Savoring Serenity: The Art Of Mindful Cooking

Hello everyone.

I'm Melanie Underwood.

I'm a culinary educator and cookbook author and I am someone who loves to connect mindfulness and food.

A lot of my students come to me and they have a tremendous amount of trepidation about entering the kitchen.

There's fear,

There's anxiety,

And for me I like to show people that you can use those moments in the kitchen in a very mindful and way that brings a lot of curiosity and joy.

Because for many of us we have to cook three meals a day and I equate that to going to a job that you are not happy with.

If you're spending a lot of time in one place it's actually really great to develop a positive relationship with that experience.

And one thing that people come to me and say to me is like I just don't know how to have joy or connection in the kitchen.

And I think if you're walking into the kitchen and you're saying to yourself I hate this experience,

I don't want to be here,

This is not doing anything for me,

That's the first place that you can shift from.

And maybe you're not gonna say hey I love this but you could approach it and say I'm gonna go into this with an open mind and know that I'm going to nourish myself.

And maybe say that a few times when you're first experiencing this.

And then after a few times of doing that say hey it wasn't so bad I don't really love this experience but it's having a positive outcome.

And say that for a few sessions that you're cooking.

And then take it somewhere else and maybe say you know what I am enjoying this opportunity to provide for myself and to take care of myself.

And you can shift your mentality to being in the kitchen and you can bring a sense of calm and confidence,

Creativity,

Curiosity,

And connection to that space.

You know in the kitchen we connect using all of our senses and we're often gathering with loved ones and we can find moments of joy.

Because food is a source of joy,

It's a source of nourishment,

Self-expression,

Sharing,

Love.

A lot of times that we do have conflicting messages about food because it can also create feelings around shame and guilt and anger and that can definitely affect the way we eat,

The way we cook,

The way we experience our meals.

But I want you to think about that cooking can be really meditative on its own if you are thinking about cooking mindfully.

For many it's a chore and like I said especially if you're cooking three meals a day or if you have multiple people in your household who want to eat different foods at the same meal.

But even for those of us who love cooking I would invite you to ask yourself where is your mind while you're prepping and cooking your ingredients.

Mindfulness whether it's practice in the kitchen or on the couch is proven to increase our happiness and focus and satisfaction with life while reducing stress and irritability.

And mindful cooking presents an opportunity to really anchor our mind and focus our attention on all of our senses.

We can tune in to the sights and the sounds,

The tastes,

Smells,

And textures of all the food that we're preparing.

And it's really a chance to slow down and to be more aware and to appreciate what we are cooking and what we are eating.

Cooking it doesn't need to be a rushed experience or definitely something that you're doing on autopilot.

You know it's very easy to be in the kitchen just chopping,

Cooking,

Sauteing,

But being really distracted by your thoughts and feelings or even having an inner dialogue of what's next.

But of all the tasks that we do in our daily lives cooking really offers us a wonderful opportunity to be present.

And when we approach preparing a meal as a mindfulness exercise we can experience that present moment through every task and through every utensil.

I do think that when we allow this to happen we discover a lot more increased calm and clarity in the kitchen and in ourselves and then when we sit down to a meal with our family.

I don't know about you guys but I'm wondering has anybody ever had a meal where you just want to sit down and be like hey how was your day but there's just some angst coming into it and that can be what everyone's bringing even the person that cooks a meal.

So I think something that's important is really staying present with the process step by step.

Whether you're someone who's using a recipe or just winging it on their own you're cultivating awareness and discovering calm and clarity connection and contentment when you're sort of just in that moment.

And one of the best ways to cultivate your awareness in the kitchen is instead of using your breath to anchor your mind allow your focus to fall on cooking.

So when you do cook mindfully you are becoming generally a little bit more curious about your food because you are thinking about it and you naturally will be in the here and in the now.

So I just want to give you some practical steps to making this happen because for some people it's you might be saying like huh I don't know about that what does that even mean?

So this like I said engages all of your senses so you want to think about that.

Even when you're maybe choosing what you're gonna cook you're looking usually at a picture,

You're looking at a recipe,

So that's number one.

People eat with their eyes and when you're in the kitchen it's sort of that same experience.

So looking at your produce,

Looking at your food,

Really taking that in and enjoying it.

And then mindful chopping.

This is so critical because honestly when you're using a knife and fire it's great to be mindful.

And it works because like when you're chopping you've got that repetitive motion that can be very meditative and you're feeling the texture and the weight of your vegetables,

Of your knife.

It's just something that like if you're really focusing allows a lot of sort of Zen and calm.

And then obviously smelling.

Aromas can be really amazing positive triggers for responses.

So when you're sautéing garlic,

Onions,

Whatever spices you may be using,

Stop and actually take a deep breath and just think,

Can I recall a memory where I've had this sensation before,

Where I've had this smell?

And if you haven't,

Keep that memory that you just created for the next time you're cooking.

Stirring,

Shaking your pan,

All of those are also really great because it's allowing you to be present in the moment and just stopping and paying attention to what you're doing.

So whether you're feeling the weight of the spoon in your hand or watching the ingredients sort of blend and meld together,

That's another opportunity.

And then of course tasting,

That is so critical in cooking.

So you know tasting can really help you become a little bit more mindful because you're thinking,

Hey how does this taste?

What do I need to do to it?

It makes you be present in that moment.

And I would just say take a small bite of your food,

Close your eyes because that will really help bring you to the moment.

And then plating,

You know a lot of people don't want to plate food because they're like,

Hey this is not gonna be so beautiful,

But doing the best you can.

And I think that's what we all really need to remember is that when you're cooking,

You're preparing a meal whether it's for yourself or for loved ones,

You are doing the best you can and everyone will appreciate that.

It's a home-cooked meal and you don't need to worry about like does it look perfect,

Does it taste perfect,

But when you're plating it can really shift your mindset and reduce your stress because you're thinking about all the nourishment that you're going to provide for those that you're feeding.

And you know there's other ways that you can do it.

I don't personally listen to music,

But listening to music is something that a lot of people do.

If you have a family,

Inviting them into the kitchen to help you cook is a really spectacular way because it creates a lot of connection and bonding.

And you can also center yourself when you're cooking if you feel a little bit discombobulated between these steps just by taking a few deep breaths and remembering to be kind to yourself.

Everyone makes mistakes.

I still make mistakes and I've been doing this for a long time.

Mistakes are part of our learning process and not to let them sort of derail you in your journey.

And for me,

I call this falling forward because when we're cooking or really practicing anything,

We're gonna make those mistakes and it's sort of like okay,

What next?

How do we proceed ahead?

And one thing I always tell people is if you're having people over for dinner,

Don't tell people what you're having because if you're cooking and it doesn't work out exactly the way you thought it was going to,

You can shift that and turn it into something else,

Which is super fun.

And that's really what cooking is about,

Having fun and feeling that.

And again,

You may be like,

Hey I have no idea how to turn this into something else.

What are you talking about,

Right?

Like you're making a cake and all of a sudden you have a cake pop.

That's an example of someone who took something that didn't go as planned and made it into something else.

There's many of those instances and for that to happen,

I would just say that you definitely have to keep an open mind in the kitchen because that's how you shift and you're like okay,

Now what?

I hope you have found this helpful.

I really would encourage you to pair it with one of the cooking meditations I have on Insight Timer and if you have any questions about how to make this happen in your life,

Please feel free to reach out to me because I would love to help you feel better in your kitchen experiences.

Thank you so much for joining me and I hope you have a wonderful day.