I had a very interesting experience this past weekend that caused me to think about how and why we eat the way we do.
I'm working on an educational event for people with insomnia, and my partner in this project came across a restaurant in Los Angeles called Opaque. This restaurant serves the entire meal in the dark! So we decided to try it out as a potential event activity.
I found that the food became more intense when I couldn't see what I was eating. Every flavor, every texture, popped out at me as I moved from salad through entree through dessert.
Not being able to see anything I was eating also slowed me down. I had seared ahi tuna with sticky rice, and when I got to the rice I found myself resorting to using my hands to put food on my fork.
At one point I bit into something I really liked, but I couldn't identify it. My dinner parter had to tell me it was a strawberry! Which I couldn't believe, since strawberries are one of my favorite fruits. That made me think about how much of food is what you decide ahead of time about it…if you decide you're going to like it, based on what you see, you will eat it, and potentially eat more of it. Similarly, you may decide you don't like something because of its appearance, and cut yourself out of finding a food you'd like to eat more of.
You could easily replicate this experience at home, by eating blindfolded, either having someone serve you something you ask for in advance, or allowing yourself to be surprised. Perhaps what you learn about yourself in the experience will give you insight into why you eat the foods you do, in the quantities you do.
I'd love to hear feedback from anyone who accepts the challenge!
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