Gluten-free toast w/PB and Crofters

I’ve had a lovely first day on the 15-Minute Meal Challenge… except that part where I almost derailed the whole operation first thing this morning. Yes, I completely forgot about my pledge to pay attention to my food and was juuust about to inhale this toast while standing over the sink when I remembered: SIT YOUR ASS DOWN.

So I made some tea and sat my ass down. For 15 minutes. It kind of felt like forever, but it also kind of felt nice.

For lunch, I stopped by the Whole Foods hot bar.

All kinds of awesome

I piled on red quinoa, purple rice, roasted cauliflower, tofu, squash, broccoli, cabbage salad and carrots and had no problem at all making it last 15 minutes.

I’ve been sitting all.damn.day. working on some freelance stuff so I took an hour walk around 6pm and then came home to whip up dinner. I went with a spicy Indian tomato sauce that I found in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian to which I added chickpeas and spinach and then topped it off with quinoa.

Spicy tomato sauce w/ chickpeas, spinach and quinoa

The adorable little bowl and spoon are courtesy of the Fitbloggin swag bag. I must say, the 15 minutes certainly seemed to fly by at dinner. It looks like this little experiment is getting easier already.

I am really loving this challenge. Some immediate things I’ve noticed:

1. I feel more satisfied. Paying attention to food makes it better. I promise.

2. I don’t end a meal and go running for something else to eat. I typically think I needed something else immediately after a meal, but that is probably just because my brain hasn’t registered yet that I’m full.

3. I’m drinking a LOT more water. The extra time seated gives me good reason to go refill my glass.

Are you trying to slow your meals down, too? Hooray! Use the hashtag #ihave15minutes on Twitter if you feel so inclined. I wanted to use #slowyaroll, but it appears to be in use…

15 minutes is like an eternity

I’m a fast eater. I know it. I embrace it. Don’t take my food!

I’m not as bad in public. Though my plate is generally the first one cleared at a restaurant, I can at least keep myself from shoveling food in with my hands. Sometimes.

Get me alone though, and all bets are off. I can put away a meal in about 5 minutes flat and usually do. And it’s not that I eat small meals; it’s that I inhale normal-sized to large meals like a damn Hoover.

I’ve made conscious efforts to eat slower and it works for a while. But sooner or later I go back to my mindless, distracted eating in front of the computer, the television or a book. Some people want to eat slower so they’ll pay more attention and not eat as much. I’m not so much concerned with how much I’m eating. I’m more concerned with what my meal times say about my priorities.

Food is hugely important to me (obviously). And while I put care and attention into preparing it, I don’t give it the time it deserves when it comes to consumption.

No more. For the next month I will take 15 minutes for each meal. If you care to join me, try this:

Put down the fork. Step away from the computer/television/homework/screaming child. Sit your ass down at a table (with a chair) and pay attention to what you’re doing.