Do you like cooking? Do you cook at home for yourself or your loved ones? If your answer is yes, then there is always room for improvement to become a good stress free cook. If your answer is no, then let’s start cooking to reduce stress, lose weight, sleep better as well as lower our blood pressure and cholesterol level, prevent heart disease, reduce risk of cancer.
Meditation often involves turning attention to a single point of reference. Wikipedia
You might think that home cooking is complicated and time consuming. Not necessarily. It can be both a challenging and fun learning experience. Learning to cook as well as cooking by itself can be your meditation time if you put your mind into it.
Cooking Meditation as a Stress Relief Tool
1. The first step of meditation is concentration. In cooking meditation, you have to:
– pick the recipe or idea what to make,
– read the recipe carefully a couple of times,
– decide what to do first
– focus exclusively on making the dish without any distraction.
You maybe even have to repeat the ingredients a couple of times while you look for them in your fridge. Does it sound like meditation? Of course it does. Your mind is focused on preparing meal and distracted from all troubles and worries you have at the moment- refocusing helps you to relax and reduce stress.
2. Cooking consists of preparation time and cooking time. To have a stress free first cooking experience:
– pick your favorite veggies and put them together for a salad;
– add nuts, fruits, dry fruits (you don’t need cooking time – only preparation time to rinse, chop and mix all the ingredients).
– use olive oil as a simple dressing or try super healthy and easy to make Turmeric Dressing
– season with love and positive energy, and voila, you have created your own signature salad to impress your friends and relatives.
3. Another form of meditation is visualization. You can visualize what you want to prepare while you are in bed getting ready to sleep. Deep breathing and visualization of your future meal will help you calm down, relax, and sleep better.
If you want to reach your goals, you have to take one step at a time. To become a good and stress free cook, try to master the dishes you like with one recipe at a time.
Remember: home cooking can help you reduce stress and sleep better as well as improve your relationship with food and significant other.
P.S. For more tips on healthy cooking click to listen to my guests on “Feel and Look Fabulous with Irina”, radio show for women.
Breathe, smile and be happy.
© Irina Wardas, HHC
Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition and Relationship Expert
NaturalCounselor.com
