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| How to mindfully eat a hamburger and fries...or not. |
On the one hand,
I was not looking forward to mindfully eating my weekly hamburger and fries from Five Guys. This is because I wasn't sure I could do it. This meal is quite often scarfed down, book-ended by a handful of salty roasted peanuts. Questions in my head:
- Will I be able to do it, eat a succulent burger and too-many-delicious fries slowly? Chewing and swallowing the bolus before taking another bite?
- If so, will I enjoy this meal more than in the past? As with others this week?
On the other hand,
I was totally looking forward to mindfully eating my hamburger and fries...with ketchup! I got a lovely visit from my mentor and friend (and her hubby), as they traveled back south from Nova Scotia (Canada). They managed to smuggle the most thoughtful gift for me across the border. A brand new, unopened, bottle of Heinz 57 Ketchup, the Canadian version is wonderfully WITHOUT any high fructose corn syrup. I imagined that the fries would sigh in relief as I douse them from the freshly opened bottle.
How it Went Down:
I did it, but not on day 4. Instead of dining out that night, I opted to make a big salad before continuing work on a new wood carving project. The meal was huge, and I savored each bite. As with this past week, noticing how each mouthful broke down, how the pepitas formed a bit of a paste, while the greens formed a poultice, before each swallow, and how I felt while eating. It was lovely and satisfying.
At Five Guys this weekend, I ordered my usual, one patty-lettuce-tomato-onion-mayo and a little fry. When the order arrived, I decanted the ketchup onto my burger foil and tentatively dipped one crisp-ish, brown stick. Chewed. Considered the melting paste between my teeth. Swallowed. This time around I was seeking any variation in flavor in the condiment. THERE WAS NONE! I ate another, another, and so on until I was ready to bite the burger. To his I also added a splatter of sauce, and took a big bite. When the burger was gone, I returned my attention to the soggy-crisp chips and ate a few more. When I was sated, I stepped away. Tackling the fries in particular, was a lovely exercise, and a charmingly mindful pause in a fabulously *busy weekend.
*this was the weekend of the Ithaca SoulFest, PorchFest, and an impromptu visit to the farm, for breakfast.
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