Here's Why You Should Pay Attention to Your Food

Chefs, restaurateurs, and people I dine with are sometimes surprised by how I remember dishes that I had eaten years ago. As a food writer, you are expected to remember tastes. But why this food memory should go back that far is something even I don’t understand fully. One big reason, however, could be that those of us in the business of decoding food and flavours are perhaps more tuned to eat mindfully. Of course, you do not need to be a food writer to appreciate the benefits of mindful eating. Remembering the flavours of what you are eating may or may not happen, if you pay attention to the bites. What will certainly happen, on the other hand, is better and healthier eating. If you are in the habit of eating a bowl of meal in front of the telly, watching your favourite show, abandon it right away. Take some time out, sit at a table and munch slowly, savouring each flavour and the experience.

All nutritionists will tell you that one reason why we land up making bad food choices is because of emotional eating. Feeling low: dig into that bag of chips and wine. Feeling bored: hog on instant noodles. Feeling stressed: reach for that bar of chocolate… All these are examples of not eating mindfully. As is eating on automation—ignoring your body cues, following set patterns and timings and eating when you are not hungry. Or, skipping meals and then eating when you are ravenous. You cannot pay attention to food when your instinct is screaming at you to tank up immediately!

Fortunately, with more emphasis on eating well and living well,  many of us are gradually moving towards mindful eating. Go to upscale restaurants, and you will realise that consuming habits in India have been changing and the premium is now on quality and not quantity. People, at least those affluent enough to take care of themselves, are now increasingly careful of each morsel they put in.

Which is also why we have those sundry fads dominating the business of food and restaurants: superfoods like quinoa, goji berries, chia seeds, spirulina, and seaweed have busted the charts in global popularity. And while you may have started on some of these, mindful eating also means that you relook at your foods and where they are sourced from; ingredients that notch up the carbon miles may not be a great idea. Go local.