Mindfulness in the Kitchen

The Coronavirus has hit us all quite hard, and turned people to all manner of hobbies. It has also allowed a lot of us to work at home. I was lucky enough 18 months ago to move jobs, and now only have a 15 minute walk or 5 minute cycle to work. I gained 7 hours a week back of my life. This time was so precious and allowed me to join the gym and I have lost 2 stone since. I also have so much more time with my husband and generally feel less stressed. 

However, my routine was still the same. I would leave early and get home relatively late, go to the gym and the day would be over again. My husband runs his own business, so we fell into the rhythm of him doing all the household jobs including the cooking. It was like a 1930s household, dinner was always on the table! 

I work in a school and we promote mindfulness a lot. In practice I wasn’t doing this massively myself. To achieve it, you need to plan ahead. And practice what you preach!

So, I decided I would try and give my husband a break, and practice something I find quite peaceful myself, cooking. 

Like most households, we seem to have more cookbooks than we remember buying. I found one I can’t remember buying called the ‘Mindful Chef’ (www.mindfulchef.com). Started by two young chaps fed up with their own routines, their mission was to help us cook healthy food which was sourced locally, great in flavour and gluten free. It is a delivery service really with menu cards, but as all good businesses do these days, they sweat their brand, hence the book. I was surprised how many recipes I actually liked, so decided to go the whole week using the one book. Now you know what it is like with fancy cook books and exotic ingredients. Well try that during Coronavirus! I had to make some substitutions but on the whole, it worked out. 

Here is the weekly menu: 

• Sun AM – Mexican Veggie Breakfast

• Mon PM – Paprika Chicken & Buckwheat Fajitas with a Coconut Drizzle

• Tue PM – Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpea Tikka Masala with Wild Rice

• Wed PM – Hot Smoked Salmon & Coconut Fish Pie with Carrot Mash

• Thu PM – Vietnamese Crispy Port with Courgette & Carrot Noodles

• Fri PM – Mexican Veggie Chilli with Sweet Potato Nachos & Guacamole

• Sat AM – Blueberry Banana Protein Pancakes

The top two came out as the Cauliflower Masala and Banana Protein Pancakes according to my biggest critic. You can’t really get much of a healthier week either. 

What I did take from my week however is how important it is to make time for the mundane. The process of preparing ingredients, chopping veg, slowly turning the wok were all therapeutic. There is certainly a joy in the mundane. We also ate at the table each night, which we don’t normally do. Cooking is social after all, why does the latest Netflix drama always get in the way? There are other side benefits such as slowing eating which aids digestion, makes you feel fuller and stops snacking!

I would strongly suggest giving something like this a go. But do go into it prepared. I listed all my recipes in advance, got the ingredients in one go. 

And what happens now? Well we haven’t returned to normal, I am still cooking at least twice a week, and yes, I do enjoy it. 

So why not try yourself? It’s good to cook.