Everybody loves a good challenge, but to make things even better, what if I told you this challenge involves eating chocolate?! Uh YES PLEASE, is always my answer.
There’s a lot of different names for this challenge: Mindful Chocolate Exercise, Chocolate Meditation, Art of Chocolate Eating - but here at Remix Snacks, we’ve revamped and created our own spin on it with the #BeanBarkChallenge.
CHALLENGE, YOU SAY?
As registered dietitians, not only are we passionate about the food we eat, but also how it’s being eaten. This is why we launched the Mindful Snacking Movement, and the #BeanBarkChallenge is a hands-on way of learning more!
Many of us look towards food as a means of comfort, of joy, of happiness. However, how often are we truly enjoying and appreciating our eating experiences? Our clients often ask us, tell me what to eat and what to avoid, but rather than just focusing on what we’re consuming, I like to reflect on how we’re consuming this food, which is equally as important. Refer to ___ for more benefits on mindful and intuitive eating, and why it’s not a fad diet, but rather a lifestyle we all want to be adapting.
Here’s a written out step by step for your reference, or refer to our video and do it with us!
STEP 1: Find 3 pieces of chocolate - it can be small handfuls of chocolate chips, squares of a chocolate bar, or 3 pieces of our favourite chocolate, Bean Bark ;)
STEP 2: Take your first piece of chocolate
- Quickly pop it into your mouth, chew, and swallow.
- Easy peasy, take a sip of water and we’ll move onto the next step.
STEP 3: Take your second piece of chocolate. Take a moment to hold it in your hands before you eat it:
- What does it feel like?
- What does it smell like?
- What does it look like?
- Okay, now put it in your mouth but DON’T chew.
Hold it on your tongue and reflect:
- What does it feel like in your mouth?
- What flavours do you taste?
- How do you feel right now?
- Wait until the piece has completely melted, now swallow.
- Before you take a sip of water, what feeling and taste did it leave in your mouth?
- How do you feel right now?
STEP 4: Take that last piece of chocolate.
- Once again, take a brief moment to hold it in your hand, then pop it into your mouth.
- Chew slowly, let it melt slightly and swallow.
Now I want you to reflect, which experience did you enjoy the most and why? The purpose of this challenge was to show a few different eating experiences:
- The first step is most of us when we’re in a rush and eat without realizing what it is we’re doing. Have you ever had a moment where you’ve eaten a full meal, and at the end thought to yourself, what did I even eat? That is this moment.
- The second step is a drawn out experience of enjoying our food. It allows us to really take the time to experience the food in all its aspects. However, as you may have felt, it can get long and drawn out.
- The third step is what we’re aiming for: a combination of both - taking the time to appreciate the food we’re eating, but in a more realistic manner than the second experience.
I can see the wheels turning in your head, so I’ll leave you to it to reflect on what just happened. And feel free to share the #BeanBarkChallenge with your friends, order them a bag of Bean Bark, and transform their eating experiences for the better!
