The Value of Slow Intentional Food in Your Kitchen

The world moves at breakneck speed these days. So the concept of slow intentional food is refreshing to me. But it’s so foreign to so many others now. There once was a time ago that families used to live by intentional food.

Women prepared it by hand with no or modest appliances & it took time. And not only was that OK, it was the norm. It was expected. Anticipated. Planned around.

I want to return to that. And I want that to be part of the culture of my family. A return to mindful eating, savoring our food & cherishing the process of preparing & enjoying meals together. Don’t you?

Hello lovely,

I’m Claire & I love being in the kitchen learning & practicing traditional skills like cooking from scratch & preserving food for my family. This is my passion – to encourage & inspire women to build self-sufficient kitchens, even if that means starting from a studio apartment just like we did. Join me in my kitchen over on the blog Becoming Traditional! My table is long enough.

An Introduction to Slow Intentional Food

At its core, slow intentional food is a philosophy of mindful consumption. Purposeful food handling. Conscious engagement with our hands & senses.

To me, it means a deliberate approach to how we nourish both body & soul. This is something I’m aware of because my focus this year is intentional & that applies to my actions in the kitchen too.

But it’s also something I crave deeply. This type of food, food handling, food enjoyment all of that encourages us to slow down. Connect all our senses to the food – savoring the flavors, textures & aromas that fill our plates. And doing that cultivates a deeper connection with the food we eat & a better appreciation for it too.

On the other hand, it stands in stark contrast to the fast-paced, convenience-oriented meals that dominate modern diets now. Slow intentional food just says embrace a more deliberate rhythm. One that honors every ingredient, cooking technique & mealtime experience.

Returning to slow intentional food habits opens up a world of flavors, traditions & stories I just know we’ll be telling future generations for generations to come.

Benefits of Slow Intentional Food

Embracing this as a lifestyle where we center effort around slow intentional food has many benefits beyond just the dinner table. It’s a holistic approach to nourishment, connection & well-being that touches & enriches every aspect of our lives. If you don’t already know how food impacts you physically, emotionally & mentally, you’re about to find out.

There are physical benefits, sure.

Holistic Nourishment. Food can nourish us. That much we know right? Everyone is tooting everywhere how changing eating habits has profound effects on the body, metabolism & brain. But slow intentional food nourishes more than just your physical body. It nurtures your mind & spirit too.

Just try connecting on a deeper level next time you make something. Think about where your vegetables came from. The hands that tended them day after day until harvest time. Read about the pride pioneers had in raising crops & livestock year after year. Little by little you’ll see the abundance all around you.

Improved Digestion. Mindful eating practices are typical of slow intentional food & encourage us to eat more slowly. Chew our food thoroughly & pay attention to our body’s hunger or fullness cues. This is something I started doing several years ago & even as my family has grown, I still stand by it as a way to understand our needs & wants regarding food.

As a result of this practice though you might experience improved digestion, reduced bloating & a greater sense of overall well-being. I’m not a practitioner or anything, but I certainly do often pause during my meals to “let it sit” before I continue on.

Wherever you are in your relationship with food, you can retrain yourself & let old/bad habits go. For me, that means not shoveling food down like there won’t be any tomorrow.

Greater Sustainability. By prioritizing whole, unprocessed foods or supporting local farmers & producers as much as possible, slow intentional food aligns with some principles of environmental sustainability. It encourages us to make conscious choices that could minimize our “footprint” & promote the health of the planet. On a personal level, it means less food waste & that can translate into money saved & time well spent!

But the biggest personal benefit here is that it’s truly sustainable. Meaning, you can continue on doing this indefinitely. When you’re bombarded with the hustle & bustle of day to day life (& I mean, aren’t we all?), slow intentional food offers some decompression. A space of calm amidst the chaos each time you take your meal.

It’s the unplug you might need by lunchtime at work! By slowing down & being fully present in the moment while preparing, cooking or eating, you might reduce some stress levels & actually feel a sense of relaxation. So, take each meal as an opportunity to pause, to breathe. To really nourish your whole self.

There are some indirect, tangible benefits too!

Connection & Community. This way of eating has the power to bring people together, fostering deeper connections & meaningful relationships. Whether gathered around the dinner table with loved ones or sharing recipes or traditions with friends, the act of preparing & enjoying meals becomes a shared experience that nourishes the bonds of community.

I want generational health & wealth for my family when it comes to food. And in a lot of ways, health is wealth. Instead of only having spreads at Thanksgiving or Christmas, I want food to be a feast every month! And that’s not the size of the meal, but rather the thoughtful inputs & enriching benefits of tighter bonding as the output. But….I mean, a Thanksgiving meal every month would be good too.

Increased Enjoyment. This is one of the most immediate benefits of slow intentional food – a heightened sensory experience. By taking the time to savor your bites, you start to feel like the main character in Ratatouille.

