Chef Gloria Craft slips the blindfold over my eyes and guides me to a chair. "Once I start feeding you, I'm not going to speak until we're done," she says. Silence. Darkness. My senses reach for anything. A soft breeze against my face. The swoosh and scrape of utensils against containers. Craft's rustling stops, and it feels as if she and the table in front of me have vanished. Then it comes. The first scent slides down my nasal passages and explodes in the back of my throat.
I lean forward and take a deep whiff. A bitter tang followed by something earthy and full. My tongue swells with it. And then, much to my surprise, strains of sweetness.
Garlic. My old friend. I never knew. Awakening the senses, whether through intentional exercises or a moment of silence and a slow breath before meals, can lead to healthier eating habits, experts say. "We become sated when we slow down and our senses get their just reward," says Craft, who teaches conscious-cooking workshops
This concept may sound too good to be true, but there's data to back it up. On a cognitive level, our senses play an important role in our feeling satisfied when we eat, which may lead to eating less, says Marcia Pelchat, Ph.D., a food psychologist and sensory researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. At the start of a meal, Pelchat explains, paying attention to flavor can trigger the appetite, but as we continue to eat, the reverse becomes true: Slowing down to smell the nutty ferment of warm barley or noticing the cool juice of a ripe pear helps you realize that you've had enough.
But daily life rarely lends itself to such moments. In the bustle of a typical day, it's easy to eat mindlessly. When we don't pay attention to how our food tastes or smells, the body can be full and yet not feel satisfied, explains Pelchat. As a result, we go looking for more.
Below are two ways to eat more mindfully, followed by exercises that willRef.marthastewart.com
