Heather Rockwood is a food science senior and Mustang Daily food columnist.
This weekend I was fortunate enough to attend Sunset magazine’s Savor the Central Coast celebration. Many of the best wineries, restaurants and breweries from Monterey to Santa Barbara counties came to the event to provide an opportunity for attendees to acquaint their taste buds with the flavors of the Central Coast.
With each bite and sip, I was consciously enjoying the flavors of both my food and drink — well, at least the flavors my palate-in-training could differentiate and recognize. The event offered me all the delicious tastes I cared to partake in (a.k.a. a starving student’s dream come true), along with the option to eat more than necessary, emphasized by the many exquisite tastes at the tip of my all-too-often deprived college tongue I found myself not stuffing my face, but actually slowly savoring each bite and not going beyond being satisfied.
Now, as you are reading this, you must be thinking either one of two things.
First: “This girl is nuts. I have never had a food experience like that. Maybe she had one too many drinks at that event.” If not that, then: “I want that. My food never tastes like that. How do I get some of that?”
Let me first assure you — no, I did not have one too many, and yes, you really can have a food experience like that. Not to mention, you can have that kind of experience without going to a fancy restaurant and without skipping buying books to finally afford the “quality” food I’m talking about.
It isn’t always easy to eat like this; believe me, I know.
Even after having such a pleasurable dining experience, just two days later I found myself mindlessly shoveling food into my mouth as an excuse to avoid homework. Or I find myself so rushed, I can only snag a protein bar, that is bare-minimum and tolerable to eat as I run out the door to class. Or in my more gluttonous moments, I find myself so enjoying a flavor that I eat well beyond capacity, even to the point where food no longer tastes good. This can leave a bad taste that lasts until the next meal.
Believe me, I know enjoyable eating ain’t always easy, but I am fully convinced that my savory experience at this weekend’s event is attainable for everyday-living. So how do we get there, or at least closer?
First, I say give your food a little time to give it the opportunity to satisfy.
Eating slowly allows for flavors to be recognized and appreciated. Try for at least a few bites of each meal to give your food the time to meet your taste buds, take them out on a date and absolutely “wow” them. We give plenty of time to watching TV, working out, listening to music and all the various things we fill our life with; don’t tell me you can’t find 15 minutes to sit and enjoy your meal.
That’s the next step. I encourage you to sit at a table for all of your meals. No, not in front of a TV, not standing next to the counter, not running out the door and not even with your nose in your book on the couch. The mere sitting down at a table forces your body not only to rest, but also, if only for that short 15 minutes, removes the possibility of multitasking.
These practices will begin to help you attune your body to the practice of being present while eating so you are actually capable of tasting your food. Then, as you begin to grow an awareness of tasting as an acquired skill, you can begin to appreciate and enjoy what you are actually eating.
As you develop the art of tasting and enjoying what you eat, I next encourage you to splurge — not on the amount you eat, but on the quality of what you are eating.
If you’re a sweet toot, splurge on a handmade treat from the local bakery. If you’re in love with Italian food, don’t just grab another frozen gnocchi dinner, but head to Farmers’ Market and pay the extra couple dollars to get fresh homemade pasta and pesto. Whatever your favorite food or meal, at least once a month take the time to splurge on it — and no feeling guilty!
This isn’t an extensive book of rules on how to eat, but simply a few tips to keep everyday eating, that we all do day in and day out, an activity that isn’t just a part of our life but adds to it. Take your time and enjoy.