There is no set way to incorporate mindfulness into your cooking. So, we have pulled together some ideas to help you discover what works for you.
Go back to the source
For Marmalade + Kindness, mindful cooking starts with the seasons. Through the seasons we can celebrate the bounty that each one brings, from detoxifying greens in Spring, to juicy stone fruits in the Summer, to comforting root vegetables in Autumn and Winter. It’s as though nature knows what to bring us to nourish our bodies through each transition. There is also a steadying effect, in appreciating the predictability of the changing seasons.
When you start to engage with fresh food, through touch and smell, and an appreciation of its colours and distinctive shapes, it’s like filling your shopping bags with possibility and wonder. There is a creative spark that starts to flow to inspire your cooking.
The other way we can appreciate where our food comes from is from how we treat leftovers. Stale bread makes for excellent croutons; a roasted chicken carcass or odd vegetables will make a flavourful stock; other leftover scraps can be put to work as compost.
To support Mother Earth, we also need to recognise the power of our purchasing choices. Whether we like it or not, through our choices, we are influencing the impact food production has on the planet – it’s within our control to be intentional about what we want that impact to be.
- Be curious about what’s in season. Download a seasonal calendar and pin it up in your kitchen. If there is a particular fruit or vegetable you love, be curious about how to select it for ripeness.
- Visit farms. Pick your own fresh fruit and vegetables – there is nothing more glorious than berry picking in summer.
- Shop sustainably. Make use of your local farmer’s markets or sustainable delivery services.
- Become a green thumb. Consider growing your own fruit and vegetables.
- Eliminate waste. Plan meals in advance to avoid making too much food. Be resourceful and creative with leftovers (while always following food safety).
It’s all in the preparation
We need to be flexible to life’s demands. Some days we will need to make something fast, while other days we crave the challenge of project cooking. Some days you just need to be alone in the kitchen to gather your thoughts and focus, and other days you will want to enjoy making food with your family and thrive off the general bustle of the kitchen.
Mindful cooking means being aware of what you need at that moment and getting the most out of it. With attention, simple tasks can create deep focus, meaning and mastery. For example, we can ‘cut up an orange’ or we can segment it, removing all the tough pith and enjoying the sweetness of the fruit.
By setting an intention before you start cooking, you are creating time for appreciation and reflection.
- Be aware of your space. Try to create a calm, tidy and distraction-free environment before you start cooking.
- Trust yourself. Cooking is about instinct. Use your senses to appreciate the raw ingredients you are using—their smell, texture, shape, colour. Taste the ingredients before you use them and keep tasting as you cook. Think about how to bring out the best in them through flavour and textural pairings – just as individuals, no matter how talented we are, we can achieve more in strong teams. After all, what’s tomato without basil? Or peas without mint? Your senses will also guide the process. The waft of gently roasting nuts will let you know they are done, as will the aroma and crackle of frying bacon.
- Enjoy the physicality of cooking. There are so many dynamic motions we recruit – from stirring to kneading, whisking or chopping. Tune in to how your body is feeling and your energy levels. The expression on your face, the pace of your breathing and how grounded you feel are all key cues.
- Use timers. Think about how you are going to manage your time and improve your skills to develop mastery and efficiency. Develop your game plan. Just as we set timers for baking cakes, we can use this discipline in our daily life to make sure that tasks that should take 20 minutes, don’t end up taking an hour…
- Prepare recipes that are meaningful to you. For example, something you used to eat as a child. Cooking can also be an excellent opportunity to connect with different cultures, history or spirituality (through traditional foods and fasting practices).
Create moments of shared joy
Cooking is a gift, as you pour your love and energy into creating something for your family or just for yourself. It’s beautiful to think about how happy we can make others by making them their favourite dish or having a warm plate of food ready for when they get home.
Mindfulness doesn’t end when we pull the roast out of the oven, the attention we give to our meals can be just as revitalising.
- Give thanks. Bring to mind everything it has taken to bring the meal to the table and be grateful for the people enjoying it with you. This may be an internal reflection or something to be voiced.
- Experiment with plating up. Try and make dishes visually appealing or plate it up on some special china (although in the end, it’s what’s on the inside that counts!)
- Create rituals. Make mealtime a time for relaxation and connection. Put your phone away and focus on the people in front of you.
- Reflect on connection. By breaking bread together we are deepening our bonds with one another. Focus on a special moment, like the delight in your companion’s eyes before they go for seconds. You may even note it for your gratitude journal.
