8 Mindful Eating Tips To Help You Eat Better

Mindless Eating

Mindless eating means eating food without paying attention to what and how much is eaten.

Mindful Eating

Mindful Eating means being aware of your own body and food cravings. It's about paying full attention to what you are eat and drink. Eating mindfully is the practice of being aware of all your senses in the present moment. It helps us to develop a positive and a truly healthy relationship with the food.

Make peace with your mind and try these 8 simple mindful eating tips and get real results.

1. Keep a food journal

Food journal is a smart way to track of what you eat each day. You can document everything of what you plan to eat before eating it. This will put back you on track towards the goals you hope to fulfil and hence help you to look at your eating habits and making healthy changes. A regular practice of journaling can evoke mindfulness, increase self-awareness and nurture self-growth.

2. Practice Intuitive eating

Intuitive eating is all about trusting your own body when making decisions about food without feeling guilty. It's a non-diet approach that addresses the importance of rejecting the dieting mentality, respecting your body and helps you in coping with emotional eating.

- Eat when you are hungry.
- Stop eating when you’re feeling tired, sad or stressed.
- Eat things that make you feel good.
- Do not eat when you are full.
- Pay attention to what you are eating.
- Know your body’s personal hunger signals.

3. Move your body

It's not about going to the gym or going to the run every single day but it's about bringing small changes in your life. A walk, jog, dance or doing the simple household chores also counts.

Meditation : Meditation is the most effective way to jumpstart mindfulness. Practice meditation for the sense of ease in your life. It improves mental health and general well-being. It reduces stress, anxiety and depression, improves focus and concentration and increase empathy and compassion.

4. Develop healthy eating habits

Eating a small, healthy snack in between meals can prevent you from overeating. Snacking on fruits, granola bars or handful of almonds is a good way to fulfill daily nutritional requirements of the body.

5. Compose smart cheat meals

It's good to eat a cheat meal that is well balanced and higher in both calories and carbs than your normal meal. Rethink them as your weekly rewards. Just make sure to keep the record of your cheat meal and not go overboard. Everything in moderation always works. If you're eating healthy and exercising every day, indulge in a sugary treat from time to time but avoid nutrient poor foods that can ruin a week's worth of progress.

For example try our Dry-fruit custard recipe - you're going to love it! 😋

Indulge in a sweet treat - dig in a bowl of vanilla dry fruit custard 

If you are always eating a low-carb diet and exercising most days of the week, you are likely to burn more calories than what your consuming, but after a point of time, your body will get used to this and you won't be able to burn as many calories. By incorporating a 'Cheat Day' to your diet, you can increase your calories-intake and burn more calories and reset your metabolism.

6. Change your eating habits

- Eat in a relaxed environment and focus on eating. Just eating.
- Eat very far away from your bedtime.
- Try eating clean through the day.
- Focus on the textures, flavors and savor every bite you take.
- Focus on how you feel - hungry, satisfied, relaxed
- Pay close attention to your food and and how it makes you feel.
- Chew : The way you eat has a large impact on how your digestive system works. Chew 20-25 times and break down your food properly into smaller digestible particles, that can easily pass through digestive tract. This will help to avoid bloating and other GI symptoms.
- Use small plates and serve yourself small portions : Reducing the amount of food you serve to yourself can make a significant difference to the amount of calories you consume. One easy way to reduce portion sizes is to use smaller plates. It’s a great way to delude yourself into eating less.
- Eliminate the distractions : Turn off the tv, turn off the computer, turn off the phone and eat your food peacefully in an electronic-free zone. Distraction while eating can lead to overeating and disrupt our digestion. Mindful eating is about savoring your food and eating slowly without distraction.
- Do not overeat : Do not overeat unless your hunger is genuine and strong enough. Limit how often you eat foods that are high in fat, salt, sugar or calories. When you eat mindfully, you will be able to recognize when you are starting to get full so you can stop before you overeat.

7. Do not starve the whole day

Don't go more than five hours during the day without eating. Eat at the regular intervals. Eat healthy, low fat snacks in between if you are going to go more than five hours of eating. Do not starve the whole day as this will only lead to binge. All you need to put is mindfulness, discipline, moderation and balance!

8. Express Gratitude

Acknowledge your food and appreciate everyone who gave their time and effort to prepare it. Think about where your food comes from and be thankful! This will help you control your hunger pangs!

I hope you find this information useful! Do let me know in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you guys! Oh before I sign off, I want to thank you all to follow me on facebook, pinterest, twitter, google+ and instagram! 💓 Keep the love coming!

Happy weekend and stop by again as next few weeks are shaping up to be good with few posts in a pipeline!

Much love
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10 SUPERFOODS YOU SHOULD BE EATING RIGHT NOW

Superfoods are the special category of foods that contain a wide variety of antioxidants, fiber, minerals and vitamins. These little fellas are great for your nervous system, offer protection against heart diseases, help in reduce inflammation, and support the immune system.

