Eat mindfully this Christmas

In Inside Time’s monthly recipe column, a prison nutritionist provides ideas for creating your own tasty and wholesome dishes

In Japan, an eating habit has been shown to be linked to lower weight gain, and it’s something we all can do. The practice of hara hachi bu is followed by some of the world’s healthiest and longest-living people. The practice is thought to derive from an ancient Japanese Confucian teaching which instructs people to only eat until they’re around 80 per cent full.

In modern life, the ethos of hara hachi bu may help us develop a better relationship with the food we eat. Although research is limited, following the practice has been associated with lower weight gain and lower daily calorie intake. It also appears to be linked to choosing to eat more fruit and vegetables and fewer carbohydrates.

Hara hachi bu is a way of eating that can help us learn to have awareness and gratitude while slowing down at mealtimes, and is similar to the practice of mindful eating.

Here are some simple steps if you want to give hara hachi bu a go:

1. Before eating, ask yourself, am I truly hungry? Is the hunger physical, emotional, or just habitual? Don’t deny yourself if you’re physically hungry, but if you’re feeling bored, tired, or stressed, take a moment to pause and reflect.

2. Eat without distraction. Television screens, but also mobile phones and other devices when you are released, are all distractions which can result in overeating.

3. Eat mindfully – slow down and savour each mouthful. Make it a full sensory experience. Slowing helps our brain to know when we’ve eaten enough.

4. Aim to feel comfortably full, not stuffed. It may help to start with a smaller portion on your plate – you can always increase it if you are truly still hungry.

5. Share meals, eat together wherever possible – this makes food more meaningful.

6. Aim to make all your meals nourishing – be aware of the fruit, vegetables, protein and wholegrains in your meals.

7. Don’t be hard on yourself – you don’t need to eat perfectly. Hara hachi bu is about self-awareness, not guilt. 

Mocha coated fruit and nuts 

Believe it or not, Christmas is a great time to practice eating more mindfully. Try making these intensely flavoured chocolate covered treats. Take four or five on a plate, don’t rush them, just savour the flavour of each one.

Ingredients (all from your list):

• 50 g dark chocolate 

• 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder

• Dried fruit – dates (stones removed), figs, apricots

• Whole unsalted nuts – almonds, brazils, walnuts

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl sitting in a larger bowl of boiling water, or over a kettle of boiling water. Remove the bowl and stir in the coffee powder.

1. Half dip each piece of fruit and nut in the chocolate then place on baking paper or on a lightly greased plate for the chocolate to set – in the fridge if you have access to one. 

1. Use as much fruit and nuts as you like to use up the chocolate and store the finished treats in a plastic container.

Helen Sandwell is the Inside & Out project lead at Food Matters, which produces the Her Wellbeing and His Wellbeing newsletters. Both are available digitally via Launchpads, Coracle devices and on Virtual Campus.