Be Hygge with Food & Drink
Hello again. It’s Sally from StillMind, here to chat again about Hygge, the Danish way of living mindfully. Today let’s think about food and drink…..nice things to concentrate on when it’s turned cold and trying to snow with us, after the warm Easter weekend we’ve all had!!
Comfort and warmth is at the very heart of hygge, and so it is easy to tie this in with the food and drink that you consume. Nothing yells ‘hygge’ quite like warming, tasty food and drink, especially during the winter, with stews, pies, hot chocolate, coffee and warming herbal teas. In many cultures around the world, getting together for a good meal, some drink and company and conversation is part of everyday life. It’s really important to try and incorporate this into the British way of living……but we can’t at the moment I hear you all shouting…..and that is very true. However, by making time to sit down together with whatever family you have staying with you during this time, is so important for your mental wellbeing. Homemade food, made with people there to help you, working together in the kitchen, listening to music while you prepare a meal, gives you that down time, where you leave the outside world behind the closed front door and just enjoy being in the moment.
In a hygge atmosphere, when sitting down to eat, mobile phones, TV, and other electrical devices have no place. This then gives the opportunity to really connect with the people you are with. You can fully immerse yourself in the conversation, listen with your full attention to what they are saying and really savour the whole experience. Hygge diners fully embrace the slowness that comes with enjoying eating in company and this in turn helps us with our digestion, giving us time to savour what we eat and to give our digestive system time to digest food properly.
Hot drinks can be thought of as a ‘hug in a mug’. There is nothing more satisfying or comforting than curling up on the sofa on a cold wintery (or even cold summer day!) with a mug of steaming chocolate, coffee or tea and wrapping your hands round it and inhaling the wonderful smell. It makes you feel happier and research has shown that it actually makes people appear more friendly. Probably because they are smiling!
Danish food is mainly made up of two ingredients…meat and vegetables. During the long Danish winters, when a lot of time was spent working the land..they needed the ‘central heating’ that a good hearty meal made with vegetables they could grow and meat that had been reared on the farm could provide.
This would have taken a long time to prepare in the olden days, with a fair number of people all helping out. Nowadays, it definitely doesn’t take as long, but there is something very satisfying about working together to prepare a homemade meal, as well as it being healthier for you as well.
Danish people love their sweet pastries and sweets. This is real comfort food and my mouth waters just thinking of danish pastries, danish dough and cheese danish to name but three.
So there we are, the way to be hygge when it comes to food and drink. Take your time, enjoy each others company and savour all that lovely food.
Until next time, take care, stay safe
