Nurturing your food /mindful eating

Nurturing your food /mindful eating 
A thought occurred to me ," Maybe, I should write to everyone about some of the physical realm ways (physical actions ) they can do to start or continue mindfulness while they are eating . 
First, before I share my ideas on that I'm going to share about some of what mindful eating means .
Mindful eating is considered an art by many . ( This I hope will not deter those who don't see themselves as artistic) It is not like realistic painting or drawing ! Why? Why an art ? Well, I can only speak for myself . I think this is because, it allows one to create beauty, exercise play and, express creativity ..
Did anyone think it was just about smaller portion sizes, smaller bites, staring at your food and chewing longer while trying to focus on the flavors more than previously ? It's not .
So, again how is it an art or creative? In my opinion some examples include:
Creating ambiance and atmosphere. What kind of lighting do you eat by? dimmed, candles? normal? What kind and color of candles do you use if you do ? Do you put flowers on your table? Fold napkins in a special way or not? Use colored or designed napkins? And, how do you otherwise set your table? Do you listen to music? If yes,what kind? Do you do this differently from meal to meal or on certain days or keep it the same?
What is your veiw ? A window? A quoted plaque on your wall? The opened space of a blank wall ?
When do you eat ? By sunset ? Sunrise? A good time for you ?
How do you arrange your food ? Do you ever garnish ?
What is ritual ? A few moments to take in the smells first and look at your food ? a moment of gratitude? contemplation or imagining where it came from ?
A local organic farm ?
Do you visualize it growing in the sun and rain ? Do you think about the farmers and gardeners working or pickers picking , the farmer's market or grocery store workers stalking ? Consider who and how many people recieved money from your purchase ?
Somewhere exotic?
Do you imagine Florida before you eat a Florida orange ? The sea before seaweed? Hawaii before macadamia nuts?
You don't have to do all of those things and certainly not from the start. you get to pick and choose what you like and what you don't . You get to create your own way.
Stay open and make changes as you desire too .
" Nurturing and Building more of a relationship with your food "
10 suggestions of ways out of the many :
1.) crack nuts
2.) Sprout your own seeds, beans, and grains
3.) Grow, garden , do an herb garden , container garden
4. ) Cook ( If you don't )
5.) Cook closer to from scratch if you do
6. ) Buy from the source buy what you can from local organic farmers and ask questions )
7. ) Pick your food - apples, figs, berries ,etc.
8.) Learn about the foods - how they grow, where they come from , about the plants
9. ) Use your hands frequently ! Use tools less when eating and preparing .Pick up falafal balls , cucumber slices, and other veggies , peel the orange and section it rather than cut it , put your hands in the flour and dust a board instead of a scoop , if making a salad you'll add dressing to later toss it with your hands... and so on ..
10.) Play with your food . Get over it ! It's healing ! - Instead of just mindlessly tossing things on a plate arrange them , go ahead and swirl your cauliflower around in the sauce awhile ,draw with it , make a picture of a snowman from it and those peas . It's all good! Sing into your corncobs like a microphone . Note: If this is a group meal though and it's " relaxing time " for the others it may be best to wait until you are eating alone or with different dining company for the singing and to yell out " Look at my snowman ! Look, Look" and go on to tell the story of his or her life .
Be well