It’s hard to tell where the habit to rapidly shovel food toward my mouth came from, but I think it may have something to do with 12 years of 20-minute school lunches. Twenty minutes to find a place to sit, buy food, talk with friends and eat a turkey sandwich was hardly enough time, and you couldn’t even take food to your next class (unless you were sneaky…something I’m pleading the fifth on). Those quickfire childhood lunches combined with five years of a career where I routinely eat at my desk have created a monster: sometimes I’m not even tasting my food as I eat it.

Mindful Eating is quite the buzz phrase here on PsychCentral, with many of our wonderful bloggers advocating for a new way to see and experience food. The benefits of mindful eating include: actually tasting what’s in your mouth, easier digestion, lowered consumption and a better relationship with food in general. When we take time to chew slowly and experience our meal without the interruption of television, work or even, at times, conversation, we are able to connect with our bodies on a much more intimate level.

The Slow Eating Challenge

Knowing the power of eating mindfully, we here at Psych Central want to issue a challenge to all our readers: During the next couple of days let yourself experience one meal completely and utterly. Maybe you eat in silence, maybe you close your eyes, maybe it’s about chewing slowly and asking yourself what exactly you’re tasting… However you interpret mindful eating.

After eating your meal, create something that shares your experience – a video blog, a photograph, a poem, a sketch – anything that accurately represents what you felt, tasted and enjoyed.

Send your submissions to talkback@psychcentral.com by Sunday, May 6th and we’ll post the best ones right here on World of Psychology! If you have your own blog or YouTube Channel, email us your blog address or channel URL and we’ll link to your site. Just make sure to add our “Slow Eating Challenge” icon below!

We look forward to your submissions and discoveries!