(Mind and) Soul Food

01/02/20

Has your time in the kitchen been reduced to getting the food on the table quickly? Do you long for a time when you can truly benefit from the therapeutic value of peacefully peeling, chopping and slicing?

At JD Seasonings, we’re here to help you pack as much punch into your food as you can, without relying on fats, salt and sugar, but we know that our easy-to-use blends, rubs and meal kits are also amazing when it comes to time-saving kitchen hacks – but our blends can be used for long, slow cooking as well.

It ain’t what you do…
… it’s the way that you do it.
You might be cooking with your hands, fingers, eyes and nose but you can give your brain a break when you’re in the kitchen and make your cooking more mindful.

When you cook, are you still caught up in an earlier conversation or thinking through a work problem?  Are you making plans or thinking through your busy schedule? If you’re thinking about the past or the future, then you’re not in the present.

Cooking gives you the perfect opportunity to simply attend to the task at hand and to park your stresses, strains and distractions for a while. Thinking about what you are doing as you do it can improve your appreciation and sense of gratitude for the food you are about to eat  - and this allows you to re-connect with the food that you’re eating which may even mean that you’re ready to eat less.

Give the kitchen radio a break, pop your phone somewhere else and focus on making your meal.

Pay close attention
Look at what you are doing as you do it. Listen to the hiss of the gas as you turn it on or watch the sizzle as your food hits the pot or pan.

Super sensory
Your dish changes as you add new ingredients to it. Instead of watching it to make sure that it looks as it should, try looking at how the different ingredients move and come together or how adding the JD Seasoning blend unites the different elements. How hard is your nose working to take all of these changing scents on board? What’s that doing to your stomach? Hungry yet?

Emosh
How does your mood change as you cook? Do you get more anxious as you get closer to serving or are you happy to have produced another meal bang on time? There are no right or wrong answers, but just something for you to be aware of.

Putting the Me in TiMe
Time for your food to go in the oven? Instead of rushing to put a wash on or mop the floor, why not – just once in a while – sit down and relax in your kitchen, mindful that you are waiting for your food to be ready. Give yourself time to work through all the different smells you can spot and listen to the hum of the oven. Breathe slowly in and out and give yourself permission to simply be.

Ready?
When you’re ready to sit down and dine, you will see your food in a whole new light. We know that you don’t have time to do this every day (or even every week) but, if you could cook like this once a month, you’d see that a little goes a very long way.