Slow Living and Slow Food
Sadly, we are stressed all the time with a hectic and super busy professional and personal life. We do not know what taking time means anymore. We are busy all day long from the moment we wake up ( usually with a routine to follow : meditation, writing on our journal, stretching, make fresh coffee, prep lunchbox…) to the moment we go to bed; we have no time to spend with our family and friends ( we need to look at our calendar first and make an appointment with them if we want to see them), we have no time to eat or to cook – Hello Fast food or food delivery-, we do not have 100% real vacations anymore , –how about a conference during your vacation? And so on-…
The thing, is that we do not know how to slow down and enjoy simple little pleasures anymore and have a mindful life : taking a walk in the neighborhood, taking a warm bath before bed, preparing a homemade dinner from scratch, reading a good book…
This is a disaster for our health, our body and humanity.
If we don’t listen to our bodies we may yield to the myriad of health conditions that are a result of leading fast, stressful lives. The biological costs of ignoring stress are huge, manifesting in cardiovascular diseases, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and other chronic diseases and even, new research shows, in accelerated aging.
The solution is to pay attention, on purpose in the present moment: to be mindful.
Can we really slow down and be mindful?
How about having less activities, less work, less deadlines , and balanced mindful life?
Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School said : “Mindfulness is a certain way of paying attention that is healing, that is restorative, that is reminding you of who you actually are so that you don’t wind up getting entrained into being a human doing rather than a human being.”
First we need to connect with our body and its rhyme. How long do you sleep, do you have hard time to fall asleep, do you have insomnia? How do you feel after you eat a fast food hamburger or homemade salad? Do you feel tired all the time? Do you have sudden allergies? Joins pain? Feel tired all the time?
When we practice mindfulness in our everyday life we are less caught up in and at the mercy of our destructive feelings, and we are then subject to greater emotional intelligence and balance and therefore to greater happiness because living mindfully gives us more satisfaction in our job, in our family and in our life in general.
As a Cooking Instructor and a foodie, Slow Food movement is a great surprise. It has its origins in the 1980s in Italy. When McDonald’s planned to build an franchise outlet near the Piazza di Spagna in Rome in 1986, Carlo Petrini organised a demonstration in which he and his followers brandished bowls of penne as weapons of protest. Their demonstration was successful and soon after, Carlo founded the International Slow Food Movement which runs counter to the fast food, fast life, non-sustainable food production and the eroding of local economies.
My attitude toward cooking and eating is also based on my own Slow Food and Slow living. Because I have been advocate for years for better cooking and eating. You do not neet to buy expensive or extravaguant ingredients to cook and eat well. Just whole, good quality ingredients is what you need.
Joining my hands on cooking class in Murrieta, Temecula, Riverside, and Menifee is the first step.
All my classes are relaxing, creative and educational. You eat what you make during the classes under my guidance.
You can join group / public classes via Community Centers or you can hire me for private cooking party if you have a group of friends or family in town.
Together we will make delicious and easy food, that you can replicate after the class( I will email you the recipes), I also share the best places to buy food and how t organize your week menu.
Happy Slow living and slow food.
Celine
