I resolved this year to be more grateful for my food.
My life is busy, and the need to grab something quick was all too prevalent. I often ended up eating something, anything, exhausted at each meal, in front of the television.
But growing some of my own food has made me more aware how much intensive work is put into supplying it.
What we see in the shops is the product of a long chain of inputs: soil, seeds, watering, feeding, pest / weed control and harvest, plus packaging, transport and handling.
Growing food at home has given me a huge appreciation of the battles faced by farmers.
I resolved to eat more meals at the table, and to quarantine myself away from all my chores and all my distractions, including the television, so I could focus on my food.
I’m still doing this after 3 months, which tells me not just that my habit has changed, but that the habit is self-reinforcing. It’s working for me, so I feel like continuing it.
At breakfast and lunch, I look at my food, think about how lucky I am to be eating it, and concentrate on the taste of it. The interesting thing is I’m tasting my food more, and I seem more satisfied afterwards. I’m not as hungry, I think because I know that I have eaten. It’s a conscious effort that sends some kind of signal to my brain that I’m doing okay, I’ve fuelled up, and I’m raring to go.
I still eat dinner in front of the television most nights, because I’m still exhausted by my day! But the days seem fuller, and my stress when things invariably go wrong seems more manageable on more days.
A habit change that has cost nothing, and turned out to be priceless.
Joni Page 