I love to cook. But not just for the sake of making food. I love to create meals that nourish our bodies – and our souls.
I love the whole ‘European’ process of preparing food – with each step containing the nourishing energy of love…
Shopping for fresh produce at the local market early in the morning, picking up the still-warm bread from the corner bakery, and stopping occasionally to say hi to the neighbors passing by…
Placing the vegetables and fresh herbs in a colander and admiring their colors, shapes, and fragrances…
Stirring, cooking, setting the table, eating, and staying seated just a little longer after the meal is over…
Growing up in Croatia, I watched Nana (my grandmother), who lived with us, prepare delicious meals. They weren’t elaborate meals and I often wondered how such small amounts of food fed our family of five. We never snacked between meals, we were pretty healthy and satisfied.
What I didn’t realize then is that nutrition is not just about what we eat, but how we eat and how we digest the food we consume.
The Chopra Health course (that I am now practice-teaching and soon to be certified in), presents the science behind our digestive system. It’s like I’m hearing my mom and Nana saying: “Sit and eat in peace,” “Calm down before you eat,” “Don’t run from the table too fast, let your food digest…” LOL
Did you know that digestion starts before we take the first bite?
Did you know that food provides both energy and information that our bodies and our minds need to function properly and efficiently?
How we metabolize food determines how our bodies absorb the nutrients and how they process and eliminate toxins.
I love (re)learning about this and applying it to my every-day life.
As much as I love to skip down to the Farmer’s Market on an occasional Saturday morning and take the whole day to cook, preparing a beautiful meal doesn’t have to be a huge production.
All it takes is paying attention – sitting down, putting my phone away during meals, serving food on a nice plate, blessing it and feeling grateful for it, noticing what I eat, noticing the colors and textures of the food, and eating in peace without rushing… And lingering afterwards for a few minutes to allow my body to start breaking down the last bite. Then I move a bit before I sit down on my office chair to work.
When I was learning about Mindful Eating as a part of nutrition, one thing jumped at me: gratitude helps digestion.
I love to cook. But not just for the sake of making food. I love to create meals that nourish our bodies – and our souls.
I love the whole ‘European’ process of preparing food – with each step containing the nourishing energy of love…
Shopping for fresh produce at the local market early in the morning, picking up the still-warm bread from the corner bakery, and stopping occasionally to say hi to the neighbors passing by…
Placing the vegetables and fresh herbs in a colander and admiring their colors, shapes, and fragrances…
Stirring, cooking, setting the table, eating, and staying seated just a little longer after the meal is over…
Growing up in Croatia, I watched Nana (my grandmother), who lived with us, prepare delicious meals. They weren’t elaborate meals and I often wondered how such small amounts of food fed our family of five. We never snacked between meals, we were pretty healthy and satisfied.
What I didn’t realize then is that nutrition is not just about what we eat, but how we eat and how we digest the food we consume.
The Chopra Health course (that I am now practice-teaching and soon to be certified in), presents the science behind our digestive system. It’s like I’m hearing my mom and Nana saying: “Sit and eat in peace,” “Calm down before you eat,” “Don’t run from the table too fast, let your food digest…” LOL
Did you know that digestion starts before we take the first bite?
Did you know that food provides both energy and information that our bodies and our minds need to function properly and efficiently?
How we metabolize food determines how our bodies absorb the nutrients and how they process and eliminate toxins.
I love (re)learning about this and applying it to my every-day life.
As much as I love to skip down to the Farmer’s Market on an occasional Saturday morning and take the whole day to cook, preparing a beautiful meal doesn’t have to be a huge production.
All it takes is paying attention – sitting down, putting my phone away during meals, serving food on a nice plate, blessing it and feeling grateful for it, noticing what I eat, noticing the colors and textures of the food, and eating in peace without rushing… And lingering afterwards for a few minutes to allow my body to start breaking down the last bite. Then I move a bit before I sit down on my office chair to work.
When I was learning about Mindful Eating as a part of nutrition, one thing jumped at me: gratitude helps digestion.
Saying Grace before a meal, feeling grateful for the source of the food, and for “all of the human beings and elements of nature that have contributed to the meal on your plate” actually sends the signals to our brains that everything is ok.
Our body reacts with lowering stress hormones and prepares our digestive system to release enzymes and activate the gut bacteria.
How awesome is that?
Especially when you think that every culture and religion has some sort of a ritual of blessing and giving thanks before a meal.
Since the beginning of our existence, humans knew what’s best for your body, mind and spirit. We knew what to eat and how to eat it. It’s just that in the past few hundreds of years, we did a lot of forgetting.
We eat while working, we pick up food at a drive-through and eat while driving (not able to look at our food), we eat stressed out, in front of TVs, and scrolling through our social media. We eat food our bodies don’t even recognize as food, and we wonder why we feel unwell.
It’s as if we made an agreement that everything else is more important than eating. Even though, next to breathing, it’s one of our most vital bodily functions.
So this week, I’d like to invite you to observe and take notice about what you eat and how you eat.
Saying Grace before a meal, feeling grateful for the source of the food, and for “all of the human beings and elements of nature that have contributed to the meal on your plate” actually sends the signals to our brains that everything is ok.
Our body reacts with lowering stress hormones and prepares our digestive system to release enzymes and activate the gut bacteria.
How awesome is that?
Especially when you think that every culture and religion has some sort of a ritual of blessing and giving thanks before a meal.
Since the beginning of our existence, humans knew what’s best for your body, mind and spirit. We knew what to eat and how to eat it. It’s just that in the past few hundreds of years, we did a lot of forgetting.
We eat while working, we pick up food at a drive-through and eat while driving (not able to look at our food), we eat stressed out, in front of TVs, and scrolling through our social media. We eat food our bodies don’t even recognize as food, and we wonder why we feel unwell.
It’s as if we made an agreement that everything else is more important than eating. Even though, next to breathing, it’s one of our most vital bodily functions.
So this week, I’d like to invite you to observe and take notice about what you eat and how you eat.
Music
You’ve got to hear David and I sing “Jambalaya” on one of our Live Streams 🙂 Check out SessionsLive for our schedule – and if you catch a show, make sure you let us know you are there to hear it 🙂
I sang this song with my dad and his band when I was a teenager. I remember the guests at the summer resorts dancing and singing along. As Croatians love their food and having a good time, this always made us smile and feel good. Here is the great Hank Williams singing “Jambalaya”
You’ve got to hear David and I sing “Jambalaya” on one of our Live Streams 🙂 Check out SessionsLive for our schedule – and if you catch a show, make sure you let us know you are there to hear it 🙂
I sang this song with my dad and his band when I was a teenager. I remember the guests at the summer resorts dancing and singing along. As Croatians love their food and having a good time, this always made us smile and feel good. Here is the great Hank Williams singing “Jambalaya”
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AND live your dream life.
Get weekly emails, exclusive content. special offers and
event updates directly to your inbox.