Having Enough to Eat

When we're eating consciously, we stop eating sooner than usual most of the time, which means we get hungry again sooner, too, sometimes. I think one challenge to this for us is having enough food around that we can snack on, that doesn't require making another meal. I think we had gotten into the habit of having sweets around as a way of handling the need for snacks.

David had been eating quite a bit of ice cream, and now he can't do that. He can either eat totally artificial ice cream (like what he got in the hospital, with no fat and no sugar), or he can't have ice cream at all. Today he got a smoothie when we were out, and it was exciting to think that this will satisfy his ice cream habit. Of course, when what he wants is ice cream, if he's "humming" for ice cream -- if the desire for it comes spontaneously from inside him -- then he should have it. It is critical that he eat consciously at that time, because it's important that he not eat any more than he actually wants. If he's paying attention and gets satisfied, then his desire for ice cream will be satisfied, and it won't dog him for days. But if a smoothie made with fruit and juice and yogurt will do, when something cold and sweet and creamy and fruity will do rather than specifically ice cream, then that really makes this choice a lot easier.

Also, I noticed last night that when we're eating consciously, it's even more important than usual that the food be really good. I made a curry last night, to make broccoli and cauliflower more appealing to him, and to use up some Copper River salmon we had had the night before, which was good but the flavor was strong. I wanted something strong to balance it. I enriched the sauce with potatoes and broccoli and cauliflower that either were left-overs from the night before or the stems. I cooked them thoroughly and then used the stick blender to make a sauce that had some body. It worked really well, but it actually was too thick. I was worried about it being too thin and tasting too strongly of kale, but it was too thick and the flavor was just fine, though it was not salty. So between the slightly too thick sauce and the strong-flavored salmon and the decision not to add salt to make it more appealing, it was easy to stop eating when we were satisfied.

I liked the warm weight of it as it went down my throat and into my stomach, it was easy to follow because it was thick. I did like that. We didn't have wine with it last night, because we had to an errand to run after dinner, and so maybe that made it easier to notice the food as well -- no wine blunting the sensations.

We were in a hurry tonight and wanted to eat with David's son, so we went to a local sandwich place. Without the mayo or cheese -- I didn't want the mayo and was willing to forego the cheese because David has to -- the sandwich was disappointing. It was very bland, and it was too big. We brought the part of the sandwiches home that we didn't eat there. Again, I think for me it was easier to give up the sandwich when I had had enough because it didn't have much interest for my mouth, either.

So that's my lesson for today, which I have learned again and again. A good time to really practice conscious eating is when the food isn't perfect. I mean, anytime is a good time to practice, but food that's not perfect is an opportunity, an easy one.