The Concept of Conscious Eating

In the 80’s in Nigeria, before the influx of frozen poultry, my family would buy one large live chicken, and make a stew on a Sunday, this chicken would be stretched to about 6 people for lunch and there would be chicken left for dinner. Most households cooked one large meal on Sundays for lunch and dinner, it was almost always rice and stew!

What’s my point?

Six people shared a chicken and had left over for another meal. As a child I wasn’t malnourished. So I ask myself, why are we going to the food court and to eat half to one whole chicken alone? Is it beneficial to eat more chicken and meat because they have become cheaper and more abundant? What health compromises are we making when we eat more of what we do not need?

You might have heard the phrase: ‘’You are what you eat”

I want you to also learn this:

“What your food eats matters too”.

A few years ago, I went to buy eggs and there was a box labelled “Vegetarian fed hens”! I had a good laugh and asked if other chickens had steak. I am not laughing anymore.

Now that I have read up on practices on some farms, like forced cannibalism, whereby chicken parts are fed to chickens to cut cost on feeds, I find this cruel! And there is of course the antibiotics and God knows what else they feed to them! Ignorance is not always bliss!

Conscious Eating covers the whole gamut of knowledge of what you eat, how you eat and why you are eating.

Conscious Eating demands that you know your food, its source and its contribution to your overall health.

There is so much information and misinformation concerning food, “superfoods”, fad diets and vilified food groups. It becomes a balancing act to make food choices that are both nutritious and enjoyable. There is no bigger tragedy than not enjoying the food you eat!

I have observed that sometimes people jump on a new food item because it’s trendy! It was kale, then quinoa, flaxseed etc. You need to know how to cook it properly to enjoy it. I struggled with lentils for a long time, I made soups and salads, and because it was said to be “healthy”. I swallowed it just like I would a dreaded pill.

Learning to add some citrus to cut that lentil taste I didn’t like was the game changer, now I enjoy and love lentils. Sometimes it is a texture problem. Cooking vegetables a minute longer or shorter could make a difference. So, keep looking out for new ideas.

How you consume food is almost as important as what you are eating.

For instance, let’s look at a banana as one food choice.

The impact of one banana a day is different from four bananas in the same day. Eating one banana with your oatmeal for breakfast and snacking on it at bedtime have a huge impact on your metabolism. Bananas are incredibly healthy but not for everyone and not for all times of day. If athletes are eating banana during a tennis match, why should you eat it and go to bed?

Bananas contain a relatively high amount of sugar and carbohydrates, with negligible protein or healthy fats. They can quickly spike blood sugar levels. Such a high sugar fruits should be eaten earlier in the day, when you are active so the body can properly metabolize it.

Can we start thinking about how we buy, cook and store food?

Can we pay attention to the nutrition and calories of our foods, in conjunction with our lifestyle goals?

For me, keys to success are having meal plans, grocery lists and meal prepping.

I will share a few challenges here to get us going on.

My goal is that your focus shifts from just eating food to experiencing and enjoying food. Whatever your conscious eating goals are, I will be cheering you on with delicious recipes!

Cheers!

A J