This really is the season to be festive and jolly. So it is definitely time to put our emphasis on enjoying ourselves without the fear or battle with food. The question is, how do we do that with food in even more abundance at this time of the year?

With that question ringing in my head I decided to write down a set of rules for ‘Conscious Eating’ at Christmas …

1.      Have fun and enjoy every mouthful of food you eat.

2.      Switch your mind onto your body checking in frequently to make sure you don’t over eat.

3.      Have whatever food you like but eat only half the portion you would normally have.

4.      Remember that when you drink alcohol your mind and body connection does not work effectively.

5.      Eat until you are just full and feel the fool enjoyment of the food.

6.      Increase your physical activity. This will help to balance out any excess food intake and reduce the amount of reaching out for food you do.

7.      Stop those guilty and negative thoughts they only spoil your Christmas fun.

8.      Remember to give yourself some ‘Me Time’ and do something loving for yourself every day. After all your hard work preparing for Christmas you deserve it.

9.      Eat mostly the foods that suit you best but don’t stop yourself from having those special Christmas foods you love.

10.And finally, when you have had enough to eat remember to is OK to leave food on your plate and throw it away.

Have a wonderful Festive Season and enjoy every minute and every mouthful.

Isn’t it wonderful how some people come into our lives to offer us positive thoughts and ideas? Someone once told me that we meet people for a reason, a season or a lifetime and that everyone who touches our lives offers us an opportunity to learn. That certainly was the case with this lovely lady I met recently. She taught me how to waste food joyously!

If you are anything like me, leaving food on your plate can be a struggle if not impossible. All those old childhood messages about not leaving food so readily kick into action. A mixture of guilt at leaving food followed by guilt at eating too much are the conflicting messages we struggle with.

So it was a revelation when this person asked me to consider the act of celebrating throwing away and wasting food. The thought threw me for a minute or two as I tried to understand the concept. Previously I had managed to leave food on my plate, throwing it away by considering it better for me not to overeat. However, that didn’t help me overcome the guilt at the waste I had created.

Celebrating wasting food just did not ‘compute’ with me until she explained its rationale. Given that the earth is our sustaining factor - the land, the sea and its influence on the weather and the food we eat – we are all aware these days of how it needs our great care and attention. From the land to the climate and weather systems, much of our food is dependant on rain and a fertile soil.

Whatever food we eat eventually it goes back to the land in one form or another. This is the normal cycle of all living creatures. So our waste products are given back to the land and aid the replenishment of more food. When we recycle our food waste by composting it we are giving back to the land the nutrients for it to sustain our food supply further.