Eating the Truly Balanced Way

Healthful eating is about having a healthy relationship with your food. Be inspired by these articles to make the most of your mealtimes.

On June 2nd, 2011, First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled the federal government’s new food icon, "MyPlate." The icon emphasizes the fruit, vegetable, grains, protein and dairy food groups, and is intended to help prompt people to think about building a healthy plate at meal times. 

There's no denying that balanced meals are important, but there's also more to healthful eating than determining portion sizes and hitting all the right food groups. In fact, when you have a healthy relationship with your food, all else generally falls into place. 

How do you do that? To start, it involves staying connected with the experience of eating; knowing where your food grew and how it was prepared or cooked; and it even means being aware of who eats with you. 

Hungry for more? Read on with this selection of articles from Mindful.org, and bon appétit!

Mouthfuls of Mindfulness: Whether you overeat, undereat, or just feel conflicted about how you eat, mindfulness practice, says physician Jan Chozen Bays, can help you rediscover a healthy and joyful relationship with food.

Food Values: Celebrated chef Alice Waters talks about our food choices, making changes, what it takes to be a good cook.

Sustainability: Just What Is It?: Bridget Hildreth looks for the true meaning of a common but sometimes misunderstood term and finds it at Oregon's Flora Valley Farm.

What to Eat in the Morning?: Food writer John Thorne, author of Pot on the Fire, muses over breakfast—its purpose, its constitution and what it means for your day.

Small is Bountiful: Sharon Hunt shares how preparing food has become a sort of meditation practice for her. In this book review, Hunt explores how the same meditative quality permeates Urban Pantry, by Amy Pennington.

Photo © flickr.com/Dan Zen