To Tune Out Food Noise, Our Critic Listened to His Hunger

"Once I resolved to eat better, I got curious about using behavioral psychology to help change my habits. It wasn't long before I heard about mindful eating, an approach rooted in Buddhist practice that tries to repair the imbalances in our diets through calm attentiveness. And when you study mindful eating, sooner or later you find out about the Raisin Meditation."

"In the Raisin Meditation, you eat a single raisin more slowly and deliberately than you might have thought possible. First, you look at the raisin really look, taking in its shape, its size, its color and its creases. Then, you hold the raisin to your nose and notice how it smells. Now, you put the raisin in your mouth to investigate how it feels, exploring it with your tongue and palate."

Mindful eating, rooted in Buddhist practice, uses calm attentiveness and sensory awareness to repair dietary imbalances. Behavioral psychology techniques can help change entrenched eating habits by increasing curiosity and deliberate attention. The Raisin Meditation trains focus on a single raisin through detailed observation, smell, mouthfeel, and measured biting and chewing, heightening awareness of sensations and aftertastes. The exercise has been taught at major universities, appears in diet books, and is demonstrated online. Practitioners are encouraged to identify varieties of hunger, such as eye hunger, to distinguish sensory prompts from physiological needs. Slowing down can recalibrate appetite and simplify healthier choices.

Read at cooking.nytimes.com