We Don't Taste Our Food!

One of the classes I am taking right now is Food Science. In lab yesterday, we were dealing with taste and aroma. For one of our experiments, we were given 4 samples of juice: 1 red, 1 blue, 1 green, and 1 orange. We were instructed to taste the samples and figure out what flavor each juice was, and then rank it in sweetness from most sweet to least sweet.

My lab partner and I tasted the green juice first, and decided it tasted like lemon lime. We tasted the orange one next, and decided it was orange. But we got stuck on blue and red... we just couldn't figure out what the flavors were. As I sat there and tried each sample again and again, letting it run over each part of my tongue to make sure I wasn't missing any taste sensations... I realized they were all the same. We went and asked our professor, who confirmed that each of the samples was generic Kroger Lemonade with food coloring added.

The point of this experiment was to show us how certain colors are associated with certain flavors. If you are given an orange colored Popsicle, juice, or candy... you expect it to be orange flavored. What struck me most was that we don't really think about what we are consuming and how it tastes.

We live in a world that is fast paced. Meals are often consumed in our cars, over a 30 minute lunch break, in front of the TV, or at the end of a busy day when we are so hungry we don't care what it is, we just want food in our stomach. By not eating mindfully, we are missing out on all of the things that make our food amazing... and probably eating too much in the process.

At your next meal, I challenge you to resist the urge to plow through your meal like it's the last one you will ever have. Let's say you're eating pasta. We all know what pasta tastes like. Take a bite, put your fork on the table, stop talking, and chew slowly. Focus on the bright red color of the sauce, the texture of the spaghetti, the aroma of the garlic, and the flavor of the cheese. Pay attention to the sensation the spaghetti creates in different parts of your mouth and the minute flavor differences in the sauce.

Savoring each bite of food is going to slow your eating down significantly, which will allow your body to actually recognize when it's full. (Which takes about 20 minutes, by the way). Relishing each morsel as you eat is also much more satisfying than downing whatever you're eating without tasting it, which just leaves you wanting something else to eat.

Mindful eating is not about dieting, but experiencing the food you eat. So, I challenge you to ENJOY your food this weekend.

To make this easier:
1. Don't eat in front of the TV or while reading a book.
2. Give yourself enough time to enjoy your food. Don't rush.
3. Don't wait until you're starving to eat a meal.

Good luck! I think you will be amazed at what you have been missing once you slow down and ENJOY. After all, isn't that what good food is all about?

I hope everyone has a great weekend!