Sense-ual Eating: 6 Tips for Engaging Your Senses While You Eat #mindfuleating #slowdownandsavor #eatwithyoursenses

Today, The Weekend Gourmet's correspondent is sharing how to use all of our senses to get the most enjoyment from our meals! Instead of wolfing down your meal in a hurry...take time to really experience and enjoy what you're eating! This article will give you tips to get started.

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People talk at length about how "we are what we eat" and that what we eat matters. However, rarely do they talk about how we eat. It’s not that we should be standing on our heads singing Old MacDonald while we do it...but instead taking a moment to notice how we feel when we eat. When was the last time you sat quietly and ate food without distraction? When did you last notice the sweetness and tang of a ripe mango, see the bright colors together, and feel the texture in your mouth? Eating for your senses doesn't involve a trip to the optometrist or a hearing test. Rather, it means engaging your senses and using them for your eating experience. After all, food IS more than nourishment. When you eat slowly, food becomes an experience. With the six tips below, you can take a moment to truly appreciate the food you're eating! 

(1) Set the Scene

Turn off the TV and put down your phone. Instead, turn on music that matches your mood. Your meal should be an event -- even if there's only one set of cutlery. Mealtime is an escape from the world around you!
(2) Get as Comfortable as Possible

You need to be upright when you eat, not slouched. If you slouch, digestion can become impacted -- which is why you need good posture while you eat. We become what we digest, and no one wants to feel like a stuffed sausage.
(3) Breathe Between Bites

When you live a busy life, it can be easy to scarf down your food as fast as possible. However, when it comes to eating and paying attention to your senses, you need to take a big breath and slow yourself down. You’ll also smell your food in all its glory. Think about it: a few moments ago, your meal was all just ingredients!
(4) Really SEE Your Meal

You need the right lighting for the perfect meal setting, and the lighting should allow you to actually see the colors and the shapes of your meal. Pay attention to your food and embrace it!
(5) Chew Slowly

When we rush our meal, not only do we interrupt the digestive process (and burn our mouths), we also forget to allow the food to engage our senses. The juice of a peach, the richness of a steak -- it’s all there to be understood. Feel the textures...close your eyes if you must!
(6) Let Yourself Feel Full

Eating at your leisure is a privilege! Without kids pulling at you or being rushed by time limits, satisfy your mind as well as your stomach. Eat until you feel comfortably -- not excessively -- full. You’ll feel fantastic for it...and really be able to enjoy your meals.

Your eating experience should be amazing! Food is for pleasure and enjoyment as much as it's there to give you energy and nourishment. Enjoy your food completely: see it, feel it, smell it, taste it...and do it with music playing if you can!