- Make a list of the dishes you want to cook and list out all the ingredients.
- Buy only what you need.
- Choose products based on their shelf life. Do not buy products that are perishable in a short time unless you are sure you can finish them in a short time.
Now reading:
A guide to living your life consciously
A guide to living your life consciously
Living life consciously means we are making life choices consciously rather than drifting along passively. That includes being mindful of what food you put into your mouth. Below are 5 basic things that you can do to consciously adopt positive food habits and improve your life.
1. Plan meals – choose well, buy less
2. First In First Out (FIFO)
- Before you make a trip to the grocery stores, check your pantry and refrigerators to do a stock take! Do not buy unnecessarily and use those that you have purchased first.
- Understand the shelf life of the products and aim to finish products that spoil faster first. E.g. papaya has a shorter shelf life, while apple has a longer shelf life, so eat papaya first.
3. Learn how to read food labels
- Reading food labels helps you make better food choices. It also lets you know how to store the food properly, thereby making it safer for consumption.
- Do you know you still can eat the food even if it is past the Best Before date? E.g. Best Before date of frozen ice cream is still safe to eat after the stated date but it may not be at its best. That’s why, knowing how to correctly read the label will help you prevent food wastage as well.
4. Mindful eating
- Mindful eating is also described as “The Art of Presence While You Eat”, it’s about savoring the experience when you’re eating the food. This basically means focusing on eating and not doing other things such as playing with your handphone or watching movies.
- By doing so, you will be consciously aware of the amount of food you’ve consumed, and this allows you to be in full control of your diet.
- There is a study that shows that, while the goal of mindful eating isn't weight loss, it is highly likely that people who practise mindful eating regularly will lose the excess weight and keep it off (Diabetes Spectr 2017 - check name of study/publication).
5. Buy local
- Imported foods are not always better! Locally grown food is picked at its peak of ripeness, as opposed to imported foods that are usually harvested earlier to be shipped to your local stores by a certain cut-off date. This also means that locally grown food also has a shorter lead time between harvesting and reaching your plate and hence retains the natural nutrients of the food better than imported goods.
- Moreover, you can save money if you buy local foods!