Nutritionists suggest mindful eating for slowing down and enjoying your food – but mindful eating can be difficult with a 24-hour news cycle, and a general unrelenting barrage of intrusive thoughts. When it feels like life is moving too fast to savor your food, look to the king of mindful eating himself: Roquefort from The Aristocats, who turned dipping a cracker in a plate of cat milk into a formative culinary experience. By following these tips, you can pretend you’re that animated mouse with his iconic cracker and turn every meal into a sensory journey.
Emotionally connect with your food.
Discovering the joy in eating is all about building your relationship with your meal – you don’t have to lovingly roll out a giant cracker you’ve been saving for the perfect moment, but finding the passion and personal connection like that mouse had with that glorified biscuit is key. Look for the foods that spark joy, the ones that make you excitedly twitch your nose and give life to your beady little animated eyes.
Put on French music.
It’s scientifically proven that romantic French music can turn even the cheapest of ramens into a fine dining experience or a bowl of cat milk into Crème de la Crème à la Edgar. With a little bit of Edith Piaf, you can pretend you’re sipping on a bisque from a Michelin-star restaurant, not chugging canned soup on your couch. If it helps, try also pronouncing your foods in French – after all, doesn’t “pomme frites” sound better than “French fries”?
Munch comically fast.
Most nutritionists suggest chewing ten times with each bite of food to really savor the texture and flavor. But if you don’t have the patience for that, try doing the complete opposite – graze on your food with the gusto of a stray rat who’s afforded little luxury in his life and has mere moments to savor a decadent bowl of milk before getting caught by patrician humans.
Mix your food with narcotics.
Alright, maybe part of the reason Rocquefort enjoyed his food so much was because the milk was laced with sleeping pills. But nothing says blissful food coma like a drug-induced high!
So the next time you’re mindlessly munching on whatever food is physically closest to you, take a moment to step into Rocquefort’s cartoon paws and turn your snacking session into a mouthwatering event. If that still doesn’t do it for you, you can always try taking notes from Ratatouille!
