s face the facts: That routine of ordering takeout on busy nights is not exactly a healthy one. Studies consistently link eating out — especially in fast-food restaurants — with an increased intake of calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugar, as well as a higher risk of obesity. It’s easy to see why. When you eat out, particularly at fast-food and chain restaurants, your portions tend to be larger and filled with more highly-processed foods (think refined grains, sugars and fried foods) and fewer nutrient-rich foods (such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables) than at-home meals.
On the other hand, people who frequently eat at home tend to have healthier diets. That’s in part because when you cook, you can control what goes into your meals — less salt in the cooking pot, oil in the skillet and sugar in the iced tea pitcher — as well as your portion sizes. Plus, you can make sure to include servings of whole grains and vegetables on your plate, too.
[See: 10 Healthy Habits of the ‘Naturally’ Thin.]
It even gets better. Studies repeatedly show that when families eat dinner together on a regular basis, kids have better self-esteem and academic performance, and a lower risk of substance abuse, teen pregnancy and depression. It seems that sitting around the dinner table allows kids a few minutes in the day to share their problems and accomplishments, and to let parents reinforce positive messages that provide powerful benefits over a lifetime.
2. Consider cooking and eating a blessing.
In the land of plenty, it’s easy to forget that many people in our country once faced serious food insecurity in their lifetimes — and many still do today. While your grandmother may talk about the breadlines of the Great Depression, even today, 13 percent of households are food insecure. So, you can be annoyed that it takes an hour to get dinner on the table, but there are many people around the planet who would gladly take on that “burden.”
In fact, in many cultures, the act of cooking has always been considered a blessing — a revered tradition that continues to this day. The home cook (often the matriarch) approaches the kitchen with gratitude, ever thankful for the ingredients that allow her prepare a nutritious meal that will keep her family healthy and vibrant.
Sure, it may seem cliched; your mother might have told you years ago to clean your plate because of all those starving kids in Africa. But the sentiment bears repeating. Every time you approach the kitchen with a bountiful supply of wholesome ingredients, send up a small sentiment of gratitude.
3. Be a mindful cook.
When you are tired at the end of the day, why not shed those burdens at the door as you enter the kitchen? Treating cooking with the same mindfulness as a meditation practice can help you do just that.
To start, pull out a pot and fill it with water and a few handfuls of brown rice. Let it bubble over the heat as you recognize its earthy, starchy aroma warming you. Set a skillet on the stove, add a few golden-green drops of olive oil and saute an onion, breathing in those organosulfur compounds as they aromatize. Add freshly minced garlic, and let the odors intensify. Now, stir in some Indian spices such as turmeric, mustard seed, black pepper and cumin.
[See: The Best Spices for Your Health.]
As those warming spices fill the air, let the day’s stresses fall off your shoulders. Pull out those vegetables from the produce bin and chop away, letting your mind go as you methodically cut up those bright, colorful plants — perhaps you have carrots, bell peppers and zucchini — into neat chunks. Stir that kaleidoscope of vegetables into the skillet and notice how each one is so brilliant; how you have all of the colors of nature in your skillet. Imagine how the plants grew in the field; how the farmers tended and harvested each root and fruit. Open a can of chickpeas and diced tomatoes and stir them into your skillet to create a thick, bubbly, fragrant concoction.
Before you know it, that pot of rice is done and your chickpea vegetable stew is ready to accompany it. All of this in the amount of time it takes to call and pick up takeout. No piles of Styrofoam in the trash can, and a sense of satisfaction and ease at the end of the day.
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3 Ways to Make Cooking as Relaxing as Meditation originally appeared on usnews.com