Your mind will be opened to complex flavors you might have missed before. Or the brilliance of a juicy peach or a tender piece of steak. All the hidden flavors, the textures & smells that usually go unnoticed in fast food or hurried meals suddenly come front & center. And you can’t help but pay attention!

You start to grow familiar with ingredients, various cooking methods & the act of sharing meals with others. That all becomes just as important to the experience as the food itself. Spices won’t just cause you to think heat, but you’ll feel warmth – the comfort of a home-cooked meal.

So don’t leave the table until you’ve taken it all in.

Food Statistics – Numbers Tell All

Maybe you know this…Maybe you don’t. I’m not normally one for a bunch of senseless charts, graphs or data. But I did some digging into this subject to see if it’s true stuff or just a figment of my mind because I’m pro-slow food. Here’s what I found:

When it comes to the rise of fast food culture,

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), about 36.6% of adults in the United States consume fast food on any given day (National Center for Health Statistics, 2020). And fast food consumption is associated with higher calorie intake, lower diet quality & increased risk of obesity (Barnes, 2016). Can you see where this is all headed?

Data shows a decline in home cooking.

In 2019, Americans spent more money on food away from home than on food at home (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). Additionally, more people are willing to dine out because they don’t want to cook (USFoods, 2022).

And an uptick in pre-packaged meals or convenience items.

The global convenience food market was valued at $2,647 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $5,423 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.79% in that period (Fortune Business Insights, 2023). This is happening right now, in our era. The rise of e-commerce & online grocery delivery services only makes it easier for consumers to access a wide variety of convenience foods from the comfort of their homes. Nearly half of all Americans use this service & food and beverage retail e-commerce revenue is expected to surpass the 47 billion dollar threshold by 2025 (Statista, 2023).

But how is all of this impacting us?

We’re seeing more cases of fast food linked to obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and other chronic health conditions (Bahadoran et al., 2016). And individuals who consumed fast food more than twice per week had a higher risk of developing insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes (Odegaard et al., 2012).

Whole, unprocessed foods shouldn’t be doing that to a body. That can only mean the fillers & additives, preservatives & other things in food aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

This all has an environmental impact too.

I found that the fast food industry contributes to deforestation through the production of beef and soy, two key ingredients in many fast food items (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2016). And livestock production for fast food chains contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and soil degradation (International Monetary Fund, 2019).

Not to mention all the waste (some of which is toxic to marine/animal and/or humans.

I don’t know the full ramifications of all of this. And I don’t know if/what can be undone. But I hold fast to the knowledge that we can do what is within out ability to do at home. We have a responsibility to be a good steward over what God has given us & that is how we’re trying to live.

Embracing Slow Intentional Food in Everyday Life

Here’s a few ways I’m learning to do this myself. And I think it could really help you too!

Mindful Meal Planning & Preparation: Discover practical strategies for infusing slow intentional food into your daily routine. This could be mindful planning or deliberate grocery shopping. Learn how to approach each of those steps with intention. Not because you have to, but because you truly want to. Doing so will help you cultivate a deeper connection to what you eat & truly feel what it’s like to be nourished. This increases the sustainability of your kitchen over time.

Create Traditions & a Legacy through Food: Turn mealtime into a near-sacred method by embracing traditions & moments that honor the beauty of slow intentional food. Set the table with care, savor each bite, engage in meaningful conversation with family & friends. Can’t you just feel the love oozing by now?

Weaving these practices into your daily life is how you can create lasting memories & build a legacy of love & connection through food. This isn’t so much so that your household is converted to kitchen enthusiasts, but so that at least they won’t be food/cooking-shy.

Explore Local & Seasonal Ingredients: Celebrate the seasons by exploring local & seasonal ingredients in your cooking. Source ingredients from nearby farms or markets not only to support your local community/economy but also to deepen your connection to the land & its natural rhythm.

Get out there because you’ll discover vibrant flavors, beautiful textures, meet incredible people & more. Just let the essence of the earth inspire what you do in your kitchen. God’s creation is truly magnificent, but you don’t always see it in fast-food culture or even at the grocery store.

Share the Experience: Food has a remarkable ability to bring people together & solidify bonds that will surpass time & distance. So embrace the joy of sharing the experience of slow intentional food with loved ones.

Whether gathered around the dinner table or sharing recipes & unique traditions, it all helps. Invite others to join you on this journey even outside your family because this is how you create cherished moments & strengthen the ties that bind us all.

Conclusion

I love this topic, I really do. Because it’s really just the sum of allllll the things I want from life. Moments. Memories. Connections. Abundance. Flavor. Nourishment. And slow intentional food is filled with these simple pleasures. But like any other habit, it will take time incorporating this into your life.

If you need more inspiration, here are 25 ways to be more comfortable in your kitchen. I encourage you to take small steps towards adding this philosophy into your daily life.

You’ve got this, lovely.

🌱 Start Small. Start Now. Start where you are with what you have. The rest will follow.🌱

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