Stock your kitchen with these superfood staples. You can easily incorporate them into your everyday meals. They are easy to consume, relatively available in every supermarket and grocery store.

1. Tomato

Tomatoes are the most commonly used fruit. They are the major dietary source of lycopene, which improves the bone mass and boost immune system. It may also reduce the risk of cancer and heart diseases. Tomato contain fat-burning compound known as 9-oxo-ODA which helps with fat loss. They are both nutritious and delicious and can be easily incorporated in your diet.

Tomatoes are the important ingredient of many cuisines. They are used to make sauces, soups, salads, pizza, lasagna, pasta and many other variety of dishes. Remember the tomato soup I made last year?

2. Spinach

Spinach is the world's healthiest superfood. These dark green leafy vegetables are loaded with vitamin A, B, C, E and K. They are an excellent source of magnesium, potassium, calcium, choline and folate. Spinach can lower the risk of cancer and heart related problems, it can control the diabetes and reduce blood pressure. It plays an important role in building healthy skin tissues and promoting blood cell growth.

You can add them in salads, sprinkle it on pasta and add in your smoothies. You can also make a simple sauteed spinach recipe in a pan.

3. Green tea

I'm a tea-lover and a pretty regular one. I always start my day with a cup of green tea. There are lots of varieties of tea like - black, green, white, oolong but my favorite is green tea. Green tea is becoming popular specially in the fitness world. It contain all the antioxidants that boost metabolism and could help in reducing the risk of diabetes, heart attack, stoke and cancer. It contains less caffeine than coffee, helps with weight loss and keep the immune system strong.

Add it into a lukewarm water or add milk or lemon for more flavor and enjoy.

4. Yogurt

Yogurt is a dairy product prepared from the bacterial fermentation of milk, often sweetened and flavored. It can also be prepared at home. There are plenty of benefits of yogurt, they are helpful in developing stronger bones, improves the immunity and the digestion system. It's rich in calcium, potassium and magnesium.

Yogurt can be blended or served as a base of smoothies. It can be added in soups, curries and can also be cooked with tofu or paneer. You can cook kadhi, yogurt based curry or raita, common condiment eaten in Asia and India.

5. Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a perfect breakfast as it's filling and contain lots of vitamins and minerals. They are great source of fiber, potassium and calcium. Oats are natural superfood, made out whole grain and fiber which helps in reducing the cholesterol and blood pressure. They are great as a breakfast, snack, a post-work-out snack.

Eat it as a porridge replacement, sprinkle over your cereal, or your smoothie.

6. Sprouts

I love eating sprouts as it's a wonderfully high protein, low fat snack which includes all the nutrients. Sprouts are the most convenient and healthy superfood. They are energy boosting enzymes, extremely alkalizing and rich in micro-nutrients. They are loaded with protein, vitamin B1 and B6, vitamin K and minerals such as magnesium, calcium, phosphorous and zinc..

Add them in salads, coleslaw.

7. Purple carrots

Wow, now purple carrots are my favorite! As the name suggest, it has bright purple skin and flesh that comes in the shade of yellow and orange. According to an Australian study, purple carrots are the next big superfood. It's a relatively unknown superfood, filled with anti-inflammatory goodness. It is rich in anthocyanin, help in in treating neurological disorders like Alzheimer's, improving heart related problems. They are low in calories and rich in dietary fibre, vitamin C, K, potassium and manganese are a good source of carotenoids.

Add them in your salads, smoothies or can also stit-fry it.

8. Garlic

Garlic, the pungent member of the allium family is widely popular in Asian and Indian cooking. It's a great source of vitamin C, B1, B6, manganese, copper, biotin and fiber. It helps in regulating sugar level and help people with type1 and type2 diabetes. Garlic also has lot of anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. It contains high levels of sulphuric compounds which helps in lowering down the cholesterol level, reducing the blood pressure, boosting the immune system and supporting the digestive health.

They are used to add flavor in variety of dishes like soups, dips, stir fries, stews, etc.

9. Lentils

They are practically the cheapest and the easiest superfood to prepare. These pulse are used in many Asian and Indian countries. Lentils requires a long cooking time in kitchen but they make a delicious and healthy snack. They are high in iron, protein, and other nutrients. They are known for managing blood sugar levels and keep you full for hours.

Use variety of beans to make lentil soup or curries, add them to quesadillas along with other fillings, add them to salad, eat them with Indian breads or rice, or just as a snack.

10. Beets

Beet is the most beautiful vegetable. They are blood red in color. It has a sweet and earthy flavor. It is also used as a natural coloring agent. Beet roots are high in vitamins A, B & C, Potassium, Iron, Manganese, Phosphorous and Fiber. It helps in the treatment of anemia, indigestion, cancer and heart diseases. Beets are also good for pregnant women since they are a source of Vitamin B. It's low in calories and high in carbs. Vitamin C helps in fighting cancer and helps to prevent Respiratory problems.

It is frequently added as an ingredient to salads, soups and pickle, you can also make a beetroot drink.

Which is your favorite superfood?
How do you incorporate it into your diet?

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