A Mindful Eating Practice for Families:

The story of our food and how to welcome gratitude.

Practicing gratitude is an extremely important skill because it brings joy and appreciation to our lives through the power of the heart. It is mental health and a daily attitude that helps connect us with that which brings joy. Mindful eating is a practice for welcoming gratitude and connecting to our food.

Families can model being grateful before eating a meal by invoking thankfulness to all who had a part in bringing the food to the table. The story of our food is a powerful way to welcome gratitude as we teach young ones about the process of food growing in the fields, being harvested by people and finally reaching the store where a family does its shopping. 

When I teach mindful eating in classrooms, I am often reminded that there are some children who do not know where their food comes from. So, I tell the story of the kernel of popcorn we will eat mindfully, drawing on the board and recounting how all things start small. The popcorn starts out as a grain of corn, planted in the ground, and grows into a tall plant with the help of people, the sun, and life-giving water. Next, we follow an abbreviated journey of the corn as the ears are picked by people (often migrant workers), and get processed into dried kernels that are either sold as-is or continue to become popped corn. Finally, we imagine these millions of popped corn kernels that started as a single seed in the ground, as they are packaged and stacked on shelves by more people. I remind children that for their food to reach the home’s dining table, many, many people have been involved so when we are grateful for the food we have to eat, we remember all those who made it possible as well.

Here is a short gratitude intention that I learned at a meditation retreat. 
Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space
Combine to make this food.
Numberless beings gave their lives and labors that we may eat.
May we be nourished, that we may nourish life.

There’s something deeply important about the law of attraction when we think and express positivity. Gratitude attracts more gratitude and feelings of well-being. It doesn’t take a lot of time to practice this and can be as simple as pausing, taking three long deep breaths, reflecting on the present moment, and then choosing something or someone for which to be grateful. Gratitude practice, as all meditation, does take repetition to become routine and it is well worth the effort.  That’s why it is called “a practice”. 

Family Meditation Practice: This gratitude practice is inspired by Thank the Farmer from Mindful Games by Susan Kaiser Greenland.  Choose a person to “lead” the meditation practice. This person will read the instructions as well as participate. This is a slow practice so make sure to take your time. Start by picking one item of food. A raisin is commonly used. I have also used a kernel of popcorn. It must be small as this is not a meal or even a snack. It is a mindfulness practice that uses our 5 senses and explores the story of this food. With the food in your fingers, notice what it feels like. Smooth, rough, squishy, hard, etc. With your eyes, notice what it looks like. A cloud, a shape, a bumpy glob, etc. With your nose, notice what it smells like. Sweet, strong, weird, etc. With your ears and fingers, notice what it sounds like. Crackles, squeaky, etc. With your mind, consider where this food grew. A farm, a forest, a garden, etc. Consider who picked this food? A person, a machine, a family, etc. Ask yourself how it gets to the store? A truck, a car, a person brings it, etc.How did it get from the store to your home? Who went to the store? Now, we take a moment to feel gratitude for having this food to eat. Say, “thank you” to everyone who had a part in growing and bringing the food to your home. The farmer, the picker, the truck driver, etc. Now we put the food on our tongue and notice what it tastes like, before actually eating it. Don’t chew yet! Just let it sit there momentarily.Finally, we get to chew it… what does it taste like now, after all that mindful awareness?  Have you thought about your food this way before? Do you think it tastes differently now?

Originally published in The Taos News on November 9, 2023

Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC. With over two decades of meditation experience, she leads meditation workshops, and classes and provides coaching for children, families, individuals, groups, and classrooms. She is a certified meditation leader as well as a certified labyrinth facilitator. A full audio version of featured practices can be heard on the Welcoming a Mindful Future podcast. Our website can be accessed at MindfulFrontiers.net.