Mindfulness is a term that is often now heard in our daily conversations. Mindfulness promotes intentional awareness of what we focus on throughout the fast-paced, multi-tasking, busy lifestyles that many Americans lead. Mindful eating, on the other hand, is a term that invites everyone to become more in tune with their body, awareness, and feelings around the food we eat every day.
At Nature’s Garden, we want you to feel your healthiest year-round! This is why we have created nutrient-dense, fiber-full, and antioxidant-rich snacks that can be easily incorporated into anyone’s diet. We offer different trail mixes, nut mixes, probiotic fruit snacks, and more, so you can practice mindful snacking with many choices.
What is the Connection between Food and Well-being?
Food is far more than just fuel for our bodies. Life gets stressful, and many of us turn to comfort food or food that can simply bring us joy during dark times. Food changes the way we feel daily depending on the choices we make - some may be healthier than others for our physical and mental health.
Consuming an excess amount of refined carbohydrates can contribute to physical health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol if it persists over time. In addition to physical health conditions, diets that are high in glycemic load and index can potentially impact physiological well-being. Clinical studies have shown an association between higher dietary glycemic index depressive symptoms, and poor mood.
Mindful Snacking vs Counting Calories
Mindful eating, the act of paying full attention to the food you put in your body, focuses on the complete experience and feelings of all senses while eating food.
This approach to snacking has little to do with the overall calories consumed, the types of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, or every ingredient on a nutrition label. The stress of having to count every calorie you put into your mouth and the worry about whether you can allow yourself to have a snack between meals essentially disappear. Of course, mindful eating is not intended to result in weight loss but to help individuals truly savor their food and be fully present while eating.
We continue to hear about different diets people are trying, and in reality, diets will be effective in the short term. If you want to remove the stress of diet culture from your mind and truly embark on a healthy long-term relationship with food, mindful eating is just the approach for you. Continue reading for some of our tips and tricks on how to get started!
Snacking Mindfully: Tips and Tricks
Eating mindfully is about bringing full awareness to each plate or bite of food. It begins with the first thought about food and lasts until the final bite of food is eaten. Here are some suggestions to start eating mindfully
● Before eating something take a moment to pause and ask yourself: Am I stressed, bored, angry, or sad? Am I lonely? If the answer is no, you may be physically hungry. Be mindful of your answers and make a choice.
● If your desire to eat is not because you are hungry, do something else to fill the void. For instance, if you decide you are bored, go for a walk instead of eating a snack.
● Eat intentionally and only eat. Put away other distractions and pay attention to your food. This means, no TV, no working on your computer or scrolling on your phone… simply eating your food.
● After each bite, check in with your body’s hunger and fullness scale by asking: Have I had enough to eat? Am I still hungry? On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied am I with the food I have eaten?
Practicing mindfulness has helped thousands of people to live more intentionally and develop the skills necessary to manage chronic pain, disease, depression, sleeping problems, and anxiety. It takes the worry out of consuming too much food and instead allows you to relax and enjoy yourself while eating.
Product Suggestion: Nashville BBQ Almonds
Part of mindful snacking can be choosing a snack that reminds you of flavors and food you had while on vacation or even something a family member used to make you when you are homesick. With Nashville BBQ Almonds this can take you back to your favorite trip to a BBQ joint all in a few bites. The signature blend of smoked paprika, garlic, oregano, cayenne, and black pepper seasoning, generously coating the crunchy almonds makes for a delicious snack when you crave the BBQ flavor. What are you waiting for? Grab some of our Nashville BBQ Almonds on our website today!
