The Art of Conscious Eating with Amora Podcast

Words by Barbara De la Peña Cuevas (she/her)

A plate of food carries the collective efforts of people, communities, and mother nature. It holds the evolutionary knowledge of generations past. Every single plate of kai is an opportunity to reconnect with our heritage, land, and pleasure. 

Acknowledging that cooking and savouring every bite is an experience not everyone has access to, reconnecting to food and celebrating it is an opportunity available to us. I have the honour to connect with listeners from all over the world every month and discuss our thoughts on pleasure, food, and inner and outer connection to the natural world through my podcast: Amora Podcast.

During my travels overseas, navigating veganism, and living as a foreigner, I have found immense healing in cooking, eating, and sharing.

As a former anaemic and patient of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), I have come to terms with the fact that the journey of healing and nutrition is non-linear. Some days it feels effortless, others feel like a never-ending battle. Here are some habits and ideas that have improved my nutrition, mental health, relationship with eating, and social life.

Disrupting mindless eating

Food has become a commodified artefact: industrialised, fast, and highly processed. We have become used to the fastness of deliveries and embracing distraction when eating. Sometimes, we might see eating as a chore or activity to do ‘in the background’, rather than a celebration of our bodies and senses.

Conscious eating, like other habits, requires practice and intentional input. Before eating, pause and feel your senses for a few seconds to break apart from the eating auto-pilot. Try closing your eyes, getting carried away by the smells. Try to untangle the components of your meal through your senses. What does your meal look like? Focus on the colours, the textures, and the arrangement. Which details may become pleasing to the senses? Take a couple of deep breaths in to bring your awareness to the present moment and indulge!

Practice gratitude

Gratitude is a practice that we can experience in many forms, smells, colours, and textures. It allows us to acknowledge what we do have and has proven to release stress and anxiety. It is simple; no matter if it is mentally or verbally, say "thank you". Pausing to acknowledge the meal that we are about to take in makes it more enjoyable and may support mental and emotional health throughout the day, allowing other things in our field of awareness to enter through the scope of gratitude.

Connect to the wider contexts

“Where does my food come from?” is a question that we barely ask ourselves yet should try to respond to as often as possible.

Bringing into perspective all the forces at play that support us having a full pantry and access to fresh ingredients brings to light a bigger system that remains invisible under the norms of industrialised, automatic eating.

As you stand before the ingredients for your meal or a warm plate of food, imagine where everything comes from. Imagine what that place looks like and who might have harvested the vegetables, herbs, and spices that will feed you later. If meat is in your diet, imagine the animal in its perfect form, fulfilling its role in the natural world before making its way to you.

If you do not know where your food comes from or if it comes from places farther away, seek a closer link to those foods locally. Get to know your local farmers, your local and seasonal produce, your community gardens, cooks, and their stories. The non-physical world also plays a role in bringing food to life.

Ritualise cooking and eating

If cooking is in your possibilities, do it as often as possible. When we cook we are forced to remember that we are working with the natural world, with plants, and animals if we utilise them.

Cooking may also become a safe space to disconnect from the outer world and think about what you are doing at that particular moment. One of my favourite moments of the day is cooking to music I love, putting my phone on aeroplane mode for a few minutes, and fully immersing myself in the craft. I feel re-energised, more grounded, and refreshed after each meal I make.

Choose a time and space to contemplate, disconnect, and nourish yourself and others if you choose so. If it is only eating, utilise that moment as a time to bring your awareness into the present, focusing on your senses., If possible, do it as attentively as possible, as the main activity rather than something you do on the side. The process of eating and cooking is spiritual. When we eat, we take nature into our bodies. We are changed by what we eat, we fuel our physical and emotional bodies. Eating is our most profound engagement with the natural world.

Food as a social prop

Eating from the same table and the same food puts people on the same emotional page. Food also functions as a prop that sparks social dynamics, conversations, and storytelling. Some of my most meaningful experiences with food have been preparing for a potluck where the main intent is sharing and bringing people together.

Ultimately, our relationship with the ingredients that we utilise in the kitchen and our meals reflects our relationship with the natural world and how we inhabit it. We must ask ourselves: how do we behave in nature, in the land? What stories around the process of gathering, cooking, sharing, and eating have we chosen to believe? How can we step back to making eating and cooking simple, accessible, and as enjoyable as possible? How can we reconnect with ourselves, our bodies, and our current needs?