Dining Together for Mindful Meals

Mindful Eating focuses more on why and how we eat our food. Mindful eating not only allows us to appreciate our meals, but it enhances the experience by engaging our senses so we can truly appreciate, savor, and enjoy our meals. Eating mindfully allows us to select more nutritious foods, monitor portion sizes, and select a balance of foods at meals and snacks.

One way to eat more mindfully is to dine with others. Engaging in conversation during meals helps us to slow down mealtime and check in with our hunger and fullness levels. Be sure to schedule time to dine together with family, friends, and co-workers as dining together has been shown to have positive influences on mental health in addition to our eating habits. When mealtime becomes a social event, it has been shown to increase our overall mindfulness, which in turn can help with weight management.

Below are five benefits to dining together:

When we dine with other people, we’re overall more “in the moment” at mealtime. The ability to be more present is elevated by having a companion with us to enjoy a meal. Dining alone often means multi-tasking at meals – checking emails, scrolling through social media, or watching TV. This leads to mindless eating, and in turn overeating at meals. Having a dining partner eliminates the need for these distractions and brings more focus and attention to our company, surroundings, and what we’re eating.

Eating with a companion allows us to put a more thought behind our food choices. Maybe it’s sharing or splitting meals or trying something new you wouldn’t otherwise have thought to order. Research has shown that eating with people we don’t know as well leads to choosing healthier options and eating less compared to dining with people we know.

Aim for balance when dining out with friends – get a mix of healthy items with one or two indulgent items to share. For example, if a meal comes with French fries on the side, perhaps one person gets the fries while the other orders a veggie option that can be shared. 

Dining alone leads to eating meals so quickly that we often don’t take the time to stop and contemplate if we’re even enjoying what we’re eating. Many people eat so fast they forget what was eaten. Dining with others gives us a chance to slow down. If you’re doing the talking, then you are taking breaks between bites to chat. As a listener, people tend to chew slowly as they listen more attentively. Slowing down while we eat allows time to truly savor and enjoy our food.

Additionally, you now have the time for your stomach to send signals to the brain alerting that it’s full – a process that can take 20 minutes but is often missed when meals are eaten too quickly. Not only does this prevent us from overeating at meals, but also prevents a feeling of feeling overstuffed following a meal.

Not every meal with friends has to involve going out to a restaurant. Dining out automatically leads to an increase in calories due to ingredients used and portion sizes, not to mention a tendency to have an extra course than we may have at home, whether it’s an appetizer or dessert.

Consider a change of venue by staying in and cooking a meal together – or divide up the work and have friends make an appetizer or side dish while the host makes the main course. Cooking your own meal to enjoy together allows more control over ingredients, portions, and cost. If you are lunching in the company café or dining out, be sure to visit the salad bar or select leaner options from the menu.

Don’t let enjoying meals with other people be a sometimes event. Make time in your calendar to enjoy a meal with someone else at least once a week. Designate a specific meal to meet with someone else. Whether you aim to have breakfast before work with a colleague, lunch with a co-worker, or dinner with close friends on Saturday nights, put it in your calendar and make it a weekly ritual. Socialization during meals is great for mental stimulation, stress relief, and many of the health benefits discussed above.

We hope these tips help to increase mindfulness at mealtimes by having someone with whom to share the experience. Making time to enjoy meals with friends or family can be a great way to relax and relieve stress. Food is celebrated in many cultures as a social occasion for bonding with friends and family. Go ahead and make that mealtime date to enjoy a mindful eating experience!