With the fast pace of the American Culture, more times then intended, our nutritional intake takes a hit. We rush around from activity to activity, errand to errand forgetting to slow down and truly take care of ourselves and our nutritional needs. I may go as far as saying we are the generation of "Grab and Go". Too many times we grab what we can and then eat on the run. When I asked the Alluem Kids how often they take time sit around the table and eat dinner together, the consensus was they do more eating on the go. My challenge to the kids was to bring back mindful eating. Take time with your food. Orange Meditation:
Handing an orange to each child...they held it with both hands, simply being grateful for having that orange. We recognized that there are people in the world without food and that we are lucky to have such an abundance in our lives. We then thought about where that orange came from...how it grew...who picked the fruit...cleaned it...brought it to the supermarket for us to buy. We recognized that a lot goes into getting food from the land it came from to our very hands. Then we smelt the orange - taking deeply breaths in and out. Rolling it between our palms intensifying the scent, we took the time to actually enjoy the yummy citrus scent. We looked closely it each of our oranges, noticing the color, feeling the texture. Oranges are one of the fruits that take some time and effort to get to. Taking the time to peel the orange, feeling the texture of the rind. As the orange becomes exposed, we noticed all the complexities of it - the sections it is conveniently divided into for us to easily peel apart, the tiny seeds and juice compartments that make up this yummy fruit. Yes, we picked apart every detail of this orange which got us to our ultimate goal of staying in the present while we take part in the act of eating. Eating the oranges the kids were able to truly engage all their senses while appreciating every bit of their food - a great experience for everyone!
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