Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! The perfect excuse for indulging in a meal of pork carnitas tacos, tortilla chips and guacamole and of course, margaritas. In fact, I am sure many people enjoyed a Mexican food fiesta, but not us. Nope. Instead we met up with some great people (you know who you are) for some great conversation over some relatively decent Thai food. I would feel bad about the Thai food thing, but we seriously eat more Mexican food in our casa than anyone I know.
Back to the matter at hand. My Nutrition Tip O' The Day. I know that you have anxiously been awaiting the second installment....or maybe I am just hopeful that have been? Regardless, my tip is to eat your meal with chopsticks. Am I being serious? Yes, in fact, I am.
Case in point, dinner tonight required some decision-making. Should I use the familiar, loyal and trustworthy fork or venture into unknown and foreign territory and try the chopsticks? Well, because I was hungry and I didn't feel like working so hard to eat my food, I chose old reliable...the fork. Somewhere around 4-5 bites in, I realized my dining companions were meeting the challenge of the chopsticks head on. Hmmmm, maybe they were on to something.
I realized that they were eating much more slowly than I was. Not only that, but their bites were smaller. Brilliant!!! Now, I know it's completely impossible to eat every meal with chopsticks. Your co-workers will think you are just plain wacky if you bust out chopsticks to eat your sandwich on your lunch break. It's not so much the chopsticks themselves, but the concept....eat more slowly and take smaller bites.
Consuming meals in this fashion allows you to enjoy your food, savoring each bite. It also helps with digestion and satiety. I think I read somewhere once that it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the signal that you're full. I have seen many people (including myself) consume an entire meal in less time than that. Ever eat so quickly that about 20 minutes later you feel soooooo full? Yup, by that time, it's too late. You've already consumed calories that you don't need or even want. Yuck.
So next time you are dining at a place with chopsticks, I encourage you to give them a try. You'll see that you are a much more mindful eater. Practice mindful eating at every meal, chopsticks or not, and you'll find eating can be a rewarding experience, not just a way to fill a void.
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